GREEK BATTLES AND WARS

JOHN SLOAN

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Date

Name

This is one of three connected web sites focused on warfare in Classical Greece both between Greek communities and between any of them and others such as the Persians, Illyrians, Carthaginians and Egyptians. The main site listing events including mostly the wars and battles in chronological order is . A table including individuals and cities in alphabetical order is. In this table we list and briefly describe significant battles in which Greek leaders or mercenaries or also Persians or other opponents participated from before 500 until the wars of succession after the death of Alexander the Great. And a list of the wars and campaigns. For longer descriptions of the most significant battles we have links to expanded essays. And we have links to many Wikipedia and History of war.com articles, and Livus also has interesting articles.

Battles involving Athens

Battles involving Sparta

Battles involving Thebes

Naval battles involving Athens

490's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 11 wars and battles during the decade of the 490's . But one has to use the link this provides

480's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 7 wars and battles during the decade of the 480's . But one has to use the link this provides

470's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 9 wars and battles during the decade of the 470's . But one has to use the link this provides

460's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 5 wars and battles during the decade of the 460's . But one has to use the link this provides

450's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 8 wars and battles during the decade of the 450's . But one has to use the link this provides

440's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 7 wars and battles during the decade of the 440's . But one has to use the link this provides

430's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 6 wars and battles during the decade of the 430's . But one has to use the link this provides

420's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 13 wars and battles during the decade of the 420's . But one has to use the link this provides

410's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 11 wars and battles during the decade of the 410's . But one has to use the link this provides

400's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 15 wars and battles during the decade of the 400's . But one has to use the link this provides

390's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 18 wars and battles during the decade of the 390's . But one has to use the link this provides

380's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 5 wars and battles during the decade of the 380's . But one has to use the link this provides

370's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 6 wars and battles during the decade of the 370's . But one has to use the link this provides

360's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 7 wars and battles during the decade of the 360's . But one has to use the link this provides

350's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 6 wars and battles during the decade of the 350's . But one has to use the link this provides

340's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 12 wars and battles during the decade of the 340's . But one has to use the link this provides

330's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 16 wars and battles during the decade of the 330's . But one has to use the link this provides

320's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 17 wars and battles during the decade of the 320's . But one has to use the link this provides

310's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 17 wars and battles during the decade of the 310's . But one has to use the link this provides

300's

Wars and battles

This is a listing in Wikipedia of their articles on 13 wars and battles during the decade of the 300's . But one has to use the link this provides

List of Sieges

This is a Wikipedia entry. The full list begins prior to 1000 and continues into the 21st Century and is world wide - The list indicates for which there are Wikipedia entries. I extract here only those for the 5th to 1st centuries BC. I will add articles for each siege as time permits.

The Historyofwar.org has a lengthy alphabetical listing of hundreds of wars and battles with dates throughout history and pertaining to many civilizations and nations. We have attempted to include links to those relating to classical Greece in this listing. If your browser blocks the link go to duckduckgo and search for www.historyofwar.com/battleframe-html. For many of the significant battles we have extracted the article into an htm file to include here.

map

The History of war map of the battles and sieges of Philip II of Macedon
- this link is to a static map, but using the History of war URL one will have a clickable map that describes each location- We have them all listed below.

map

Battles and Sieges of the Ionian Revolt, 499-493
This link is to a static map but the clickable map using the URL shows the main battles and sieges of the Ionian Revolt (499-493 ), the conflict that helped trigger the long series of wars between the Greeks and the Persian Empire.

map

Battles of the Corinthian War
This map shows the main battles of the Corinthian War, a conflict that appeared to confirm Sparta as the leading power of Greece after the Persians imposed peace terms. The fighting started badly for Sparta, after their successful leader Lysander was killed at Haliartus in 395. In the following year the Spartans won inconclusive battles at Nemea in 394 and Coronea (394) while their allies suffered a costly defeat at Naryx. The fighting then moved south to the area around Corinth. In 392 the Spartans and some Corinthian allies captured the port of Lechaeum, but two years later the area of Leuchaeum was the site of a rare defeat for their hoplites, at the hands of lighter troops. Aegina saw prolonged fighting in 390-388, which caused some problems for the Athenians, before the war was ended by the King's Peace.

map

Battles of the Persian Invasions of Greece
This map shows the main battles of the Greco-Persian Wars in the central Greek theatre. We start with Eretria in 490 and Marathon 490 , battles of Darius's invasion of 490. Ten years later Xerxes invaded in person, famously defeating the Spartans and allies at Thermopylae, but at the same time his fleet suffered a setback at Artemisium. The Persian victory at Thermopylae forced the Greeks to pull back. Map of campaign rout of the second Persian Invasion .

map

Battles of the Theban-Spartan War, 379-371
This map shows the main battles of the Theban-Spartan War of 379-371 , a conflict that started with the Thebans expelling a Spartan garrison and ended with Spartan military power suffering a blow from which it never recovered. After being expelled from Thebes the Spartans sent several expeditions into Boeotia to try and restore their control. The Theban campaign of 378 and Theban campaign of 377 both ended with the Spartans unable to reach Thebes, while the campaign of 376 was stopped at Cithaeron, on the borders of Boeotia. In the same year the Athenians won their first significant naval victory in their own name since the Great Peloponnesian War at Naxos. 375 saw the Spartans hoplites suffer a rare defeat at Tegyra, and their fleet a more common defeat at Alyzeia. A Spartan attempt to capture Corcyra (373-372 ) ended in failure and peace negotiations began. Eventually everybody but Thebes made peace, but the Spartans then suffered a crushing defeat at Leuctra, the first defeat for their main hoplite army.

Ancient Greek Warfare - This is the excellent Wikipedia entry describing the subject in detail.

Ancient Macedonian Army - This is the excellent Wikipedia entry describing the subject in detail.

Spartan Army - This is another excellent Wikipedia entry

Wars of Alexander the Great - This is a Wikipedia entry - I will be creating a special folder to include the many articles and maps on this subject.

411

Abydos

Abydos was on the Asiatic side of the Hellespont - the critical route for Athenian grain from Ukraine to reach the city.
The Athenian commanders were Thrasybulus and Thrasyllus with 74 ships
The Peloponnesian commander was Mindaruswith 97 ships including a fleet from Syracuse commanded by Dorieus.
The battle was an Athenian naval victory in the Peloponnesian War.
See the links for more details.

322

Abydos

The city was subjected to many sieges and battles and changed overlords frequently. The link describes these.
This battle in March was the first of two (or three) fought in the Lamian war between Athenians and Macedonians (see battle of Amorgos below). At the time the Macedonian ruler was Antipater and he was in Europe (on the European side of the Hellespont) and the Athenian objective was to prevent a Macedonian reinforcement led by Leonnatus from crossing back to Europe to aid Antipater. The Athenian fleet numbered 170 and was commanded by Evetion while the Macedonian fleet numbered 140 and was commanded by Cleitus the White. The Macedonians won, but not decisively - that came in June at Amorgos.

200

Abydos, siege of

One of many, this siege of Abydos in 200 was one of the final of a series of conquests made by Philip V of Macedonia around the Aegean that helped trigger the Second Macedonian War (against Rome).

366

Adramyttium, siege of

During the Great Satraps' Revolt, Ariobarzanes, satrap of Hellespontine Phygia, joined the revolt against Artaxerxes II in 367. Autophradates, satrap of Lydia, and Mausolus, satrap of Caria, besieged Ariobarzanes at Adramyttium in 366. However, the siege of Adramyttium was abandoned following the arrival ofAgesilaus II, King of Sparta, in 365.

458

Aegina

Aegina was an island and the town on it in the Saronic Gulf opposite to Athens and a constant thorn in Athenian side.
This was a sea battle that took place between Aegina aided by the Peloponnesian League and Athens, as part of the Third Messenian War. Athens captured 70 ships, and landed, laying siege to the city-state. Not too surprising considering the rudimentary siege equipment at that time it required two years for the Athenians to capture the city.

426

Aegitium

The battle of Aegitium was an Athenian defeat that ended a short-lived invasion of Aetolia during the Peloponnesian War. In 426 Athens sent a small fleet of 30 warships under the command of Demosthenes around the Peloponnese to operate in the north-west of Greece and the Corinthian Gulf. See the link for details..

405

Aegospotami

Aegospotami was a small stream located on the European side of the Hellespont the critical route for Athenian grain from Crimea and Black Sea coast to reach the city. This time the Athenians were beached without adequate port or logistic facilities. They needed to be there in order to be able to watch Lysander who had a decent port at Lampsacus across the narrow strait on the Asiatic side.
The Spartan commanders were Lysanderand Aracus with 110 ships.
The Athenian commanders were Philoches and other admirals (with Conon present but not in command) with 180 ships.

The Spartan victory made this the decisive battle of the Peloponnesian war because the Spartans were then able to besiege Athens by land and sea and starve the populace into surrender. And the loss of most of their active fleet prevented them from even maintaining communication, let alone control of the many Aegean islands and cities on both sides. see Battle of Aegospotami.

426

Aeolian Campaign, Aegitium

Demosthenes led a fleet of 30 ships to the Gulf of Corinth in north west Greece during the Archidamian War phase of the Peloponnesian war. When he reached the area he organized local Athenian allies in the region and besieged Leucas Island. Instead of capturing the city at the urging of Messenians he abandoned that effort and switched into attacking the local tribes in Aetolia. But several of his allies abandoned him. He was successful initially. But then the Aetolians mobilized the various tribes in that large region. His Acarnanian allies were alienated and did not bring their reinforcements from Locris leaving him without the peltasts critical for battle in the rough terrain where the hoplite phalanx could not maneuver well. He did capture Aegitium but was then attacked from higher ground and forced to retreat. A retreating phalanx often then dispersed into a rout. He had heavy casualties which enabled the Spartans with their local allies to attack. Demosthenes regained Athenian local superiority by a brilliant defense of Naupactusand Acarnania.

406

Akragas, siege of

The Siege of Akragas took place in 406 in Sicily; the Carthaginian enterprise ultimately lasted a total of eight months. The Carthaginian army under Hannibal Mago besieged the Dorian Greek city of Akragas in retaliation for the Greek raids on Punic colonies in Sicily. The city managed to repel Carthaginian attacks until a relief army from Syracuse defeated part of the besieging Carthaginian army and lifted the siege of the city. During the siege, Hannibal and a large number of Carthaginian soldiers perished from the plague, and the survivors were in dire straits after the Greeks managed to cut their supply lines. The Carthaginians, now led by Himilco, a Magonid kinsman of Hannibal, managed to capture a Greek supply convoy of ships using the Carthaginian fleet, which forced the Greeks to face the threat of starvation in turn. This caused first the Sicilian Greek detachment, then most of the population of Akragas to leave the city, enabling Himilco to capture and sack the city.
See the link for full details.

375

Alyzeia

In the battle of Alyzeia the Athenians defeated a Spartan fleet that was supporting an attempt to move troops across the Corinthian Gulf into Boeotia (Theban-Spartan or Boeotian War, 379-371. In 379, 378 and 377 the Spartans had reached Boeotia by land, although their campaigns hadn't achieved much. In 376 King Cleombrotus hadn't even got as far as Boeotia, and had abandoned the entire campaign after suffering a minor defeat while attempting to cross the Cithaeron mountain range. see Battle of Alyzeia.

498/7

Amathus, siege of

The siege of Amathus was an attempt by Greek rebels to capture the pro-Persian Phoenician city of Amathus on Cyprus.

322

Amorgos

Anorgos was a island in the Cyclades.
The Athenian commander was Eueton (Evetion) with 170 ships.
The Macedonian commander was Cleitus the White with 240 ships.
It was a naval battle was in the Lamian War (323=322).
Date May or June 322
Result Macedonian victory
At the time, despite relatively few Athenian losses it was considered to be the decisive naval battle of the war. The result was the end of Athenian thalassocracy and political independence. see Battle of Amorgos

424

Amphipolis, capture of

The link is to an entry that describes both the Spartan capture of Amphipolis and the later battle when the Athenians attempted to retake it.

Amphipolis was an Athenian colony located in Thrace on the Strymon river at the northern end of the Aegean Sea and was a strategic city.
The Spartan leading general, Brasidas, led a Peloponnesian army far north to capture this strategic city in the winter of 424–423.
The city was defended by general Eucles. He sent for reinforcements from Thasos Island, commanded by Thucydides, later the famous historian. He had there only 7 ships but set out for Amphipolis.
Brasidas offered those citizens who would remain could keep their property and those who would leave could have safe passage. The city then surrendered before Thucydides could arrive. Thucydides reached Eion that same day and could only defend the port with the help of the Amphipolis citizens.
Brasidas was busy finding allies from other Thracian cities plus even with the Macedonian king, Perdiccas II.
Thucydides claimed he could not have reached Eion any sooner, but he was recalled to Athens, tried and exiled.
The Athenians were afraid that their other allies would quickly capitulate, and Brasidas wanted to concentrate on expanding Spartan power in Thrace, so both sides agreed to a truce of one year- the armistice was signed in 423.
But Brasidas didn't stop, he seized Scione during the negotiations. So the Athenians ordered Cleon to recapture Amphipolis as soon as possible. This led to the Second Battle of Amphipolis.

422

Amphipolis, Second Battle

Brasidas remained the Spartan commander with 2,000 hoplites and 300 cavalry and local troops in Amphipolis.
The Athenian commander was Cleon with 30 ships, 1,200 hoplites and 300 cavalry plus allied troops.

Enroute, Cleon captured Torone and Scione. At Scione the Spartan commander, Pasitelidas, was killed. Cleon reached the city and established his base at Eion, a city slightly south of Amphipolis. Brasidas placed his troops on a nearby hill at Cerdylion on the right bank of the Strymon River. He decided not to face Cleon in an open field battle so moved back into the city but decided to attack from there rather than face a siege.
Cleon then recognized that Brasidas would attack so ordered a withdrawal back to Eion and wait for reinforcements.
As the Athenian hoplites were strung out while passing the city, Brasidas launched his attack by surprise from two different city gates, he lead one in person flanking the lead Athenian elements and the other under Clearidas's command attacking them from the rear of their column.
Brasidas was mortally wounded and died in the city and Cleon was killed in the battle.
The surviving Athenians (having lost about 600) reached Eion.
Only seven other Spartans were killed.
The battle was basically a draw, although Amphipolis was not captured. But the main result was that Brasidas, being the leading Spartan advocating continual war, and Cleon, the most warlike of the Athenians were both dead. Thus the Spartan and Athenian governments agreed on a treaty called the Peace of Nicias in 421 after the leading Athenian leader who continually advocated peace.
This treaty was also eventually broken and the war was renewed.

357

Amphipolis, siege of

The siege of Amphipolis in 357 was an early victory for Philip II of Macedon, in which he captured a key foothold in Thrace, although at the cost of permanently damaging his relationship with Athens. Amphipolis was an important city just inland from the coast, to the east of Chalcidice.
See the link for details.

480

Andros, siege of

The siege of Andros in c.480 is an incident recorded by Herodotus as taking part in the period after the Greek naval victory at Salamis. In the aftermath of the Greek naval victory at Salamis the Persian fleet retreated back towards the Hellespont. The land army remained in Attica for a little longer..
The Greeks soon realized that the Persian fleet had escaped, and belatedly decided on pursuit, They put in at Andros, where they debated what to do next. According to Herodotus the Athenians wanted to go to the Hellespont to cut the bridge of ships and thus trap the Persian army, but the rest of the fleet wanted to let Xerxes escape. When the Athenian Themistocles realized that he couldn't win the debate he changed sides, and supported the idea of giving the Persians a way out. The Greeks next turned their attention to the town of Andros.
See the link to find out what happened next.

246

Andros

The battle of Andros is one of the more obscure naval battles of the Hellenistic era. It was fought between a Macedonian fleet under Antigonus “the old man”, and an Egyptian fleet, close to the important Egyptian naval base on Andros. The date of 246 is not certain, and is partly based on the establishment of two vase festivals at Delos in 245 by Antigonus IIGonatas to celebrate an unknown victory. This date would place the battle as taking place during the Third Syrian War (246-241), between Ptolemaic Egypt and the Seleucid Empire. Although Macedonia is not known to have taken part directly in that war, that does not preclude this date. The result of the battle is known. The Macedonian fleet, under the command of Antigonus, defeated a larger Egyptian fleet, under a commander called Sophron. The defeat seems to have ended serious Egyptian interest in the Aegean, although she still possessed a powerful fleet, which played a part in the Third Syrian War, as well as limited possessions in the area, including the island of Thera.

326

Aornos

Aornos was the Ancient Greek name for the site of Alexander the Great's siege, which took place in April 326, at a mountain site located in modern Pakistan. The warlike tribes around Aornos offered the last threat to Alexander's supply line, which stretched, dangerously vulnerable, over the Hindu Kush back to Balkh, though Arrian (although disbelieving himself of this story) credits Alexander's desire to outdo his kinsman Heracles, who allegedly had proved unable to take a fort that the Macedonians called Aornos (according to Arrian and Diodorus; Aornis according to Curtius; elsewhere Aornus): meaning "birdless" in Greek. According to one theory, the name is a corruption of an Indo-Iranian word, such as *awarana "fortified place". According to Arrian, the rock had a flat summit well-supplied with natural springs and wide enough to grow crops: it could not be starved into submission. Neighboring tribesmen who surrendered to Alexander offered to lead him to the best point of access.

The location of the battle was investigated extensively by Aurel Stein who visited the place personally.
See links for details.

381

Apollonia

In the battle of Apollonia Sparta's ally Derdas of Elimia defeated an Olynthian cavalry raid that had entered the territory of Apollonia. In 382 the Spartans had received two embassies asking for help against Olynthus, a rising power in Chalcidice, and had decided to send an army north to aid Amyntas III of Macedon and the Chalcidian cities of Acanthus and Apollonia. Their first army was sent in two waves, of which only the first reached Thrace, where it soon bogged down. The second wave ended up seizing power in Thebes. The Spartans responded by sending a second army to Thrace, this time commanded by Teleutias, the half brother of King AgesilausII. On his way north Teleutias took care to gather allies, amongst them the Thracian king Derdas of Elimia. Soon after arriving in the area Teleutias led his army to Olynthus, where he was saved from defeat by Derdas (battle of Olynthus, 382. Although Teleutias claimed this had been a victory, over the winter of 382-38 the Olynthians carried out a series of raids into the territory of Sparta's allies in the area. In the spring of 381 the Olynthians sent a force of six hundred cavalry to raid Apollonia, north of Olynthus. By noon on the day of the raid the Olynthian cavalry was quite widely spread, plundering the local area. Unluckily for the Olynthians, on the same day Derdas had arrived in Apollonia with his cavalry. Derdas waited until the raiders were approaching the city walls of Apollonia before he unleashed his own cavalry. This caught the Olynthians by surprise, disorganized, and probably separated into smaller groups in the suburbs of Apollonia. In contrast Derdas's men were well concentrated, and they quickly forced the raiders to flee. The Olynthians were pursued all the way back to their city walls, losing eighty dead during the fighting. This was the high point for Teleutias. Later in 381 he launched another raid into Olynthian territory, but he was caught by the Olynthian cavalry, which had clearly not been too badly damaged at Apollonia, defeated, and killed (battle of Olynthus, 381. This didn't end the bad news for Sparta - a fresh army, commanded by King Agesipolis, was sent north, but didn't achieve much before the king died of a fever in the summer of 380.

406

Arginusae

Arginusae was a group of islands in the Aegean.
The naval Battle of Arginusae took place in 406 during the Peloponnesian Warnear the city of Canae in the Arginusae islands, east of the island of Lesbos. In the battle, an Athenian fleet commanded by eight strategoi defeated a Spartan fleet under Callicratidas. see Battle of Arginusae

480

Artemisium

The Battle of Artemisium, or Battle of Artemision, was a series of naval engagements over three days during the second Persian invasion of Greece. The battle took place simultaneously with the land battle at Thermopylae, in August or September 480, off the coast of Euboea and was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, including Sparta, Athens, Corinth and others, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I. see Battle of Artemisium
For a neat animated map of the battle click here.

404

Athens, siege of

The siege of Athens in to 404 was the final act of the Great Peloponnesian War, and confirmed the Spartan victory that had been made almost inevitable at the naval battle of Aegospotami in 405.
See the link for details.

287

Athens, siege of

The Siege of Athens lasted through 287 when the city was put under siege by King Demetrius I of Macedon. Athens revolted in that year against Demetrius' rule and elected Olympiodorus as strategos. Olympiodorus raised a force among the Athenian citizens, including old men and children, and attacked the Macedonian garrison that had retreated to the fort at the Museum hill which he took with the loss of just 13 of his men.
See the link for more.

684

Boar's Barrow

The battle was a year after Derae during the Second Messenian War. Aristomenes defeated the Spartans.

657 - on

Byzantium

Byzantium was a Greek city It was colonized by the Greeks from Megara in 657. The city was taken by the Persian Empire at the time of the Scythian campaign in 513 of King Darius I, and was added to the administrative province of Skudra. Though Persian control of the city was never as stable as compared to other cities in Thrace, it was considered, alongside Sestos, to be one of the foremost ports on the European coast of the Bosporus and the Hellespont. Byzantium was besieged by Greek forces during the Peloponnesian War. As part of Sparta's strategy for cutting off grain supplies to Athens during their siege of Athens, Sparta took control of the city in 411, to bring the Athenians into submission. The Athenian military later retook the city in 408, when the Spartans had withdrawn following their settlement.

408

Byzantium, siege of

The siege of Byzantium in (408 was an Athenian victory that saw them regain control over the Bosphorus, and remove a threat to Athens's food supplies from the Black Sea (Great Peloponnesian War). Byzantium had been part of the Athenian Empire, but it had rebelled after the Athenian disaster at Syracuse, and by 408 was held by a mixed garrison of Byzantines, Perioci (free non-citizens of Sparta), Neodamodes (Helots freed after serving in the Spartan army), Megarians and Boeotians, all commanded by the Spartan governor Clearchus.
See the link for more.

340

Byzantium, siege of

The siege of Byzantium in 340-339 was an unsuccessful attempt by Philip II to defeat a former ally, and was begun after his siege of nearby Perinthus ran into difficulties. Both sieges came in the build-up to the Fourth Sacred War.

490

Carystus, siege of

Carystus was a town on the south eastern end of Euboea Island that refused the Persians demands during their campaign in 490 to Marathon. They besieged and captured the city and took the remaining citizens to Persia. See the link.

352

Cephisus River

The battle of the Cephisus River was the second in a series of defeats suffered by the Phocian leader Phayllus during a failed invasion of Boeotia (Third Sacred War) and Third Sacred War.Phayllus became the Phocian leader after his brother Onomarchus was killed at the battle of the Crocus Field in Thessaly in 353 . Almost half of the Phocian army was destroyed in that battle, but Phayllus was soon able to recruit fresh troops. He was also helped by the arrival of 2,000 men under the defeated tyrants of Pherae and troops sent by his allies (1,000 from Sparta, 2,000 from Achaea and 5,000 infantry and 400 cavalry from Athens). Phayllus used his new army to carry out an unsuccessful invasion of Boeotia. His first target was the city of Orchomenus, but he suffered a defeat in battle near the city. Next came a costly defeat on the Cephisus River. Diodorus provides no details of the battle itself, but records the Phocian losses as 500 dead and 400 prisoners.

447

Chaeronea

Chaeronea was a village in Boeotia, about 80 kilometers east of Delphi.. Chaeronea was subject to Orchomenus which was, beginning in 600, a member of the Boeotian League. After it was captured by the Athenians in 447 they were attacked and defeated at the Battle of Coronea by Boeotians. But the best known battle was in 338 between Philip II of Macedon and a coalition of various Greek states, including Thebes and Athens.

352

Chaeronea

The battle of Chaeroneia was an early defeat in the career of Phalacus as leader of the Phocians (Third Sacred War). In 353 the successful Phocian commander Onomarchus was killed at the battle of the Crocus Field in Thessaly, a major Phocian defeat at the hands of Philip II of Macedon. He was succeeded by his brother Phayllus, who proved to be a rather unsuccessful commander. He did manage to create a fresh army to replace the one last at the Crocus Field, but then led it to a series of defeats in Boeotia (Orchomenus, the Cephisus River and Coroneia) and at Abae, on the borders of Phocis. During this period Phayllus was suffering from a wasting disease, and soon after the defeat at Abae he died. After the death of Phayllus he was succeeded as general by Phalacus, the young son of his brother Onomarchus. Phayllus had had time to make proper preparations for the succession, and appointed his friend Mnaseas as Phalacus's guardian. Mnaseas and two hundred of his men were killed when the Boeotians carried out a night attack on his camp. This left Phalacus without his guardian, and he was further undermined when he suffered a defeat in a cavalry battle near Chaeroneia. Phalacus wasn't discouraged by this defeat. Possibly later in the same year the Boeotians were distracted by a conflict in the Peloponnese, and Phalacus took advantage of this to occupy Chaeroneia. This was a short-lived success, and he was forced to retreat when the main Boeotian army returned. This was followed by a Boeotian invasion of Phocis, but the Boeotian army retired after gathering a great deal of loot. This ended a rather eventful year, but one that had failed to bring any end to the conflict. The war dragged on for several more years, and didn't end until 346, but for most of the time it was limited to skirmishes close to the border between Phocis and Boeotia.

338

Chaeronea

The Battle of Chaeronea was fought in 338, near the city of Chaeronea in Boeotia, between the Macedonians led by Philip II of Macedon and an alliance of some of the Greek city-states led by Athens and Thebes.
The battle of Chaeronea (August 338) was the final major battle in the career of Philip II of Macedon, and saw him defeat a Greek alliance led by Thebes and Athens, in the process establishing his dominance over the states of central and southern Greece. Philip was officially present in central Greece in response to a call from the Delphic Amphictyony, for his help against Amphissa (Fourth Sacred War, 339-338), but his main object always appears to have been to settle the affairs of central Greece and in particular to defeat Athens, which had been at war with him since the previous year.
For a neat animated map of the battle click here.

408

Chalcedon, siege of

The siege of Chalcedon in 408 was part of an Athenian attempt to regain control of the Bosphorus and ensure the safety of Athens's food supplies from the Black Sea during the Peloponnesian War. Chalcedon, on the Asian shore, and Byzantium, on the European shore, had been part of the Athenian Empire, but both cities rebelled after the Athenian defeat at Syracuse. The Athenians managed to regain control over the Hellespont at the battle of Cyzicus in 410, but had to wait another two years before they were in a position to move against Chalcedon and Byzantium.
See the link for more.

429

Chalcis

The battle of Chalcis was the first of two Athenian naval victories won in the same year in the Gulf of Corinth that helped demonstrate their naval superiority in the early part of the Great Peloponnesian War. In 429 the Spartans decided to launch an invasion of Acarnania, the area to the north-west of the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. The plan was for their fleets to unite at Leucas, an island to the north-west of the gulf. Part of the combined fleet was to come from the Peloponnese and from other areas outside the gulf, while the rest sailed from Corinth and other areas inside the gulf. See the link.

357

Chios

The battle of Chios was the first battle of the Social War, in which the rebels defeated an Athenian land and sea attack on the island. The Social War (or)was triggered by the refusal of Chios to pay its annual contribution to the Athenian League. Chios, Rhodes and Byzantium were at the heart of the revolt, joined by Cos, and supported by Mausolus, satrap of Caria. The rebels concentrated their forces at Chios, a sizable island off the west coast of Asia Minor, and the nearest of the rebel states to Athens. The Athenians also decided to deal with Chios first. Chares and Chabrias were give command of the army and fleet that was sent to deal with the revolt (Cornelius Nepos provides a different version, in which Chabrias was present in a private capacity, but ended up with more influence than the real commanders). They arrived at Chios after the allies, and decided to attack. The army, under Chares, was landed on the island, while Chabrias commanded the fleet. Diodorus hints at a siege followed by a unsuccessful assault on the city, although it is possible that the assault was made immediately after the Athenians arrived. The plan was for a two pronged assault. Chabrias was to lead the fleet into the harbor, where he would attack the Allied fleet. Chares would attack from the land. Chabrias was soon caught up in a fierce naval battle. His ship was rammed, and probably immobilized. He may have got ahead of the rest of the fleet, as the other ships withdrew intact.
According to Diodorus Chabrias chose to fight on, and died of his wounds. Cornelius Nepos has Chabrias dashing ahead of the rest of the fleet as he wanted to be the first into the harbor. He was then surrounded, and chose to fight to the death rather than swim to safety.

596-585

Cirrha, siege

The city was besieged and destroyed in the First SacredWar.

The ten year siege was the event of the First Sacred War in which the cities of the Amphictyonic League destroyed Cirrha because it had been despoiling the temple of Delphi.

376

Cithaeron

The battle of Cithaeron was a minor Spartan defeat that prevented them from conducting a fourth invasion of Boeotia in four years (Theban-Spartan War). Sparta had seized control of Thebes in 382, but the pro-Spartan government had been expelled in 379. The Spartans responded with a series of invasions of Boeotia. In 379 King Cleombrotusgot close to Thebes, but withdrew without achieving anything. In 378 and 377 King Agesilaus II led the invasions, and managed to get into Boeotia and again got close to Thebes, but both invasions ended without achieving much. In the aftermath of the 377 campaign Agesilaus burst a vein in his leg, and was unfit for the campaign of 376. This meant that King Cleombrotus took command for a second time. In 377 the Spartan garrison of Thespiae had been ordered to keep the passes across the Cithaeron range open, to allow the Spartans to move from Attica into Boeotia, but in 376 the passes were defended by Theban and Athenian troops. It is possible that the Spartan garrisons at Plataea and Tanagra, on the Boeotian side of the mountains, had been defeated before this, thus explaining their inability to help the invasion. Cleombrotus ordered his peltasts to seize the pass. As the Spartans approached, the defenders sortied, and killed forty of the attackers. Cleombrotus wasn't as persistent as Agesilaus, and he decided that this made the entire invasion impossible. He retreated, disbanded the army, and returned home. Cleombrotus's poor performance in Boeotia in 379 and 376 might have played a part in the Spartan disaster atLeuctrain 371, where Cleombrotus was defeated and killed, triggering the start of a dramatic decline in Spartan power. The king may have been motivated to fight by a desire to restore his reputation.

451

Citium, siege

Siege of Kition (Citium) The League fleet was campaigning there in 460, before being instructed to head to Egypt to support Inaros's rebellion. The Egyptian disaster would eventually lead the Athenians to sign a five-year truce with Sparta in 451. This freed the League from fighting, the League was again able to dispatch a fleet to campaign in Cyprus in 451, under the recently recalled Cimon. Cimon sailed for Cyprus with a fleet of 200 ships provided by the Athenians and their allies. However, 60 of these ships were sent to Egypt at the request of Amyrtaeus, the so-called "King of the Marshes" (who still remained independent of, and opposed to Persian rule). The rest of the force besieged Kition in Cyprus, but during the siege, Cimon died either of sickness or a wound. The Athenians lacked provisions, and apparently under the death-bed instructions of Cimon, the Athenians retreated towards Salamis-in-Cyprus. Cimon's death was kept a secret from the Athenian army. Thirty days after leaving Kition, the Athenians and their allies were attacked by a Persian fleet composed of Cilicians, Phoenicians, and Cyprians, off Salamis-in-Cyprus. Under the 'command' of the deceased Cimon, they defeated this force at sea, and also in a land battle. Having thus successfully extricated themselves, the Athenians sailed back to Greece, joined by the flotilla which had been sent to Egypt. These battles formed the end of the Greco-Persian Wars.

386

Citium

A naval battle off Citium on Cyprus in which the Persians commanded by admiral Glos attacked Evagoras's fleet, The Cyprians were winning at first but eventually the larger Persian fleet forced Evagoras to withdraw after suffering significant losses. The battle then shifted on to Cyprus and led to the Siege of Salamas city.

412-411

Cnidus

The naval battle of Cnidus in 412 or 411 in which the Athenians were unable to prevent two Spartan fleets from uniting on the coast of Asia Minor during the Peloponnesian War). In the winter of 412/411 the Athenians were besieging Chios, in the centre of the western coast of Asia Minor. The Spartans had a fleet at Miletus, further south along the coast. This fleet was commanded by Astyochus,. When another fleet of 27 ships was sent to join him, a group of officers were sent to work alongside him, and if necessary relieve him. This fleet encountered a small Athenian force on the way, and decided to divert to Crete, and then to Caunus. The Athenians, who had a fleet based at Samos (between Chios and Miletus), discovered this, and sent a squadron of twenty ships under Charminus south in an attempt to intercept the new arrivals. When Astyochus learned that his reinforcements were at Caunus he decided to bring his fleet around the coast to join them. He passed Cos, and reached Cnidus, at the south-western tip of Asia Minor. There he learned that the Athenians were close by, and sailed on towards the island of Syme in an attempt to catch them. In bad weather the Spartan fleet was scattered. In the poor visibility the Athenians sighted the Spartan left wing and incorrectly identified them as the fleet coming from Caunus. Charminus put to sea with as many ships as were ready. The initial encounter was won by the Athenians, who sank three ships and disabled others. The rest of the Spartan fleet then came into sight, and the Athenians became surrounded. The Athenians managed to break out of the trap, although six ships were lost. The survivors then escaped south to the island of Teutlussa, from where they moved north to Halicarnassus. After this battle the Spartans returned to Cnidus where they were joined by the twenty seven ships from Caunus. The defeated Athenians were joined by the rest of the fleet from Samos, but even reinforced they didn't dare risk another battle, and returned to Samos

394

Cnidus

In the naval battle of Cnidus in 394 the Persian Empire fought the Spartan naval fleet during the Corinthian War. A fleet under the joint command of Pharnabazusand former Athenian admiral, Conon, destroyed the Spartan fleet led by the inexperienced Peisander, ending Sparta's brief bid for naval supremacy. The battle outcome was a significant boost for the anti-Spartan coalition that resisted Spartan hegemony in the course of the Corinthian War. see Battle of Cnidus

373-372

Corycera, siege and battle

The siege and battle of Corcyra in 373-2 was the defeat of a Spartan attempt to seize control of the Ionian Sea, and triggered a resumption of warfare in the Theban-Spartan or Boeotian War of 379-381.

447

Coronea

Location Coronea
Result Boeotian victory
Billigerents Boeotian city-states versus Athenian ledDelian League
Commanders and leaders

Boeotians - Sparton
Delian League Tolmides
Strength
Boeotians Unknown
Delians 1000 hoplites, others?
Casualties and losses Unknown Unknown
The Battle of Coronea (also known as the First Battle of Coronea) took place between the Athenian-led Delian League and the Boeotian League during the First Peloponnesian War.
The Athenians had taken control of Boeotia at the Battle of Oenophyta, and spent the next ten years attempting to consolidate the League's power.
In 454 Athens lost a fleet attempting to aid an Egyptian revolt against Persia.
Athens moved the treasury to their city from Delos in 453, and signed the Peace of Callias with Persia in 450. By 447 some of the men exiled from Boeotia after the Athenian victory there in 457 had returned home and began to take back some of the Boeotian towns. The Athenians under Tolmides, with 1,000 hoplites plus other troops from their allies, marched into Boeotia to take back the recaptured towns. They captured Chaeronea, but were attacked and defeated by the Boeotians at Coronea. The Athenians were forced to give up control of Boeotia. Boeotia was allowed to leave the Delian League in return for allowing the Athenians to leave Boeotia safely. The defeat led to revolts on Euboea and in Megara, which in turn led to further conflict with Sparta, contributing to the Peloponnesian War.

394

Coronea

In the battle of Coronea, during the Corinthian War, the Spartans and their allies under King Aegsilaus IIdefeated a force of Thebans and Argives that was attempting to block their march back from Asia Minor to the Peloponnese. see Battle of Coronea

352

Coroneia

This battle of Coroneia was the second in a series of defeats suffered by the Phocian leader Phayllus during a failed invasion of Boeotia (Third Sacred War) and . In 353 the Phocian leader Onomarchus was defeated and killed by Philip II of Macedon at the battle of the Crocus Field in Thessaly. He was succeeded by his brother Phayllus, who managed to gather a fresh army. This was a mix of troops from his allies (1,000 from Sparta, 2,000 from Achaea and 5,000 infantry and 400 cavalry from Athens), 2,000 men led by the defeated Tyrants of Pherae, and mercenaries hired using the treasure from Delphi. Phayllus led this new army on unsuccessful invasion of Boeotia.

261 - 255?

Cos

The Battle of Cos was fought in 261, or as late as 255, between an Antigonid fleet and a Ptolemaic fleet. Antigonus II Gonatas led his forces to victory, possibly over Patroclus, admiral of Ptolemy II. It has been widely assumed that the battle severely damaged Ptolemaic control of the Aegean, but this has been contested.
See link for more details on this significant battle.

322

Crannon

The battle of Crannon was fought between the Macedonian forces of Antipater and Craterus and the forces of a coalition of cities including Athens and the Aetolian League. It was the decisive battle of the Lamian War. The Macedonian victory, though militarily unspectacular, convinced the other Greeks to sue for peace. see Battle of Crannon.

465

Crastus

The battle of Crastus (c.465) took place in the period between the removal of several Tyrants on Sicily and the establishment of a period of peace, and was fought between Akragas on one side and the inhabitants of the town of Crastus and their allies from Himera and Gela on the other.

339

Crimissus

The Battle of the Crimissus (also spelled Crimisus and Crimesus) was fought in 339 between a large Carthaginian army commanded by Hasdrubal and Hamilcar and an army from Syracuse led by Timoleon. Timoleon is one of Cornelius Nepos's great commanders.
When the Carthaginians received news that their territory was being raided by Timoleon's mercenaries, they marched against them immediately under the command of Hasdrubal and Hamilcar. When the Syracusians heard about the coming of the huge Carthaginian army, they were terrified; Timoleon could gather no more than 3,000 of them to march against the Carthaginians.
The battle was fought in early June 339. Timoleon was positioned on a hill with his army, overlooking a plain where the Carthaginian army was located. The Crimissus river separated the two armies and covered the plain in a thick fog, making it impossible to see the Carthaginian camp. However, the noise signaled to the Greeks that the Carthaginians were going to cross the river.
Vastly outnumbered, Timoleon attacked the Carthaginian army by surprise while it was crossing the Crimissus river. The Carthaginians fiercely resisted the initial assault, but a storm which started during the battle worked to the advantage of the Greeks. When the first rank of the Carthaginian army was defeated, the whole army was routed. The Greeks killed or captured many of those who fled and Carthage lost a large number of its wealthiest citizens in the battle.
See the links for more details.

353

Crocus field

Location - Thessaly, Greece
Result - Macedonian victory.
Opponents Macedon versus Thessaly
Confederation Phocis, Athens
Commanders and leaders:
Macedon -Philip II
Allies: Phocis Onomarchus - Athens, Chares
Strength:
Macedon 20,000 foot 3,000 horse
Allies 20,000 foot 500 horse
Casualties and losses:
Macedon - up to 9,000 dead

The so-called Battle of Crocus Field (Krokion pedion) (353 or 352 was a battle in the Third Sacred War, (and) fought between the armies of Phocis, under Onomarchus, and the combined Thessalian and Macedonian army under Philip II of Macedon.
In the bloodiest battle recorded in Ancient Greek history, the Phocians were decisively defeated by Philip's forces. Philip's victory secured his appointment as ruler of Thessaly, marking an important step in the rise of Macedon to political ascendancy in Ancient Greece.
See the links for much more detail.

401

Cunaxa

Opponents:
Cyrus the Younger versus Artaxerxes II
Commanders and leaders:
Cyrus the Younger, Clearchus, Cheirisophus, Ariaeus
Artaxerxes II, Gobrias, Tissaphernes, Orontes
Strength:
Cyrus - Large force of Persian soldiers 10,400 mercenary Greek hoplites 700 Spartan hoplites
Artaxerxes - 40,000 Persians, 2,500 mercenary light infantry and peltasts 1,000 Paphlagonian cavalry 600 bodyguard cavalry 20 scythed chariots

The battle of Cunaxa was fought in 401 between Cyrus the Younger and his elder brother Arsaces, who had inherited the Persian throne as Artaxerxes II in 404. The great battle of the revolt of Cyrus took place 70 km north of Babylon, at Cunaxa on the left bank of the Euphrates. see Battle of Cunaxa

364

Cynoscephalae

At the battle of Cynoscephalae, the Theban forces of Pelopidas fought against the Thessalian troops of Alexander of Pherae in a battle in which Pelopidas was killed; nevertheless, the Thebans won. The next year, the Theban general Epaminondas avenged Pelopidas' death by a victory over Alexander.

411

Cynossema

The naval battle of Cynossema took place in 411 during the Peloponnesian War.
Opponents:
Athens versus Sparta
Commanders and leaders:
Athens: Thrasyllus, Thrasybulus
Sparta: Mindarus
Strength:
Athens 76 ships
Sparta: 86 ships
Casualties and losses:
Athens 15 ships
Sparta 21 ships

Result: Great Athenian victory
After the Athenian defeat in the Sicilian Expedition in 413, a small Spartan fleet commanded by Chalcideus, who was advised and assisted by Alcibiades, (who had defected to Sparta) succeeded in bringing a number of critical Ionian cities to revolt from the Athenian Empire. After the revolt of the critical city of Miletus, the Persian satrap Tissaphernes concluded an alliance against Athens with Sparta. The Spartans remained unwilling to challenge the Athenians at sea, and an Athenian fleet succeeded in recapturing several cities and besieging Chios during the later months of 412. In 411, however, further rebellions at Rhodes and Euboea, and the capture of Abydos and Lampsacus on the Hellespont by a Peloponnesian army that had marched there overland, forced the Athenians to disperse their forces to meet these various threats. The Spartan fleet could now move freely in the Aegean, and took advantage of its new found superiority by lifting the blockade of Chios and bottling up the Athenians' Aegean fleet at Samos. By withdrawing their ships from the Hellespont to Samos, the Athenians were able to reestablish their naval superiority in the Aegean, but in doing so they enabled the Spartans to shift the theater of war. Accordingly, in late July, the Spartan commander Clearchusmade an attempt to slip 40 ships past the Athenian fleet to the Hellespont. These were turned back by a storm, but shortly afterwards 10 ships under the Megarian general Helixus reached the Hellespont, where they triggered revolts in Byzantium, Chalcedon and other important cities. Several months later, the new Spartan navarch Mindarus, deciding that the promises of support made by Pharnabazus,the Persian satrap of northern Asia Minor, were more promising than those of Tissaphernes in Ionia, slipped his entire fleet past the Athenians. He joined up with the Peloponnesian ships already operating in the Hellespont and established his base at Abydos, forcing the small Athenian fleet at Sestos to flee, with losses, to Imbros and Lemnos.
See both links for two detailed accounts.

329

Cyropolis, siege of

Cyropolis was the largest of seven towns in the Sogdiana region that Alexander the Great targeted for conquest in 329. His goal was the conquest of Sogdiana. Alexander first sent Craterusto Cyropolis, the largest of the Sogdianan towns holding out against Alexander's forces. Craterus' instructions were to "take up a position close to the town, surround it with a ditch and stockade, and then assemble such siege engines as might suit his purpose....". The idea was to keep the inhabitants focused on their own defences and to prevent them from sending assistance out to the other towns.
See links for details.

410

Cyzicus

The naval battle of Cyzicus took place in 410 during the Peloponnesian War.
Opponents: Athens versus Sparta and Persian Empire
Commanders and leaders:
Athens: Alcibiades, Thrasybulus, Theramenes, Chaereas
Sparta: Mindarus, Hippokrates, Clearchus, Hermocrates - Persia Pharnabazus
Strength:
Athens: 86 triremes
Sparta: 80 triremes
Casualties and losses:
Athens: Minimal
Sparta: Entire fleet
Result: Another great Athenian victory
Athenian naval strategy at the battle of Cyzicus:
Alcibiades' decoy force draws the Spartan fleet out into open water, and then turns about to engage them. Squadrons commanded by Thrasybulus and Theramenes move in behind the Spartan ships, to cut off their line of retreat, trapping the Spartans between three groups of Athenian warships; a much larger force than they had initially expected to engage.

After the Athenian victory atAbydos in November 411, the Spartan admiral Mindarus sent to Sparta for reinforcements and began working with the Persian satrap Pharnabazus to plan for a new offensive. The Athenians, meanwhile, were unable to follow through on their victory, since the depletion of the Athenian treasury precluded any major operations. Thus, by the spring of 410, Mindarus had built a fleet of eighty ships, and with the support of Pharnabazus's troops, besieged and took the city of Cyzicus. The Athenian fleet in the Hellespont withdrew from its base at Sestosto Cardia to avoid the superior Spartan force, and the ships under Alcibiades, Theramenes, Thrasybulus that had been dispatched to raise money combined with this force, creating a fleet of 86 ships. This fleet, along with a force of land troops under Chaereas, set out to the Hellespont to challenge Mindarus.
See Battle of Cyzicus and links for more details.

424

Delium

Delium was a city in Boeotia. The battle took place during the Peloponnesian War. The Athenian generals Demosthenes and Hippocrates planned to invade Boeotia. Demosthenes mistakenly sailed too early and landed at Siphae, where his plans were betrayed by a Phocian named Nicomachus. As Hippocrates had not yet arrived, Demosthenes could not attack and was forced to withdraw. Hippocrates eventually arrived in Boeotia with an Athenian army and began to fortify the temple at Delium. After five days, the fortifications were complete, and Hippocrates set up a garrison and sent the rest of his army back to Athens. At the same time, the Boeotians gathered their army to challenge Hippocrates, but when they saw that the Athenians were leaving, many of them thought that it was pointless to attack. Pagondas of Thebes, the commander of the Boeotian forces, urged them to attack anyway because he knew that the Athenians would eventually return and use Delium as a base for further invasions.
Opponents: Athens versus Boeotia
Commanders and leaders:
Athens - Hippocrates
Boeotia - Pagondas
Strength:
Athens 15,000 total
Boeotia 18,500 total 7,000 hoplites 1,000 cavalry 500 peltasts 10,000 light troops
Casualties and losses:
Athens About 1,200
Boeotia About 500
Result: Boeotian victory

See the links for details about the battle

406

Delphinium, siege of

The siege of Delphinium in 406 was a minor Peloponnesian success that came early in the command of Callicratidas,an admiral who replaced the popular Lysander in command of the Peloponnesian fleet in Asia Minor (Great Peloponnesian War). Callicratidas took control of a fleet of 140 warships, including 50 newly provided by Sparta's allies, as well as the fleet recently commanded by Lysander. Callicratidas' first target was the Athenian held fortress of Delphinium, on Chios. Chios had been one of the first areas to rebel against Athenian control after the disaster on Syracuse, and the Athenians had since been unable to regain control of the island, but they had managed to blockade it for some time.
See the link for more.

685

Derea

The battle took place during the Second Messenian War when the Messenians conquered in the first war then revolted. The Messenian leader, Aristomenes became a national hero.

465?

Dipaia

Herodotus records a battle between the Spartans and Arcadians at a time near this date Dipaia was a town in Arcadia between Tegea and Mantineia. He considers it one of the 5 'greatest contests' they had along with Plataea and Tegea, Mt Ithome in 465 and Tanagra in 458.

226

Dyme

The Battle of Dyme or Dymae was a battle that was fought by the Achaean League under the command of their Strategos, Hyperbatas, and a Spartan army under the command of King Cleomenes III, and was part of the Cleomenean War. The battle took in place near Dyme in north-west Achaea and was fought in 226.

Opponents: Sparta versus the Achaean League
Commanders and leaders:
Sparta - Cleomenes III
Achaeans -Hyperbatas, Aratus
Casualties and losses:
Sparta - Low
Achaeans - Heavy
See the link for more details.

323

Echinades, islands

The Battle of the Echinades was one of the naval battles of the Lamian War (323–322), fought between the Macedonian navy under Cleitus the White and the Athenian navy.

356

Embata

The naval battle of Embata was a naval battle fought between the Chians and the Athenians led by Chares.
Opponents: Athenians versus Chians
Commanders and leaders:
Athens - Chares of Athens, Iphicrates , Timotheos
Chios - unknown
Strength:
Athens - 120 naval vessels
Chios - 100 triremes

Result Chian victory
This specific naval battle was fought within the straits between the island of Chios and the Anatolian mainland. The arrival of stormy weather compelled Chares's collaborators, Iphicrates and Timotheos, who had both joined Chares as advisors with a supplementary force of 60 naval vessels and had joined up with Chares's fleet in the summer, to hold back from advancing. Chares, left with only one-third of his fleet, rashly attacked the Chians and suffered defeat with heavy losses.
After Chares suffered defeat in the autumn expedition, he ultimately established a lawsuit against both Timotheos and Iphicrates. Timotheos faced impeachment in the aftermath of the lawsuit, which led to his ruination. As a result, Isocrates developed a personal hatred for Chares since Timotheos was one of his closest pupils. The detailed description of the speeches at Timotheos's trial are as model in Xenophon's Helenica.
The treatment of its finest admirals is in the case is another example of the the typical way in which the demos - mob - in Athens treated its own leaders. Cornelius Nepos rated both Iphicrates and Timotheos among the greatest ancient commanders.
See both links for more details about the battle.

498

Ephesus

The battle at Ephesus took place during the Ionian Revolt when the Athenians sent a force to support the Ionian cities in their revolt against Persia.
In the spring of 498, an Athenian force of twenty triremes, accompanied by five from Eretria, sailed for Ionia.
They joined up with the main Ionian force near Ephesus. Declining to personally lead the force, Aristagoras appointed his brother Charopinus and another Milesian, Hermophantus, as generals. This force was then guided by the Ephesians through the mountains to Sardis, Artaphernes's satrapal capital. The Greeks caught the Persians unaware, and were able to capture the lower city. However, Artaphernes still held the citadel with a significant force of men. The lower city then caught on fire, Herodotus suggests accidentally, which quickly spread. The Persians in the citadel, being surrounded by a burning city, emerged into the market-place of Sardis, where they fought with the Greeks, forcing them back. The Greeks, demoralized, then retreated from the city, and began to make their way back to Ephesus. Herodotus says that when the Persians in Asia Minor heard of the attack on Sardis, they gathered together, and marched to the relief of Artaphernes. When they arrived at Sardis, they found the Greeks recently departed. So they followed their tracks back towards Ephesus. They caught up with the Greeks outside Ephesus and the Greeks were forced to turn and prepare to fight. The Greeks were decisively defeated. Many were killed, including the Eretrian general, Eualcides. The Ionians who escaped the battle made for their own cities, while the remaining Athenians and Eretrians managed to return to their ships and sailed back to Greece.
See the links for more details.

435

Epidamnus, siege of

The siege of Epidamnus in 435 saw the Corcyraeans capture their own former colony, overcoming a garrison partly provided by their own mother city of Corinth (Corinth-Corcyra War, 435-431). Epidamnus, on the Albanian coast, was a Greek colony founded by Corcyra (modern Corfu). Corcyra was herself a colony of Corinth, and so in keeping with tradition a Corinthian, Phalius, son of Eratocleides, from the then ruling family of the Heraclids, had been selected as the official founder of the city, and the original colonists included a number of Corinthians amongst the Corcyraeans. As with most Ancient Greek cities Epidamnus was the scene of constant strife between the Aristocratic and Democratic factions within the city, and it was also often threatened by the surrounding Illyrians.
See the link for much more.

490

Eretria

The battle of Eretria was the second and final Persian success during the campaign that ended in defeat at Marathon. During the Ionian RevoltAthens and Eretria on Euboea had offered some support to the rebels. Darius I was determined to take revenge on the Greek cities, and in 492 he sent an army along the land route through Thrace. This expedition, commanded by his son-in-law Mardonius, restored Persian control over Thrace and forced the Macedonians to submit, but the fleet was then destroyed in a storm while sailing around Mt Athos and Mardonius was forced to retreat (Greco-Persian Wars). After this setback Darius ordered the construction of a fleet of horse transports. In 490 he raised a new army, and placed Datis the Mede and Artaphrenes son of Artaphernes, a nephew of Darius, in command of the expedition. This time the Persians planned to use the sea route across the Aegean. They left Samos and crossed the sea via Icaria, Naxos and Delos. They then landed at the eastern end of Euboea, where they were held up for a period by the refusal of Carystus to submit. After a short siege Carystus surrendered, and the Persians sailed around the Euboean coast, landing at Tamynae, Choereae and Aegilia, east of the city. While the Persians had been crossing the Aegean, the Eretrians had asked for help from Athens, and debated how to defend their city. The Athenians offered them 4,000 men from Chalcis. The debate was less clear-cut. One faction wanted to retreat into the Euboean hills. Another wanted to defend the city. A third wanted to surrender to the Persians. As a result of this confusion the Athenian contingent decided to return to the mainland, possibly following advice from Aeschines, son of Nothon, one of the Eretrian leaders. At Eretria the faction that had decided to defend the city won the debate. According to Herodotus a six day long battle raged, either outside the city or as a siege with the Eretrians defending the walls. He describes their plan as to meet the Persians in battle outside the city and to defend their walls, so either is possible. The city finally fell because of treachery on the part of two Eretrian leaders, Euphorbus son of Alcimachus and Philagrus son of Cyneas. The Persians sacked Eretria, destroying the religious sanctuaries. They justified this as revenge for the destruction of the sanctuaries at Sardis in 498 during the Ionian Revolt, although this may well have been accidental. The population of Eretria was enslaved, although when they finally arrived in Persia Darius is said to have relented and settled them at Cissia, quite close to Susa. The Persians rested for a few days after the fall of Eretria, and then turned south and sailed across to the mainland, landing at Marathon, in the north-east of Attica. The Athenians reacted by rushing their army to Marathon, where they went on to inflict a heavy defeat on the Persians. The Persians made a brief attempt to attack Athens directly, but then retreated back across the Aegean.
See the link for more details.

490

Eretria, siege of

This is a different description of the same event in the previous entry.

The Siege of Eretria took place in 490, during the first Persian invasion of Greece. The city of Eretria, on Euboea, was besieged by a strong Persian force under the command of Datis and Artaphernes. The first Persian invasion was a response to Greek involvement in the Ionian Revolt, when the Eretrians and Athenians had sent a force to support the cities of Ionia in their attempt to overthrow Persian rule. The Eretrian and Athenian force had succeeded in capturing and burning Sardis (the regional capital of Persia), but was then forced to retreat with heavy losses. In response to this raid, the Persian king Darius I swore to have revenge on Athens and Eretria.

411

Eretria

The naval battle of Eretria, between Sparta and Athens, took place in September 411, off the coast of Euboea.

During the spring of 411, the Eretrians drove the Athenians out of Oropos with the help of the Boeotians. This city was a strategic point for Athens because it allowed them to control all of Euboea. Moreover, all the commercial traffic was made through the city. The Eretrians would hope that Sparta would help them to end the Athenian rule on Euboea.

Opponents: Athens versus Sparta
Commanders and leaders:
Athens - unknown
Sparta - Hegesandridas
Strength:
Athens - 36 ships
Sparta - 42 ships
Casualties and losses:
Athens - 22 ships
Sparta - Minimal
Result - Spartan victory
By the end of the summer 411, a large Spartan fleet sailed towards Euboea. The Athenians tried to prevent the Euboeans from switching sides by sending a squadron to Eretria. However, the Eretrians supported the Spartans. While the Athenians were in the harbor of Eretria in order to supply themselves, the Eretrians informed the Spartan admiral Hegesandridas by a signal fire that it was an appropriate time to attack. The Athenians hurriedly embarked but were defeated during the naval battle which followed. The Athenians who tried to take refuge in Eretria were killed by the town's inhabitants. Only those who decided to go to the Athenian fort in Eretria (which was likely on the Pezonisi Peninsula) survived.

Following the battle, almost all of Euboea switched sides. Then there was a huge debate as to whether the Athenians would take them back, ending up in a massacre of Eretrians.

358

Erigon Valley

The battle of Erigon Valley or the Battle of Lyncus Plain took place in 358 between the Dardanians under King Bardyllis and the Macedonians under King Philip II. After forty years on continuous Dardanian dominance and expansion under Bardyllis, Philip II after marrying Audata, an Illyrian princess, marched into Illyria and confronted the Dardanian tribesmen. The battle described by Diodorus and Frontinus shows the power and excellence of both the Macedonian and Dardanian armies
Opponents
Macedon Kingdom vs. Dardania
Commanders and leaders
Philip II of Macedon
Bardyllis of Dardania
Strength:
Macedonians - 10,000 infantry, 600 cavalry
Dardanians -10,000 infantry, 500 cavalry
Casualties and losses:
Macedonians 300-500 killed
Dardanians 5,000 killed 1,000 captured
It seems that Bardyllis opposed the deal with Amyntas II and Sirras and invaded Macedonia in 393. Bardyllis used new warfare tactics never before used by any of the Illyrians. He won a decisive battle against Amyntas III, expelled him, and ruled Macedonia through a puppet king. In 392, Amyntas III allied himself with the Thessalians and took Macedonia under his rule from the Dardanians. However, the Illyrians were constantly raiding and ruling over the northern frontiers of Macedonia. After continuous invasions, Bardyllis forced the Macedonians to pay him an annual tribute in 372.

See the links for several versions with detail.

413

Erineus

This was a small and brief battle between the Corinthian squadron commanded by Polyanthes and the Athenian squadron commanded by Diphilus based across the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth at Naupactus. But fleets numbered about 33 vessels. The Corinthians took position at the narrow entrance to a bay on the south side of the strait with Corinthian and Peloponnesian troops guarding the headland on each side. The Athenians attempted their usual tactic of bow-to bow ramming. But Polyanthes had innovated by greatly strengthening the bow of Corinthian triremes. They were thus able to cave in the bow of the Athenian vessels. The battle was a draw and no further actions too place. But the innovation was quickly copied by the Syracusians which enabled them to also crush the Athenian ships in their great harbor during the disastrous Athenian defeat of the siege and expedition.

468

Eurymedon

Cimon carried the war against Persia into Asia Minor and decisively defeated the Persians at the Battle of the Eurymedon on the Eurymedon River in Pamphylia.

Opponents: Delian League versus Achaemenid Empire
Commanders and leaders:
Delian League - Cimon
Persians - Tithraustes,Pherendatis
Strength:
Delians - 200 ships
Persians - 200–350 ships
Casualties and losses:
Delians - Unknown
Achaemenid Phoenicians - 200 ships captured and destroyed

Cimon's land and sea forces captured the Persian camp and destroyed or captured the entire Persian fleet of 200 triremes manned by Phoenicians. And he established an Athenian colony nearby called Amphipolis with 10,000 settlers. Many new allies of Athens were then recruited into the Delian League, such as the trading city of Phaselis on the Lycian-Pamphylian border. Cornelius Nepos included Cimon in his book of great commanders.

550

Fetters, battle of

The Battle of the Fetters was an engagement between Sparta and Arcadia c. 550, in which the Arcadians defeated the Spartans. According to Herodotus, the Spartans consulted the Delphic Oracle before taking military action. They were told that they would not conquer all of Arcadia but it was possible for Tegea to fall, for the oracle would "give you Tegea to dance in with stamping feet and her fair plain to measure out the line".
See link for more details.

743 - 724

First Messenian War

The First Messenian War was a war between Messenia and Sparta. It began in 743 and ended in 724, according to the dates given by Pausanias. The war continued the rivalry between the Achaeans and the Dorians. Both sides utilized an explosive incident to settle the rivalry by full-scale war. The war was prolonged into 20 years. The result was a Spartan victory. Messenia was depopulated by emigration of the Achaeans to other states. Those who did not emigrate were reduced socially to helots, or serfs. Their descendants were held in hereditary subjection for centuries until the Spartan state finally needed them for defense.

595 - 585

First Sacred War

or Cirraean War, was between the Amphictyonic League of Delphi and the city of Kirrha (Cirrha). At the beginning of the 6th century the Pylaeo-Delphic Amphictyony, controlled by the Thessalians, attempted to take hold of the Sacred Land (or Kirrhaean Plain) of Apollo which resulted in this war. The conflict arose due to Kirrha's frequent robbery and mistreatment of pilgrims going to Delphi and their encroachments upon Delphic land. The war, which culminated with the defeat and destruction of Kirrha, is notable for the use of chemical warfare at the Siege of Kirrha, in the form of hellebore being used to poison the city's water supply.

315

Gabiene

Battle of Gabiene was the second great battle (the third battle in total; see: the battles of Orkynia and Paraitakene) between Antigonus Monophthalmusand Eumenes, two of Alexander the Great's successors (the so-called Diadochi). The battle was fought near Gabiene in Persia and ended the Second War of the Diadochi. It established Antigonus as the most powerful of the successors. Since the sole reference of this battle is ultimately from Eumenes' personal aide Hieronymus of Cardia (later transmitted through the historian Diodorus), who later switched his allegiance to Antigonus, he provides a unique perspective from both sides' point of view.
Opponents:
Antigonids
Eumenes' royalist faction
Commanders and leaders
Antigonus I Monophthalmus, Demetrius I Poliorcetes, Peithon

Eumenes, Eudamus, Peucestas, Antigenes, Teutamus
Strength
Antigonus - 22,000 heavy infantry (8,000 Macedonian Phalangites) and an unknown number of light infantry - 9,000 cavalry - 65 elephants
Eumenes - 36,700 infantry (both heavy and light) - 6,000 cavalry - 114 elephants
Casualties and losses
Antigonus About 5,000
Eumenes - Heavy
After the death of Alexander the Great in 323, his generals immediately began squabbling over his empire. Soon it degenerated into open warfare, with each general attempting to claim a portion of Alexander's vast kingdom. One of the most talented generals among the Diadochi was Antigonus Monophthalmus ("Antigonus the One-eyed"), so called because of an eye he lost in a siege. During the early years of warfare between the Successors, he faced Eumenes, a capable general who had already crushed Craterus. The two Diadochi fought a series of actions across Asia Minor, and Persia and Media before finally meeting in what was to be the last clash at Gabiene. See the link for an extensive description.
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331

Gaugamela

The battle of Gaugamela, also called the Battle of Arbela, was the decisive battle of Alexander the Great's invasion of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. In 331 Alexander's army of the Hellenic League met the Persian army of Darius III near Gaugamela, close to the modern city of Dohuk in Iraqi Kurdistan. Though heavily outnumbered, Alexander emerged victorious due to his army's superior tactics and his deft employment of light infantry. It was a decisive victory for the Hellenic League and led to the fall of the Achaemenid Empire.
Opponents:
Macedonia Hellenic League vs. Achaemenid Empire (Persia)
Commanders and leaders:
Macedonians - Alexander the Great, Hephaestion, Craterus, Parmenion, Ptolemy, Perdiccas, Antigonus, Cleitus, Nearchus, Seleucus, Ariston, Simmias, Coenus, Ariston, Glaucias, Sopolis.
Persians - Darius III, Bessus, Mazaeus, Orontes II, Atropates, Ariarathes I.
Strength:
Macedonians 47,000 (See Size of Macedonian army)
Persians: 50,000–100,000 (modern estimates) 250,000–1,000,000 (ancient sources)

See the two links for extensive description of the battle.
For a neat animated map of the battle click here.

332

Gaza, siege of

The Siege of Gaza was a military event in the Egyptian campaign of Alexander the Great in 332 During the Siege of Gaza, Alexander succeeded in reaching the walls by utilizing the engines he had employed against Tyre. After three unsuccessful assaults, the stronghold was taken by storm.
See the link for more.

682

Great Foss

During the Second Mesenian War the Spartans continued to try to conquer the Messenains. The Spartans bribed the Arcadians to switch sides during the battle resulting in sever losses to the Messenians. The survivors, led by Aristomenes retreated to mount Eira and defended it for 11 years. At that time the poet, Tyrtaeus, composed the famous songs known to history

195

Gythium, siege of

The Siege of Gythium was fought in 195 between Sparta and the coalition of Rome, Rhodes, the Achaean League, and Pergamum. As the port of Gythium was an important Spartan base, the allies decided to capture it before they advanced inland to Sparta. The Romans and the Achaeans were joined outside the city by the Pergamese and Rhodian fleets.
See more details at link.

395

Haliartus

The Battle of Haliartus was between Sparta and Thebes. The Thebans defeated a Spartan force attempting to seize the town of Haliartus, killing the Spartan leader Lysander. The battle marked the start of the Corinthian War,which continued until 387.
See the links for more details.

334

Halicarnassus, siege of

The Siege of Halicarnassus was fought between Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Persian Empire in 334. Alexander, who had no navy, was constantly being threatened by the Persian navy. It continuously attempted to provoke an engagement with Alexander, who would not oblige them. Eventually, the Persian fleet sailed to Halicarnassus, in order to establish a new defense.
See the link for more detail.

346

Halus, siege of

The siege of Halus in 346 was carried out as the same time as peace negotiations between Philip II of Macedon and Athens, and may have been part of Philip's wider plan for a campaign in central Greece (Third Sacred War) 358-338 The siege is only known to us through scattered references, mainly in the writings of Demosthenes. Halus was a minor polis in Phthiotis, the area around the head of the Malian Gulf, forty four around the gulf from the pass of Thermopylae. See the link for more.

321

Hellespont 

There were many battles IN the Hellespont but this is one with the name. The Battle of the Hellespont took place in 321 between the armies of Craterus and Neoptolemus against Eumenes.

Opponents: Craterus' faction versus Perdiccas' faction among the successors to Alexander the Great
Commanders and leaders:
Craterusand Neoptolemus
Eumenes Cavalry, Pharnabazus III, Phoenix of Tenedos
Strength:
Craterus - 20,000
Eumenes - 20,000

Battle:
After crossing, when Craterus and Eumenes met, each had around 20,000 infantry but Craterus’ phalanx of veteran Macedonians was superior. Eumenes relied on his more numerous cavalry. Persian cavalry from Asia Minor composed the superior cavalry of Eumenes. Pharnabazus III, the former Persian satrap of Phrygia, was commanding a squadron of cavalry for Eumenes composed principally of Asiatic troops
Both sides stationed their phalanx in the center and cavalry on the wings. Craterus, commanding the right wing, charged at the onset. The phalanxes engaged and a stiff fight endued. Eumenes being apprehensive of opposing any Macedonians to a general so popular with his countrymen. As soon as they came in sight of the enemy the two commanders charged the army of Craterus, which was unable to withstand the shock, and the aged general himself perished in the confusion. With Craterus slain, his cavalry was scattered. On the other wing, Neoptolemus confronted Eumenes, and in single combat, Neoptolemus was killed. Craterus’ infantry, by now surrounded and leaderless, surrendered. Eumenes invited the defeated Macedonians to join him. They agreed, but took off by night to rejoin Antipater, the regent of Greece and Macedonia. The Battle of the Hellespont removed two contenders, but the War of the Successors would go on for another 40 years. See BattleHellespont for more details

492

Hellorus River

In the battle of the Helorus River in 493 Hippocrates, tyrant of Gela, defeated the army of Syracuse, but he was unable to capitalise on his victory by capturing the city. Very few details of the battle have survived, and even the date is something of a guess, as the sources for Hippocrates' career don't put events in any clear order. The River Helorus (modern Tellaro) is one of the largest in south-east Sicily, and flows into the sea south of Syracuse. In its lower reaches it is a slow flowing almost stagnant river but further upstream it is more of a mountain stream. The battle is mentioned in passing in one of Pindar's victory odes, (the 9th Nemean Ode, addressed to Chromios son of Agesidamos, a winner at the Pythian Games at Sikyon. Chromios fought at the battle, probably on Hippocrates' side). Pindar places the battle at a ford called the 'Fountain of Ares', in an area where the river had steep cliffs as its banks. This suggests that the battle took place somewhere inland. Other than that we know nothing about the course of the battle other than that a number of prisoners of war were captured by Hippocrates. After the battle Hippocrates moved towards Syracuse and camped in the precincts of the temple of Olympian Zeus. Diodorus has very little on Hippocrates, but he does include a story about his time at the temple. On his arrival Hippocrates found the priests of Zeus attempting to take away the gold dedications in the temple and the gold robe on the statue of Zeus. Hippocrates expelled the priests and ordered them to go back to the city. He then left the temple untouched in an attempt to improve his reputation. Syracuse was saved by the intervention of her mother city of Corinth and fellow Corinthian colony of Corcyra. The two cities intervened, although Herodotus doesn't tell us how (either diplomatically or militarily). Hippocrates agreed to leave Syracuse alone and return the prisoners captured at the Helorus River. In return he was given Camarina, a colony of Syracuse on the River Hipparis, east of Gela.

354-353

Hermeum

The battle of Hermeum (354 or 353) was a Phocian victory over the Boeotians during theThird Sacred War, which followed a brief Phocian intervention in Thessaly in which they inflicted two rare battlefield defeats on Philip II.

480

Himera, siege of

The siege of Himera in 480 was the first military action of the Carthaginian invasion of Sicily of 480, and was ended by the dramatic Carthaginian defeat at the battle of Himera. The Carthaginian army landed at Parnormus on the northern coast of Sicily. According to the ancient sources the army was 300,000 strong, and was led by one of many Hamilcars to appear in Carthaginian history. After three days of rest Hamilcar led his army east along the coast towards the city of Himera, marching alongside the fleet.

446

Himmera River

The battle of the Himera River in 446 was a clash between the Greek cities of Syracuse and Akragas, triggered by the return to Sicily of the Sicel leader Ducetius. In 451-450 Ducetius had invaded the territory held by Akragas, and besieged Motyum. He had defeated a combined army from Syracus and Akragas at the battle of Motyum (451 ) but in the following year was defeated at Nomae and forced into exile. In 446 he returned to Sicily to found a new city on the north coast, at Cale Acte, or the 'fair shore' (modern Caronia). This triggered a conflict between Akragas and Syracuse. Akragas accused Syracuse of deliberately allowing Ducetius to return to Sicily. Both sides formed alliances with the other Greek cities of Sicily, and the two armies advanced to the River Himera. In ancient times there were two rivers with that name on Sicily, one that flowed north reaching the sea at the city of Himera and one that flowed south, reaching the coast at Gela, between Akragas and Syracuse. Diodorus doesn't tell us on which of these rivers the battle took place at, but the southern river would make more sense - the northern river is far to the west of Cale Acte and far distant from any route between Akragas and Syracuse. The battle ended as a Syracusan victory. Diodorus tells us that more than a thousand Akragantini were killed in the battle. After the defeat they sent ambassadors to Syracuse, and peace was agreed. Sadly Diodorus doesn't give us any of the peace terms.

480

Himera

The battle of Himera was a famous victory won by the Greeks of Syracuse over an invading Carthaginian army. The Carthaginians had landed at Panormus, on the northern coast of Sicily. The ancient sources given them 300,000 men under the command of Hamilcar (probably a significant exaggeration). The Carthaginians marched east from Panormus towards the city of Himera. Once there they built two camps - one on the coast to defend their ships and one for the main army. They then defeated the defenders of the city in a battle outside the walls and prepared for a siege. Theron of Akragas, who had recently expelled the tyrant of Himera, was in command of the defence of Himera. He called for help from Gelon, tyrant of Syracuse, who led a force of 50,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry to Himera.
See the link for more details.

326

Hydaspes

Alexander' victory over Porus in northwest India (now Pakistan) that is considered a masterpiece although it also was the battle with the largest casualties of any he fought. -see the two links for details

669

Hysiae

The first battle of Hysiae was fought in either 669 or 668 at or near Hysiae, Argolis, during the rule of the Argive tyrant Pheidon. The Argives defeated the Spartans.. Hysiae was a stronghold located in the Peloponnesus to the south-west of Argos and east of Tegea, near the border with Sparta. The battle marked a turning point in military history as it caused the Spartans to adopt the phalanx of hoplites in place of the loose spear-throwing formations prevalent until then. The phalanx was to revolutionize warfare. Conventional warfare during this time period would involve the two armies meeting in an open field. The Argives apparently chose the city of Hysiae for reasons still unknown. By this time, the aspis, a shield designed by the city of Argos, was already in use, giving the Argive army an advantage over the Spartan army.

417

Hysiae

The second battle of Hysiae between the armies of Argos and Sparta took place in 417, during the Peloponnesian War, directly following Sparta's decisive defeat of the Argive/Athenian alliance in the Battle of Mantinea the year before.
The Spartan kingAgis II invaded Argive territory after a pro-Spartan faction at Argos was evicted by an Athenian force under Alcibiades, whose mission was to establish democracy there. Agis did not manage to take the city of Argos but destroyed the walls that the Argives had begun to extend towards the sea. He then captured and destroyed the town and fortress of Hysiae and had its male population executed. The Spartans did not take Argos, but did capture and destroy the Argive town of Hysiae, taking all the male citizens as hostages. With Hysiae destroyed, the Spartans left a garrison in Orneae and left the territory. In response, Athens dispatched a force of 40 triremes and 1,200 hoplites who fought the Battle of Orneae to remove the garrison and take the city.

426

Idomene

The Battle of Idomene was a battle in the Peloponnesian War in 426, between the Athenians and the Ambracians. The Ambracians, who were allies of the Spartans, had sent a relief force to help the army that had invaded Amphilochia previously. Unbeknownst to the Ambracians, the first army had been defeated, surrounded and scattered by the allied Athenians, Amphilochians and Acarnanians the day before. The Ambracians, unaware of the incoming Athenian army, camped on the lower of two steep hills. Demosthenes, the Athenian commander, occupied the higher hill, obtaining a strategic advantage. Before dawn, while the Ambracians were still asleep, they were attacked and destroyed by the Athenians. Overall, the Ambraciots lost about 1,000 men over the two battles. Thucydides describes this disaster as: "The greatest disaster to strike a single city in an equal number of days in this war."

301

Ipsus

The Battle of Ipsus was fought between some of the Diadochi (the successors of Alexander the Great) in 301 near the town of Ipsus in Phrygia. Antigonus I Monophthalmus, ruler of Phrygia, and his son Demetrius I of Macedon were pitted against the coalition of three other companions of Alexander: Cassander, ruler of Macedon; Lysimachus, ruler of Thrace; and Seleucus I Nicator, ruler of Babylonia and Persia.
Kingdoms of the Diadochi after the battle of Ipsus, c. 301.
Kingdom of Seleucus
Other Diadochi
Kingdom of Cassander
Kingdom of Lysimachus
Kingdom of Ptolemy Epirus
From the wreck of the Antigonid army, Demetrius managed to recover 5,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry, and escaped with them to Ephesos.
See the link for much more detail.

333

Issus

The Battle of Issus (also Issos) occurred in southern Anatolia, on November 5, 333 between the Hellenic League led by Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Empire, led by Darius III, in the second great battle of Alexander's conquest of Asia. The invading Macedonian troops defeated Persia.

Commanders and leaders:
Macedon - Alexander the Great Parmenion Craterus Hephaestion Ptolemy Pantordanus Sitalces II Menes Balacrus
Persia - Darius III Arsames † Rheomithres † Atizyes † Bubaces † Sabaces †
Strength:
Macedon - 13,000 peltasts, 22,000 heavy infantry, 5,850 cavalry Total: 40,850
Persia - 30,000–80,000 light infantry (Babylonian spears, Ionian peltasts) 11,000 cavalry 10,000 Persian Immortals 10,000 Greek mercenaries -Total: 50,000–60,000 (modern sources) 250,000–600,000 (ancient sources)
Casualties and losses:
Macedon - 452 killed 5,000 wounded
Persia ~20,000-40,000

After the Hellenic League soundly defeated the Persian satraps of Asia Minor (led by Greek mercenary Memnon of Rhodes) at the Battle of the Granicus, Darius took personal command of his army. He gathered reinforcements and led his men in a surprise march behind the Hellenic advance to cut their line of supply. This forced Alexander to countermarch, setting the stage for the battle near the mouth of the Pinarus River and the town of Issus.
See the links for details.
For a neat animated map of the battle click here .

724

Ithome

The battle was in the First Messenian War and was an effort of the Spartans to conquer the adjacent fertile plain and enslave the inhabitants. But King Theopompus failed twice as the Messenians retreated to their mountain town. The Messian king was killed but was replaced by Aristodemus who then was victorious. The war lasted for 20 years.

329

Jaxartes

In the Battle of Jaxartes Alexander the Great and his Macedonian army defeated the Saka nomads at the River Jaxartes, now known as the Syr Darya River. The site of the battle straddles the modern borders of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, just south-west of the ancient city of Tashkent (the modern capital of Uzbekistan) and north-east of Khujand (a city in Tajikistan). See the links for details.

497

Labraunda

This battle was the second of three battles between the Persians and Carian rebels during the Ionian Revolt, and was a second costly defeat for the Carians. Caria had joined the Ionian revolt in the aftermath of the Ionian raid on Sardis in 499. Their revolt disrupted the first Persian counterattack of the war, led by three sons-in-law of Darius I.
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494

Lade

The naval battle of Lade took place during the Ionian Revolt. It was fought between an alliance of the Ionian cities (joined by the Lesbians) and the Persian Empire of Darius the Great, and resulted in a decisive victory for the Persians which all but ended the revolt.
The Ionian Revolt was triggered by the dissatisfaction of the Greek cities of Asia Minor with the tyrants appointed by Persia to rule them. In 499, the then-tyrant of Miletus, Aristagoras, launched a joint expedition with the Persian satrap Artaphernes to conquer Naxos, in an attempt to bolster his position in Miletus. The mission was a debacle, and sensing his imminent removal as tyrant, Aristagoras chose to incite the whole of Ionia into rebellion against the Persian king Darius the Great. Initially, in 498, the Ionians went on the offensive, supported by troops from Athens and Eretria, capturing Sardis, before suffering defeat at the Battle of Ephesus. The revolt then spread to Caria and Cyprus. Three years of Persian campaigning across Asia Minor followed, with no decisive effect. By 494 the Persian army and navy had regrouped, and made straight for the epicenter of the rebellion at Miletus. The Ionians sought to defend Miletus by sea, leaving the defense of Miletus to the Milesians. The Ionian fleet gathered at the island of Lade, off the coast of Miletus.
See the links for much more detail:

201

Lade

This battle of Lade was the second of two naval battles fought by Philip V of Macedonia during 201. Philip had begun to construct a war fleet during the First Macedonian War against Rome, but the fleet was not completed until after the end of the war in 205. Once the fleet was ready, in 202, Philip went onto the offensive, attacking a series of independent cities around the Aegean. Rhodes and Attalus of Pergamum were both directly threatened by Philip’s actions, and were soon drawn into a war against him. The exact order of events during 201 is unclear. Philip was active in Asia Minor, at some point attacking the city of Pergamum. One of his targets during this period was the island of Chios, sixty miles to the south west of Pergamum. A large naval battle followed (battle of Chios) in which the Rhodians were successful, but Attalus was defeated, leaving Philip free to complete the conquest of Chios. In the aftermath of this battle Attalus returned to Pergamum, while the Rhodian fleet moved south, taking up a new position at Lade, off Miletus. Philip followed the Rhodians, and attacked them at Lade. The losses he had suffered at Chios meant that the Macedonian fleet was not powerful enough to inflict a crushing defeat on the Rhodian fleet, but he still won a victory. The Rhodian fleet then retreated further south, while Philip returned to his campaign in Asia Minor.

332

Lamia, siege of

The Siege of Lamia occurred in 322 between the Macedonians led by Antipater and a coalition of armies mostly from central Greece led by Leosthenes. After Antipater was defeated at the Battle of Thermopylae he shut himself in the city of Lamia.Leosthenes approached the city and with his army fortified a camp, dug up a deep ditch and constructed a palisade.

209

Lamia

The Second Battle of Lamia was fought in 209 between the forces of Philip V of Macedon and Pyrrhias, a general of the Aetolian League. Pyrrhias was once again aided by Pergamene forces and Roman advisors but again he was defeated. His side suffered heavy casualties.
See the link.

423- 422

Laodocium

The battle of Laodocium in 423 or 422 was between two Peloponnesian cities, fought during a brief armistice between Athens and Sparta during Peloponnesian War). The battle was fought between the armies of Tegea, in the centre of the Peloponnese, and Mantinea, in the north-east of the Peloponnese. In the wider conflict Tegea was an ally of Sparta, while Mantinea had fought alongside Sparta earlier in the war, but then sided with Athens. The battle was fought at Laodocium, in the territory of Orestheum. This was close to the site of the city of Megalopolis, founded in 371 as a counter-weight to Sparta, and located to the south-west of both Tegea and Mantinea. Thucydides describes it as happening in the winter of the ninth year of the war, placing it in the winter of 423-2. The battle itself was inconclusive. Each army was victorious on one wing and defeated on the other, and both sides erected a trophy to celebrate their victory. The Tegeans remained on the battlefield overnight, suggesting that they had had the best of the fighting, while the Mantineans retreated to Bucolion before erecting their trophy. Both sides suffered heavy losses during the fighting.

391

Lechaeum

The battle of Lechaeum in 391 was an Athenian victory in the Corinthian War. In the battle, the Athenian general Iphicrates took advantage of the fact that a Spartan hoplite regiment operating near Corinth was moving in the open without the protection of any missile throwing troops. He decided to ambush it with his force of javelin throwers, or peltasts. By launching repeated hit-and-run attacks against the Spartan formation, Iphicrates and his men were able to wear the Spartans down, eventually routing them and killing just under half. This marked one of the first occasions in Greek military history on which a force of peltasts had defeated a force of hoplites (heavy infantry).
He decided to ambush it with his force of javelin throwers, or peltasts. By launching repeated hit-and-run attacks against the Spartan formation, Iphicrates and his men were able to wear the Spartans down, eventually routing them and killing just under half. This marked one of the first occasions in Greek military history on which a force of peltasts had defeated a force of hoplites (heavy infantry).

Background:
In 392, a civil war had taken place at Corinth, in which a group of pro-Spartan oligarchs was defeated and exiled by anti-Spartan democrats. Those exiles cooperated with Spartan forces in the region to gain control of Corinth's port on the Corinthian Gulf, Lechaeum. They then repulsed several attacks on the port by the democrats at Corinth and their Theban and Argive allies and secured their hold over the port. The Athenians then sent out a force to assist in garrisoning Corinth, with Iphicrates commanding the peltasts. The Spartans and the exiles, meanwhile, raided Corinthian territory from Lechaeum, and in 391 King Agesilaus led a large Spartan army to the area and attacked a number of strongpoints, winning a number of successes. The Athenians and their allies were largely bottled up in Corinth, but eventually found an opportunity to take advantage of Spartan negligence.

Battle:
While Agesilaus moved about Corinthian territory with the bulk of his army, he left a sizable force at Lechaeum to guard the port. Part of this force at Lechaeum was composed of men from the city of Amyclae, who traditionally returned home for a certain religious festival when on campaign. With this festival approaching, the Spartan commander at Lechaeum marched out with a force of hoplites and cavalry to escort the Amyclaeans past Corinth on their way home. After successfully leading his force well past the city, the commander ordered his hoplites to turn and return to Lechaeum, while the cavalry continued on with the Amyclaeans. Although he would be marching near the walls of the city of Corinth with his force, he expected no trouble, believing that the men in the city were thoroughly cowed and unwilling to march out. The Athenian commanders in Corinth, Iphicrates, who commanded the peltasts, and Callias, who commanded the hoplites, saw that an entire Spartan mora, or regiment, of 600 men was marching past the city unprotected by either peltasts or cavalry, and decided to take advantage of this fact. Accordingly, the Athenian hoplites drew up a little outside Corinth, while the peltasts went after the Spartan force in pursuit, flinging javelins at the Spartan hoplites. To stop this, the Spartan commander ordered some of his men to charge the Athenians, but the peltasts fell back, easily outrunning the hoplites, and then, when the Spartans turned to return to the regiment, the peltasts fell upon them, flinging spears at them as they fled, and inflicted casualties. This process was repeated several times, with similar results. Even when a group of Spartan cavalrymen arrived, the Spartan commander made the curious decision that they should keep pace with the hoplites in pursuit, instead of racing ahead to ride down the fleeing peltasts. Unable to drive off the peltasts, and suffering losses all the while, the Spartans were driven back to a hilltop overlooking Lechaeum. The men in Lechaeum, seeing their predicament, sailed out in small boats to as close as to the hill as they could reach, about a half mile away. The Athenians, meanwhile, began to bring up their hoplites, and the Spartans, seeing these two developments, broke and ran for the boats, pursued by the peltasts all the way. All in all, in the fighting and pursuit, 250 of the 600 men in the regiment were killed. News of the Spartan defeat, accordingly, was a profound shock to Agesilaus, who soon returned home to Sparta. In the months following Agesilaus' departure, Iphicrates reversed many of the gains that the Spartans had made near Corinth, recapturing three of the forts that the Spartans had previously seized and garrisoned. He also launched several successful raids against Spartan allies in the region. Although the Spartans and their oligarchic allies continued to hold Lechaeum for the duration of the war, they curtailed their operations around Corinth, and no further major fighting occurred in the region.

Significance: Not much as far as the war itself but the use of peltasts against hoplites was very significant and rates Iphicrates mention in history for his innovation and courage to try.

710 -650

Lelantne War

The Lelantine War is the modern name for a military conflict between the two ancient Greek communities Chalcis and Eretria in Euboea Island which took place in the early Archaic period, between c. 710 and 650. The reason for war was, according to tradition, the struggle for the fertile Lelantine Plain on the island of Euboea. Due to the economic importance of the two participating poleis, the conflict spread considerably, with many further city states joining either side, resulting in much of Greece being at war. The historian Thucydides describes the Lelantine War as exceptional, the only war in Greece between the mythical Trojan War and the Persian Wars of the early 5th century in which allied cities rather than single ones were involved. Ancient authors normally refer to the War between Chalcidians and Eretrians We have no direct information in ancient sources to date this war. Indirect evidence in Thucydides points towards a date ca 705, that situates it halfway between history and legend. At the very same time, the site of Lefkandi was being incrementally deserted, perhaps as a consequence of the turmoil. The foundation stories of the joint Euboean colony at Ischia suggest that at the mid-8th century Chalcis and Eretria were cooperating. Furthermore, Theognis can be read to imply there was a conflict between Eretria and Chalcis in the middle of the 6th century. While a few historians have suggested this as the date of the Lelantine War, it is more probable that Theognis refers to a second, smaller and even less known Lelantine War. The conflict was remembered and its heros commemorated for centuries afterwards. The Chalcidian hero, Cleomachos of Thessaly, was honored with a pillar and the funeral of Amphidamas was celebrated by contests. There was a shrine in Eretria to six warriors

435

Leucimme

The battle of Leucimme in 435 was a naval victory won by Corcyra over the Corinthians that gave them control of the seas around the western coast of Greece and allowed them to launch raids on Corinth's allies for much of the next year (Corinth-Corcyra War, 435-431. The war was caused by a despute between Corinth and her ancient colony of Corcyra (Corfu) over the right to interfere in the affairs of Epidamnus. That city, on the Illyrian coast, had been founded by Corcyra, but with a Corinthian as her official founder, at a time before the relationship between Corinth and Corcyra broke down. Like most Greek city states Epidamnus suffered from conflict between Aristocratic and Democratic factions, and was also threatened by the neighbouring Illyrians. Just before the outbreak of the war the Democrats had expelled the Aristocrats from the city. The exiles had united with the Illyrians to attack Epidamnus, carrying out a series of piratical raids. Both factions attempted to gain aid from Corcyra, and the Aristocrats were clearly more successful. After failing to gain aid from their mother city the Epidamnians turned to Corinth, offering to surrender control of the city in return for help. The Corinthians agreed to provide both military aid and new colonists, and the first batch of colonists made their way overland to Epidamnus. When the Corcyraeans discovered this they laid siege to Epidamnus. In response the Corinthians gathered a relief force, which eventually consisted of 75 ships and 2,000 hoplites. At this date Corcyra was clearly the more important navel power - her fleet alone contained 120 ships, while Corinth could only raise thirty of their own, with the remaining ships coming from their allies. Once the Allied fleet was ready it set sail for Epidamnus. The Corcyraeans were able to split their fleet, using 80 ships to oppose the Corinthians, while 40 took part in the ongoing siege of Epidamnus. The Corinthian fleet reached Actium, at the mount of the Ambracian Gulf, where they were met by a herald from Corcyra, who attempted to convince them not to attack. When this effort failed, the Corcyraean fleet formed line, and the battle began. Sadly Thucydides, our main source for this campaign, didn't record any details of the battle itself, but only that it ended as a decisive Corcyraean victory. They captured fifteen Corinthian ships, then executed all of their prisoners, apart from the Corinthians, who were kept as hostage. The battle probably took place some way to the north of the Ambracian Gulf, as after the battle the Corcyraeans erected their victory trophy on Cape Leucimme (or Leukimme) at the southern end of Corcyra. On the same day the defenders of Epidamnus surrendered (although the distance between the two places means that the two events must have been unconnected). These two victories meant that for most of the next year the Corcyraeans had the advantage in the war, and were able to launch raids on Corinth's allies, but about a year after the battle the Corinthians returned to the same area. This time a deadlock developed that lasted until the winter of 434-433, and that encouraged Corcyra to seek an alliance with Athens that eventually saw the war expand to include most of Greece Peloponnesian War.
Unfortunately the entire subject of Corcyraean - Corinthian relations and disputes which is mentioned by Thucycides but not stressed has ressulted in commentators now focusing on the Spartan-Athenian relationship in their analysis of the causes of the Peloponnesian war. The Corcyrean-Corinthian competition had much broader significance than only something between those two because it greatly impacted on the entire Greek trade with Sicily, Italy and the west, something that Athens was attempting to expand. And with Corinth being a critical ally of Sparta Corinthian interests were very significant for the Spartans.

371

Leuctra

The battle of Leuctra was a battle fought in July between the Boeotians led by the Thebans, and the Spartans along with their allies amidst the post-Corinthian War conflict. The battle took place in the neighbourhood of Leuctra, a village in Boeotia in the territory of Thespiae. The Theban victory shattered Sparta's immense influence over the Greek peninsula, which Sparta had gained long before its victory in the Peloponnesian War a generation earlier. see Leuctra battle

For a neat annimated map of the battle click here.

423

Lyncestis/Lyncus

The battle of Lyncestis/Lyncus was between the allied forces of the Lyncestians and Illyrians against those of the Spartans and Macedonians. The battle was part of the wider Peloponnesian Wars. see Lyncestis battle
Opponents
Illyrians Lyncestians
Spartans Macedonians Chalcidians Acanthians Babarians
Commanders and leaders
Arrahabaeus
Brasidas, Perdiccas II
Strength
Not known
3,000 Hellenic hoplites 1,000 Chalcidians Macedonian cavalry
Before Athens suffered defeat at Delium in 424, Sparta had sent an expedition underBrasidas to assist Perdiccas II of Macedonia and other opponents of Athens. At first Sparta avoided involvement in Macedon's war with Arrhabaeus, but in 423 they joined an expedition which ended with retreat by the Macedonians and a brilliantly contrived escape of the Spartans. After the initial joint Illyrian and Lyncestian attack was repulsed, they pursued the Macedonians and blocked Brasidas' route at a pass, forcing his army up the surrounding hill and into Macedonia. This brought to a head the quarrel between Brasidas and Perdiccas.

497

Maeander

The battle of the Maeander was the first of three battles between Carian rebels and the Persians that eventually disrupted the first major Persian counterattack during the Ionian Revolt.

189

Magnesia

The Battle of Magnesia took place in either December 190 or January 189. It was fought as part of the Roman–Seleucid War, pitting forces of the Roman Republic led by the consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus and its Pergamene allies under Eumenes II against a Seleucid army of Antiochus III the Great. The two armies initially camped north-east of Magnesia ad Sipylum in Asia Minor (modern day Manisa, Turkey), attempting to provoke each other into a battle on favorable terrain for several days. When the battle finally began, Eumenes managed to throw the Seleucid left flank into disarray. While Antiochus' cavalry overpowered his adversaries on the right flank of the battlefield, his army's center collapsed before he could reinforce it. Modern estimates give 10,000 dead for the Seleucids and 5,000 killed for the Romans. The battle resulted in a decisive Roman-Pergamene victory, which led to the Treaty of Apamea, which ended Seleucid domination in Asia Minor.
See the links for more detail.

494

Malene

The battle of Malene in 494 ended the career of Histiaeus, former Tyrant of Miletus, a former supporter of Darius who may have played a part in the outbreak of theIonian Revolt, but who ended his career as something of an adventurer. Histiaeus had come to the fore during Darius's campaign north of the Danube in 513, but the Emperor soon became suspicious of him, and forced him to move to Susa. After the outbreak of the Ionian Revolt Histiaeus managed to convince Darius that he could put down the revolt and he was allowed to return to Asia Minor. However he was unable to convince Artaphernes, satrap of Lydia, of his honesty, and was soon forced to flee from Sardis. After a series of adventures he ended up in Byzantium, where he used a small fleet provided by Lesbos to intercept merchant ships coming from the Black Sea and force them to acknowledge him as leader of the revolt. In 494 the main Ionian fleet was defeated at the battle ofLade, and Miletus was besieged and captured. Histiaeus abandoned his efforts at Byzantium, and sailed around the coast towards Ionian. He ran into trouble at Chios, the community that had suffered the heaviest losses at Lade, and ended up conquering the island. He then used it as a base for an attack on the island of Thasos, off the coast of Thrace. This attack had to be abandoned when the Persian fleet left Miletus and sailed around the coast of Asia Minor towards Chios. Histiaeus retreated to Lesbos, and prepared to defend the island. However food soon ran short, and he decided to raid Atarneus on the mainland opposite Lesbos to gather food. Histiaeus and his men landed at Malene, close to Atarneus. Unfortunately for them, there was a sizable Persian army, commanded by a general called Harpagus, in the area. The Persians intercepted Histiaeus and his men as they were landing. The resulting battle lasted for some time, but was eventually decided when Harpagus committed his cavalry reserves. Most of Histiaeus's men were killed. Histiaeus himself was captured after he shouted out in Persian identifying himself while fleeing from a Persian soldier. Harpagus passed his capture on to Artaphernes at Sardis. He realised that Histiaeus would probably be able to talk his way out of trouble if he was sent to Darius at Susa, and so he impaled him and sent his embalmed head to Susa. Artaphernes's judgement was correct - Darius was angered at the execution and ordered Histiaeus's head to be cleaned and buried with honours.

326-325

Mallian Campaign

The Mallian campaign was conducted by Alexander the Great from November 326 to February 325, against the Malli of the Punjab. Alexander was defining the eastern limit of his power by marching down-river along the Hydaspes to the Acesines (now the Jhelum and Chenab), but the Malli and the Oxydraci combined to refuse passage through their territory. Alexander sought to prevent their forces meeting, and made a swift campaign against them which successfully pacified the region between the two rivers. Alexander was seriously injured during the course of the campaign, almost losing his life

418

Mantinea

The First Battle of Mantinea of 418 was a significant engagement in thePeloponnesian War. Sparta and its allies defeated an army led by Argos and Athens. After the conclusion of the alliance between the Argives, Achaeans, Eleans and Athens, the humiliation of the Spartans in the 420 Olympic Games and the invasion of Epidaurus by the allies, the Spartans were compelled to move against them, fearing an alliance with Corinth and having amassed an army that was, according to Thucydides, 'the best army ever assembled in Greece to that time'. However, the Spartan king Agis (son of Archidamus) instead concluded the first campaign with a truce, without explaining his actions to the army or his allies; the army thus returned home. Immediately afterwards, the Argives denounced the truce and resumed the war, capturing the key town of Orchomenus; as a result, anger at Agis was such that he was on the verge of being fined 100,000 drachmas and having his house destroyed. Agis managed to forestall this punishment, promising to redeem himself with a victory elsewhere. The ephors consented, but in an unprecedented move, placed Agis under the supervision of ten advisors, called symvouloi, whose consent was required for whatever military action he wished to take.
See more details with the two links.

385

Mantinea, siege of

The Siege of Mantinea occurred in 385, and resulted in a victory of the Spartans over the city of Mantinea, which was defeated and dismembered. On this occasion, Epaminondas, king of the Thebans, (HE was not king as Thebes had no king) then fighting on the side of the Spartans, famously rescued his fellow Theban Pelopidas. Mantinea had been opposed to the Spartans in the Peloponesian War. As a result, Mantinea first fell in 417, and it was then destroyed in the siege of 385. However the Arcadians were able to recover and restored their city after the Battle of Leuctra and the defeat of Spartan hegemony.
See the links for much more

362

Mantinea

The Second Battle of Mantinea was fought in July between the Thebans, led by Epaminondas and supported by the Arcadians and the Boeotian league against the Spartans, led by King Agesilaus II and supported by the Eleans, Athenians, and Mantineans. The battle was to determine which of the two alliances would have hegemony over Greece. However, the death of Epaminondas and his intended successors coupled with the impact on the Spartans of yet another defeat weakened both alliances, and paved the way for Macedonian conquest led by Philip II of Macedon. See the links for more details.

490

Marathon

The Battle of Marathon took place during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. The battle was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate Greece. The Greek army decisively defeated the more numerous Persians, marking a turning point in the Greco-Persian Wars. The first Persian invasion was a response to Athenian involvement in the Ionian Revolt, when Athens and Eretria had sent a force to support the cities of Ionia in their attempt to overthrow Persian rule. The Athenians and Eretrians had succeeded in capturing and burning Sardis, but they were then forced to retreat with heavy losses. Once the Ionian revolt was finally crushed by the Persian victory at the Battle ofLade in 494, Darius began plans to subjugate Greece.

For a neat annimated map of the battle click here.
See the three links for extensive details about the battle. Plus we have another entire folder about the battle. Marathonmain

424

Megara

The battle of Megara was between Athens and Megara, an ally of Sparta. The Athenians were victorious. Megara was in the country of Megarid, between central Greece and the Peloponnese. Megara, an ally of Sparta, consisted of farming villages, with flat plains and foothills, and hosted two harbors: Pagae (modern Alepochori-Corinthian Gulf) and Nisaia (Saronic Gulf), making it a prime focus of contention1.Attica had been under siege by the Peloponnesian army led by the Spartan king, Archidamus III.
See the links for more details.

409/408

Megara

The battle of Megara in 409/408 was a rare example of an Athenian victory on land over a force that contained Spartan troops. Megara had been an ally of Athens, but sided against them during the Peloponnesian War, and as a result the Athenians seized Nisaea, the port of Megara. At some point in 409/408 the Megarians took advantage of Athens's apparently vulnerability after the disaster at Syracuse and recaptured Nisaea. The Athenians responded by sending out a force of 1,000 infantry and 400 cavalry, commanded by Leotrophides and Timarchus. This army may have included Plato's brothers. The Megarians responded by drawing up their entire army nears some hills called the 'cerata', or 'horns', close to the border between Attica and Megara. They were supported by a number of troops from Sicily and some Spartans. The Athenians won the land battle, inflicting heavy losses on the Megarians, although only twenty Spartans were lost. The reaction to this victory in Athens was a mix of pride over the victory and anger that their generals risked battle against a force that included a Spartan contingent.

331

Megalopolus

Battle of Megalopolis in the Peloponneses during a Greek revolt against Macedonian hegemony in which Antipater defeated Agis III leading the Spartans.

416

Melos, siege of

The Siege of Melos occurred in 416 during the Peloponnesian War, fought between Athens and Sparta. Melos is an island in the Aegean Sea roughly 110 km east of mainland Greece. (It is actually south but east of Lyconia)
See the link for much more including the Melian Dialogue.

335

Methone, siege of

The siege of Methone in late 355 - early 354 saw Philip II of Macedon capture the last potential Athenian base on the Macedonian coast. Methone was a city on the Thermaic Gulf, just to the south of the Macedonian coast, and very close to the old Macedonian capital of Aegae. Early in Philip's reign Argaeus, a pretender to the throne, had landed at Methone with 3,000 Athenian hoplites. See the link for more.

406

Methymne, siege of

The siege of Methymne in 406 was a second success for the Peloponnesian fleet commanded by Callicratidas, and saw the loss of a second Athenian stronghold on the coast of Asia Minor.
See the links for more details.

494

Miletus,siege of

The siege of Miletus in 494 followed the Ionian naval defeat in the battle of Lade, and saw the Persians recapture the city that had triggered the Ionian Revolt in 499. The revolt had originally been led by Aristagoras, tyrant of Miletus. He had fled from the city during the first major Persian counterattack in 497-496 and died in a minor siege in Thrace, but the Persians still considered Miletus to be their most important enemy.
See the link for more details.

334

Miletus, siege of

The Siege of Miletus was Alexander the Great's first siege and naval encounter with the Achaemenid Empire. This siege was directed against Miletus, a city in southern Ionia, which is now located in the Aydin province of modern-day Turkey. During the battle, Parmenion's son Philotas would be key in preventing the Persian Navy from finding safe anchorage. It was captured by Parmenion's son, Nicanor in 334.

412

Miletius battle and siege

The battle of Miletus in 412 was an Athenian victory fought outside the walls of Miletus, but that was followed almost immediately by the arrival of a Peloponnesian fleet and an Athenian retreat during the Peloponnesian War. After the Athenian defeat at Syracuse the Spartans decided to try and encourage a series of revolts in the Athenian Empire. Miletus, encouraged by the Athenian exile Alcibiades, was one of the cities to revolt, and soon became the main Spartan base in the area. A small force of five ships under Chalcideus was sent to the city, while the Athenians responded by blockading the city with twenty ships. This force won a minor victory at Panormus, in which Chalcideus was killed, but the real attack on the city had to wait until Athenian reinforcements had arrived. The reinforcements arrived towards the end of the summer. They consisted of 1,000 Athenian hoplites, 1,500 Argives, of whom 1,000 were hoplites and 500 light troops who had been given heavy army in Athens, and 1,000 hoplites from the Athenian Empire. They were carried on a fleet of 48 ships, and were commanded by three generals - Phrynichus, Onomacles and Scironides. This fleet crossed the Ageanan to Samos, and then sailed directly to Miletus, landing close to the city. The army that came out to oppose them was a good cross-section of the alliance that would eventually defeat Athens. Miletus, a former member of the Empire, provided 800 hoplites. The Spartans provided the force of Peloponnesians that had accompanied Chalcideus. The Persians provided two forces - a group of hired mercenaries, and their own cavalry, commanded in person by the local satrap Tissaphernes. Unfortunately, Thucydides gives no numbers for these forces. The battle began with a general advance along the Athenian line, but the Argives got ahead of the rest of the army, believing that as Dorian Greeks they would have no problem defeating the Ionian Milesians. During their advance the Argives became somewhat disorganised, and they suffered a costly defeat, losing 300 of their 1,500 men. On the other flank the Athenians were victorious, defeated the Peloponnesian contingent first, then turning on the Persian contingent. Seeing the defeat of the rest of their army the Milesians retreated back into their city. Alcibiades, who had been fighting with the Tissaphernes, escaped from the battlefield and made his way to Teichiussa on the coast, where he was lucky enough to find a Peloponnesian fleet of 55 ships that had just arrived. Meanwhile the Athenians at Miletus built a trophy to commemorate their victory, and then prepared to build a blockading wall across the isthmus that connected the city to the mainland. At this point news of the new Peloponnesian fleet reached them. Most of the army wanted to stand and fight, but Phrynichus refused to take part in a battle against a larger enemy force with Athens's last major fleet. He got his way, and that evening the entire Athenian force retreated to Samos. The Argive contingent, angry after their own defeat and now seeing the results of the battle thrown away, left the allied army and sailed for home.
See both links for three different accounts.

398/97

Motya, siege of

The Siege of Motya took place either in 398 or 397 in western Sicily. Dionysius, after securing peace with Carthage in 405 BC, had steadily increased his military power and had tightened his grip on Syracuse. He had fortified Syracuse against sieges and had created a large army of mercenaries and a large fleet, in addition to employing the catapult and quinqueremes for the first time in history. In 398, he attacked and sacked the Phoenician city of Motya despite the Carthaginian relief effort led by Himilco. Carthage also lost most of her territorial gains secured in 405 after Dionysius declared war on Carthage in 398.

See the link for more.

451

Motyum

The battle of Motyum in 451 was the most important battlefield victory won by the Sicel leader Ducetius, but he was defeated at Nomae in the following year and forced into exile. Ducetius first appeared in 461 when he cooperated with the Syracusans in an attack on Catana. Over the next few years he appears to have concentrated on consolidating his power over the Sicels and in 453/2 he established a new administrative and religious capital at Palice. After creating a powerful Sicel league Ducetius decided to turn on the Greeks. His first target was the city of Aetna, founded by the defeated colonists of Catana. In 451 Ducetius captured this city. He then moved south and besieged Motyum, a city held and garrisoned by the city of Akragas (a major Greek city on the south coast of Sicily). This was a direct threat to the Greek powers of Sicily. Akragas and Syracuse both raised armies and late in the autumn advanced towards Motyum to lift the siege. Ducetius must have raised quite a powerful army by 451 , for when the combined Greek armies approached he was willing to offer battle. The resulting fight ended as a victory for Ducetius. Both Greek armies were forced to abandon their camps, and retreated back to their home cities. In Syracuse a scapegoat was soon found. Bolcon, commander of the Syracusan army at the battle was accused of having secret dealing with Ducetius, convicted of treason and executed. Diodorus doesn't tell us what happened in Akragas. Ducetius's triumph would be short-lived. In 450 both Syracuse and Akragas put fresh armies into the field. This time the Syracusans defeated Ducetius at the battle of Nomae, while Akragas recaptured Motyum. Ducetius sought protection in Syracuse, and was briefly exiled from Sicily.

404

Munyichia

The battle of Munychia was fought between Athenians exiled by the oligarchic government of the Thirty Tyrants and the forces of that government, supported by a Spartan garrison.
In late 404, Thrasybulus, with other Athenian exiles, had seized Phyle, a strong point on the Athenian border. He and his men resisted an abortive attempt to dislodge them and then, as their numbers were swelled by new recruits, ambushed the Spartan garrison of Athens, which had been dispatched to watch them. Shortly after this victory, the men from Phyle, now 1,000 strong, marched by night to Piraeus, the port of Athens. There, being too few to defend the entire port, they seized one of its prominent hills, the Munychia.
See the three links for details

479

Mycale

The Battle of Mycale was one of the two major battles that ended the second Persian invasion of Greece during the Greco-Persian Wars. It took place on or about August 27, 479C on the slopes of Mount Mycale, on the coast of Ionia, opposite the island of Samos. The battle was fought between an alliance of the Greek city-states, including Sparta, Athens and Corinth, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I. The previous year, the Persian invasion force, led by Xerxes himself, had scored victories at the battles of Thermopylae and Artemisium, and conquered Thessaly, Boeotia and Attica; however, at the ensuing Battle of Salamis, the allied Greek navies had won an unlikely victory, and therefore prevented the conquest of the Peloponnese.
Opponents
Greek city-states
Achaemenid Empire
Commanders and leaders:
Greeks: Leotychides Xanthippus Perilaus
Persians: Artaÿntes, Ithanitres, Mardontes, † Tigranes
† Strength:
Greeks: 40,000 men, 110-250 ships
Persians: 60,000 men, 300 ships
Casualties and losses:
Greeks: Considerable
Persians: Most of the army and all the ships
See the three links for full details

428

Mytilene, siege of

The siege of Mytilene in 428-427 saw the Athenians defeat a revolt on the island of Lesbos, and is most famous for the two debates about the correct punishment for the rebels. Before the revolt the island of Lesbos was part of the Athenian alliance, but not a member of the more formal Athenian Empire. Instead the different communities on the island had retained their independence, and instead of paying taxes to Athens like the members of the empire, they continued to provide a contingent to the fleet and the army.
See the link for much more detail

406

Mytilene, siege of

This took place during the same operation as the battle described below - but this is about the land aspect - the siege
The siege of Mytilene in 406 saw the Peloponnesians attempt to capture this Athenian held city on Lesbos. The siege was ended by the Athenian naval victory at Arginusea, but the reaction to the aftermath of this battle played a part in the final Athenian defeat in the Great Peloponnesian War.

406

Mytilene

The Battle of Mytilene was a battle fought in 406 between Athens and Sparta. The Spartans were victorious. Shortly after the Battle of Notium, the Spartan Callicratidastook over command of the Peloponnesian fleet from Lysander. Raiding Methymna in Lesbos, he sent a message to the Athenian naval commander Conon, declaring that he would put an end to Conon's command of the sea. Soon thereafter, Callicratidas caught Conon's fleet of seventy ships at sea and pursued him towards Mytilene Harbor on Lesbos, where in the ensuing battle, Conon lost thirty ships. Conon drew the remaining forty ships up onto the beach, but while blockading him from sea, Callicratidas also surrounded him on land, having transported land forces from Chios and gaining the aid of the Methymnaeans. Conon sent two ships to run the Peloponnesian blockade, with one setting course for the Hellespont and the other for the open sea. The Peloponnesians captured the later ship, but the former escaped and notified Athens of Conon's plight. In the meantime Callicratidas also captured an additional ten Athenian ships that had appeared in the Straits of Mytilene to attempt to aid Conon. Upon hearing of Conon's plight, Athens dispatched a fleet of one hundred and ten ships to Samos, where the fleet picked up additional ships from the Samians and other allies, bringing the size of the fleet to one hundred and fifty. Callicratidas sailed with one hundred and twenty of his own ships to intercept the Athenians; this led to the major battle of Arginusae.

394

Naryx

The battle of Naryx in 394 was a costly victory won by the forces of an anti-Spartan alliance over a Phocian army early in the Corinthian Warin 395-386. The war was triggered by a border dispute in between Phocis and Loris in central Greece (west of Boeotia). The Boeotians supported the Locrians, the Spartans the Phocians. Athens supported the Boeotians, and helped free the Theban army to defeat the Spartans outside Haliartus in 395. This early success encouraged Corinth and Argos to join the anti-Spartan alliance. The outbreak of war and the quick formation of a strong anti-Spartan alliance also encouraged their opponents elsewhere in Greece. Medius, lord of Larissa in Thessaly, asked for help against Lycophron, tyrant of Pherae. The allies sent 2,000 men, mainly Boeotians and Argives. This allowed Medius to capture Pharsalus, in southern Thessaly, defeating a Spartan garrison. The Boeotians and Argives then turned south and attacked Heracleia in Trachis, a Spartan colony just to the west of Thermopylae. After capturing the city they killed any Spartans they found, but allowed other Peloponnesians to leave, in an attempt to create splits within the Peloponnesian League. The Argives were left as a garrison in Heracleia, while the Boeotians, under Ismenias, continued around the Gulf of Malis into Locris. On the way he convinced the Aenianians (on the gulf) and the Athamanians (a tribe of western Thessaly and south-eastern Epirus) to rebel against the Spartans and join his army. According to Diodorus this gave him just under 6,000 men. Ismenias advanced into Locris and camped at Naryx, an inland town. There he was attacked by a Phocian army under the command of a Laconian called Alcisthenes. Diodorus records a 'sharp and protracted' battle, but doesn't provide many details. The Boeotians were victorious, and pursued the defeated Phocians until nightfall. This must have been a hard-fought battle as the casualty figures given are unusually even - the Phocians are reported as losing 1,000 dead, the Boeotians and their allies 500. In the aftermath of the battle both armies disbanded and the contingents returned home. For the moment the Spartan position in northern Greece had been weakened, although they retained control of Orchomenus, captured at the start of the war. This campaign probably took place late in 395 or early in 394, and certainly before the main events of 394, which involved the return of the Spartan King Agesilaus from Asia Minor, the inconclusive Spartan victories at Nemea and Coronea and their crushing naval defeat at Cnidus. Agesilaus chose to return to Sparta overland via Thrace and Thessaly, so his route took him through this same area.

429

Naupactus

The Battle of Naupactus was a naval battle in the Peloponnesian War. The battle, which took place a week after the Athenian victory at Rhium, set an Athenian fleet of twenty ships, commanded by Phormio, against a Peloponnesian fleet of seventy-seven ships, commanded by Cnemus.
In the battle, the Peloponnesians drew the Athenians out from their anchorage at Antirrhium by sailing into the Gulf of Corinth, moving as if to attack the vital Athenian base at Naupactus. The Athenians were forced to shadow their movements, sailing eastward along the northern shore of the gulf. Attacking suddenly, the Peloponnesians drove nine Athenian ships ashore and pursued the others towards Naupactus; victory seemed securely in their hands. At the entrance to the harbor of Naupactus, however, the last Athenian ship to reach the harbor turned the tide by circling around an anchored merchant ship to ram and sink its leading pursuer. Confusion set in among the Peloponnesians, and the newly emboldened Athenians set out after them and routed them. In all, the Athenians recaptured all but one of their nine grounded ships and seized six Peloponnesian ships. This surprising victory preserved Athens' naval dominance and kept Naupactus secure; the arrival of an additional twenty Athenian ships shortly afterwards secured the victory and put an end to Sparta's attempt to take the offensive in the Northwest.
See the three links for more details

426

Napactus, siege of

The siege of Naupactus in 426 was a short-lived Spartan attempt to capture a key Athenian naval base on the northern shores of the Gulf of Corinth. Naupactus was a city located towards the western end of Locris, the coastal area on the northern side of the Gulf of Corinth, and had been an Athenian naval base for much of the Great Peloponnesian War. The area had been the base for an unsuccessful Athenian-led invasion of Aetolia (the largely mountainous to the north of Locris), which had come to grief at the battle of Aegitium in 426, but even before this campaign the Aetolians had sent messengers to Sparta and to Corinth asking for an army to help them capture Naupactus.

499

Naxos, siege of

The siege of Naxos in 499 was an unsuccessful Persian backed attempt to restore a party of exiled Naxian aristocrats. The failure of the attack played a part in the outbreak of the Ionian Revolt (499-494), an attempt to overthrow Persian control of the Greek cities of Ionian. In 500 a group of exiled aristocrats from Naxos attempted to enlist the support of Aristagoras, tyrant of Miletus (then part of the Persian Empire). Aristagoras wanted to support the exiles, but knew that he didn't have the military power to succeed by himself, and so he approached Artaphernes, satrap of Lydia. Artaphernes was quickly won over, and won the support of the Emperor Darius I. Possession of Naxos would give the Persians a foothold in the Cyclades. See the link for more.

376

Naxos

At the Battle of Naxos in 376 the new Athenian fleet of Chabrias decisively defeated the Spartans. This was the beginning of Athens's recovery of its Aegean hegemony following its loss in the Peloponnesian War. The victory was decided by Phocion's courageous and skillful action on the left wing. In western waters another great Athenian commander, Timotheus, won the battle of Alyzia against Sparta in 374.

394

Nemea

The Battle of Nemea in 394, also known in ancient Athens as the Battle of Corinth, was a battle in the Corinthian War, between Sparta and the allied cities of Argos, Athens, Corinth, and Thebes. The battle was fought in Corinthian territory, at the dry bed of the Nemea River. The battle was a decisive Spartan victory, which, coupled with the Battle of Coronea later in the same year, gave Sparta the advantage in the early fighting on the Greek mainland.

355

Neon

During theThird Sacred War Philomelos laid siege to Argolas, but failed to capture it, and instead pillaged as much Locrian territory as possible. The Boeotian army, under the command of Pammenes, arrived, and rather than oppose them, Philomelos retreated, allowing the Boeotians to link up with the Locrians and Thessalians. Philomelos had thus failed in his strategy of dealing with the Amphictyons separately, and he now faced an army at least equal in size to his own. He therefore decided to retreat before the Amphictyons could bring him to battle, and probably using the Kleisoura pass, he returned with his army to Phocis. In response to Philomelos's retreat, Pammenes ordered the Amphictyonic force to cross into Phocis as well, probably by the Fontana pass, in order to prevent Philomelos marching on Boeotia. The two armies converged on Tithorea (whose acropolis, Neon, gives the battle its name), where the Amphictyons brought the Phocians to battle. Details of the battle are scant, but the Amphictyons defeated the Phocians, and then pursued the survivors up the slopes of Mount Parnassos, slaying many. Philomelos was injured, and rather than risk capture, threw himself off the mountain, falling to his death. Onomarchos, who was second in command, managed to salvage the remainder of the army, and retreated to Delphi, while Pammenes retired to Thebes with the Boeotian army.

450

Nomae

The battle of Nomae in 450 was a defeat that reduced the power of Ducetius, king of the Sicels, and that eventually forced him into exile. See the link for details.

406

Notium

The Battle of Notium (or Ephesus) in 406, was a Spartan naval victory in the Peloponnesian War. In 407, Lysander was appointed as navarch, commander of the Spartan fleet, replacing the deceased Mindarus. Gathering a fleet as he went, he sailed east across the Aegean from Sparta and eventually reached Ephesus, where he established his base, with 70 triremes, which he increased to 90 through shipbuilding efforts at Ephesus. In Ephesus, he established diplomatic relations with Cyrus, the younger, brother of the king and satrap. Lysander built a personal friendship with Cyrus,who agreed to provide funds out of his own purse to increase the pay of Spartan rowers. With this increased funding, the Spartan fleet could attract experienced rowers from the Athenian fleet.
Alcibiades, needing to force a battle with Lysander, brought his fleet to Notium, where he could closely watch the Spartan fleet. Merely sitting at Notium, however, failed to bring Lysander out to fight. Prior to the battle, Alcibiades, left his helmsman, Antiochus, in command of the Athenian fleet, which was blockading the Spartan fleet in Ephesus.He sailed north with some troop ships to assist Thrasybulus who was besieging Phocaea. He left most of his fleet before Ephesus. A fleet of this size (80 ships remained at Notium after Alcibiades' departure) would traditionally have been commanded by several generals, or at the least by a trierarch; Alcibiades' unconventional decision has been widely criticized by both ancient and modern authors. Antiochus was given one simple order to govern his actions; "Do not attack Lysander's ships." For some reason, he chose not to obey this order, and attempted to implement a stratagem that he thought would give the Athenians a victory. Seeking to draw the Spartans out to fight, Antiochus sailed out towards Ephesus with 10 triremes. His plan was to draw the Peloponnesians out in pursuit of his small force, after which the rest of the Athenian force would ambush them. This plan was very similar to that which had produced the stunning Athenian victory at Cyzicus, but conditions at Notium were utterly different from those at that battle. In practice, Antiochus' ship was sunk, and he was killed, by a sudden Spartan attack; the remaining nine ships of the decoy force were then chased headlong back toward Notium, where the main Athenian force was caught unprepared by the sudden arrival of the whole Spartan fleet. In the ensuing fighting, 15 Athenian triremes were captured and seven more were sunk. As his strategy backfired, the Spartans under Lysander scored a small but symbolically significant victory over the Athenian fleet. This victory resulted in the downfall of Alcibiades, and established Lysander as a commander who could defeat the Athenians at sea.. The Spartans sailed back to Ephesus, having won an unexpected victory, while the Athenians returned to Notium to regroup. Upon receiving news of the battle, Alcibiades lifted the siege of Phocaea and returned south to reinforce the fleet at Notium; this restored rough numerical parity between the two fleets. Further attempts to draw Lysander out into a battle proved unsuccessful, however, and the two fleets continued to watch each other. The defeat at Notium caused the complete downfall of Alcibiades in Athenian politics. Restored to favor after the victory at Cyzicus, he had been placed in command with great expectations. When his unorthodox appointment of Antiochus led to a messy defeat, his political enemies saw their chance, and he was removed from office. Never again returning to Athens, he sailed north to land he owned in the Thracian Chersonese; except for a brief appearance at Aegospotami, his involvement in the war was over. The commands of both fleets changed hands after Notium. Because Spartan law prohibited reappointment of a navarch, Lysander was replaced by Callicratidas; on the Athenian side, the fall of Alcibiades also brought down his friends Thrasybulus and Theramenes, who were the best of the Athenian commanders, and the overall command was given to Conon. Over the next year, the fleets clashed twice, first in a battle where, with twice as many ships as Conon, Callicratidas defeated the Athenians and trapped them in Mytilene; an Athenian relief fleet then decisively defeated and killed Callicratidas at Arginusae. But in 405 Lysander returned to unofficial command and destroyed the Athenian fleet at Aegospotami, thus ending the Peloponnesian War with Sparta the victor. Notium, although not terribly significant in the number of ships won or lost by either side (the gains made by the Spartan fleet were more than erased by their defeat at Arginusae), had the significant effect of launching the career of Lysander and ending that of Alcibiades. Lysander would go on to end the Athenian empire and contend for several years for control of the Spartan empire that replaced it; Alcibiades, meanwhile, would be assassinated in 403.

457

Oenophyta

The Battle of Oenophyta took place between Athens and the Boeotian city-states during the First Peloponnesian War. In this period between the Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, alliances and leagues sprang up and collapsed, although there was very little prolonged warfare. In 457 Athens, the leader of the Delian League, came into conflict with Corinth and their ally Sparta (leader of the Peloponnesian League) over Megara; two months prior to the Battle of Oenophyta, the Athenians were defeated at the Battle of Tanagra by Sparta, but Sparta had lost so many men that they could not take advantage of their victory. The Athenians, who had 14,000 men at Tanagra, regrouped after that battle and marched into Boeotia. At Oenophyta, led by Myronides they defeated the Boeotians, and then destroyed the walls of Tanagra and ravaged Locrida and Phocis. Their victory at Oenophyta allowed Athens to defeat Aegina later in the year, and to finish the construction of the Long Walls to the Athenian port of Piraeus (an action opposed by Sparta). Athens remained in control of Boeotia until 447, when they were defeated at the Battle of Coronea.

426

Olpae

The Battle of Olpae was a battle of the Peloponnesian War between armies led by Athens and Sparta.
In 426, 3,000 hoplites from Ambraciainvaded Amphilochian Argos in Acarnania on a gulf of the Ionian Sea and occupied the fort of Olpae. The Acarnanians asked for help from both the Athenian general Demosthenes, and the 20 Athenian ships located nearby under the command of Aristotle and Hierophon. The Ambraciots asked for help from Eurylochus of Sparta, who managed to march his army past the Acarnanians without being observed. After this, Demosthenes arrived in the gulf below Olpae with his ships, 200 hoplites, and 60 archers. He joined with the Acarnanian army and set up camp in a ravine opposite Eurylochus, where both sides made preparations for five days. As the Ambraciot and Peloponnesian army was larger, Demosthenes set up an ambush with 400 hoplites from Acarnania, to be used when the battle began. Demosthenes formed the right wing of the Athenian-led army with Athenian and Messenian troops, with the centre and left wing formed by the Acarnanians and Amphilochians. Eurylochus formed the left wing of his army, directly facing Demosthenes, with the Ambraciots and Mantineans forming the rest of the line. When the battle began, Eurylochus quickly outflanked Demosthenes and was about to surround him when the Acarnanians began their ambush, causing panic among the other troops when Eurylochus was killed. The Ambraciots defeated the left wing of the Acarnanians and Amphilochians, chasing them back to Argos, but they were themselves defeated by the rest of the Acarnanians when they returned. Demosthenes lost about 300 men, but emerged victorious when the battle was completed later that night. The next day, Menedaius, who had taken command when Eurylochus was killed, attempted to arrange a truce with Demosthenes. Demosthenes would only allow the leaders of the army to escape.
Demosthenes learned that a second army from Ambracia was marching towards Olpae. These Ambraciots set up camp on the road to the fort at Idomene, having no knowledge of the defeat of the previous day. Demosthenes surprised them there at night, pretending to be the other Ambraciot army, and killed most of them; the rest fled to the hills or into the sea where they were captured by the 20 Athenian ships. Overall, the Ambraciots lost about 1,000 men over the two days. Although Demosthenes could have easily taken Ambracia, he did not, because his allies feared a strong Athens in that region and so the Acarnanians and Ambraciots signed a 100-year peace treaty with them.

364

Olympia

This unusual battle took place at Olympia during the traditional peace during the Olympic games.
See a neat annimated battle map.

479

Olynthus, siege of

This siege of Olynthus in early 479 was a success for the Persian forces that had escorted Xerxes back to the Hellespont after the battle of Salamis and saw the city fall to assault and a large part of its population massacred. Olynthus was located at the head of the Gulf of Torone, which sits between the west and central of the three peninsulas of Chalcidice (Pallene to the west and Sithonia in the middle). At the time of the siege the city was ruled by the Bottiaeans, a Thracian tribe that had been driven east by Alexander I of Macedon.
See the link.

382

Olynthus

The battle of Olynthus in 382 was a near defeat for a Spartan army that had been sent north to more vigorously conduct the war against Olynthus that had begun earlier in the same year. In the years before 382 Olynthus had put itself at the head of a Chalcidian League, which had also expanded at the expense of Amyntas III of Macdeon. Early in the year both Amyntas and the Chalcidian cities of Acanthus and Apollonia had sent envoys to Sparta asking for assistance, and the Spartans had responded by sending an army north. This first army moved in two waves. An advance guard under Eudamidas actually reached Chalcidice, and where it some successes before getting bogged down. The larger second wave only got as far at Thebes, where the commander Phoebidas became involved in local politics, seized the Cadmea (the acropolis of Thebes), and took control of the city. Later in the year the Spartans decided to send fresh troops to conduct the war against Olynthus, this time commanded by Teleutias, a half-brother of KingAgesilaus II.

381

Olynthus

The battle of Olynthus in 381 was the second battle fought by the Spartans close to the city during their expedition to Chalcidice, and ended with defeat and the death of the Spartan commander Teleutias. In 382 both King Amyntas III of Macedon and the Chalcidian cities of Acanthus and Apollonia sent embassies to Sparta to ask for help against the rising power of Olynthus and her Chalcidian League. Sparta agreed to held, and sent an army north. This first army moved in two waves, but only the smaller advance guard reached Thrace, while the larger part got tangled in the politics of Thrace. Later in the year the Spartans decided to send a second army north, under the command of Teleutias, a half brother of King Agesilaus. Teleutias gained a significant number of allies on the way north, including a contingent from Thebes, mercenaries from Macedon, and a force of Thracian cavalry under King Derdas of Elimia. His first attack on Olynthus nearly ended in defeat, before Derdas forced the Olynthians to retreat (battle of Olynthus, 382 ). Although Teleutias claimed a victory, across the winter the Olynthians were able to conduct raids into enemy territory. 381 began with a success for the Spartans and their allies, when Derdas ambushed a Olynthian cavalry force that was raiding Apollonia, and pursued it back to Olynthus. This was the high point of Spartan success in 381, but things were about to go badly wrong. Teleutias decided to conduct a fresh raid into Olynthian territory, probably without Derdas, who isn’t mentioned in Xenophon's account of the battle. Teleutias's aim was to destroy any remaining crops or fruit trees in Olynthian territory (presumably including the slow growing olive trees and the fig trees that Olynthus was named after). His army operated in the area on the opposite side of the River Sandanus, which ran right by the city walls. The Olynthians had clearly not been too badly discouraged by the setback at Apollonia, and they sent their cavalry out to harass the Spartans. The cavalry crossed the river, and quietly approached the Spartan camp. Teleutias was angered by this, and ordered Tlemonidas and the light infantry to charge the Olynthian cavalry. The Olynthians withdrew, and re-crossed the river, luring Teleutias's light infantry into pursing them across the river. Once Teleutias's light infantry was vulnerable on the opposite side of the river to the rest of the army, the Olynthian cavalry turned back and attacked. Tlemondias and one hundred of his men were killed in this phase of the battle. Teleutias responded to the sent back angrily. He led his hoplites towards the fighting, and ordered his peltasts and cavalry to pursue the Olynthians, who presumably chose to retire rather than risk a clash with the Spartan heavy infantry. The Olynthians retreated back into the city, with the Spartans in close pursuit. This triggered the final stage of the battle. The Spartans came under heavy missile fire from the city walls, and were forced to pull back. While they were concentrating on protecting themselves against the missile fire, they were hit by another Olynthian cavalry charge, supported by their light infantry. The Olynthian heavy infantry was finally committed to the battle, catching Teleutias's men in some confusion. Teleutias himself was killed in the fighting, and the rest of his army then broke and fled. The army scattered into several directions, with parts fleeing north to Apollonia, other parts heading for Spartolus or Acanthus, and the largest part fleeing towards the Spartan base at Potidaea. The Olynthians mounted an effective pursuit. Both Xenophon and Diodorus record heavy losses during this battle, with Xenophon saying that the 'pith and kernel' of the army was lost, and Diodorus giving a figure of 1,200 Lacedaemonian dead. The Spartans responded to this defeat by sending yet another army north, this time under the command of King Agesipolis. Agesipolis achieved very little during his time in the north, before dying of a fever in the summer of 380. He was replaced by Polybiades, who was finally able to bring the war to an end, winning a series of poorly documented victories before besieging the city.

348

Olynthus, siege of

The siege of Olynthus in 348 saw Philip II of Macedon complete his conquest of the Chalcidic League, one of his more powerful immediate neighbours, and an ally for several years. At the start of his reign Philip had agreed an alliance with Athens, and protected by this alliance had dealt with problems on his northern and western borders. However in 357, after the outbreak of the Social War (357-355), a revolt against Athens by some members of her League, he besieged and captured Amphipolis in 357, a city that Athens had founded, but soon lost. This triggered a war with Athens, and so Philip needed a new ally on the Aegean coast. He won over Olynthus and the Clalcidic League by promising to capture Potidaea, a former league member then held by Athens. Olynthus accepted the offer and agreed to an alliance. Potidaea fell in 356 and was restored to the League.
See the link.

418

Orchomenus, siege of

The siege of Orchomenes in 418 was a short-lived success won by an alliance of Greek cities led by Argos and that included Athens. In 421 the Peace of Nicias had temporarily ended the fighting during the Great Peloponnesian War. One of Sparta's reasons for agreeing to the peace was that their peace treaty with Argos, a key rival in the Peloponnese, was about to expire and Sparta didn't want a war on two fronts.
See the link.

352

Orchomenus

The battle of Orchomenus in c.352 was the first in a series of defeats suffered by the Phocian leader Phayllus during a failed invasion of Boeotia (Third Sacred War). Diodorus gives contradictory dates for these events. He places the events in the year of the 107th Olympiad 356 the year in which Aristodemus was Archon at Athens (352-351) and the year in which Gaius Sulpicius and M. Valerius were consuls at Rome (353). A best guess is that he meant the 108th Olympiad, of 352. In 353 the Phocians suffered a very heavy defeat at the hands of Philip II of Macedon at the Battle of the Crocus Field in Thessaly. They are reported to have lost 9,000 men from their army of 20,000, amongst them their leader Onomarchus. They were probably saved from invasion by Philip's decision to settle the affairs of Thessaly before moving south, which gave the Athenians time to garrison Thermopylae. Philip decided not to risk a battle, and returned home. Onomarchus was replaced by his brother Phayllus, who managed to recruit a new army. He used the loot from Delphi to hire mercenaries. Lycophron and Peitholaus, the defeated tyrants of Pherae, went into exile in Phocis with 2,000 men. According to Diodorus (16.37.3) Sparta sent 1,000 men, Achaea 2,000 and Athens 5,000 infantry and 400 cavalry commanded by Nausicles. These contingents alone would have given Phocis 10,400 men, not counting their own troops and their mercenaries. Phayllus proved to be less than successful as a military commander. He used his revived army to invade Boeotia, but suffered a series of defeats. The first of them came near the city of Orchomenus, on the north-western shores of Lake Copais. Diodorus provides no details of the battle itself, but does report that Phayllus lost a great deal of men. This first defeat was followed by further setbacks at the Cephisus River and at Coroneia

319

Orkynia

The Battle of Orkynia was a battle in the wars of the successors of Alexander the Great (see Diadochi) between Antigonus I Monophthalmus and Eumenes. It was fought near Orkynia in Cappadocia in 319 and resulted in a stunning Antigonid victory.
Date 319
Location near Orkynia (in Cappadocia)
Result Antigonid victory
Opponents:
Antigonus I Monophthalmus
Eumenes
Commanders and leaders:
Antigonus I Monophthalmus
Eumenes
Strength:
Antigonus - 10,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, 30 elephants
Eumenes - 20,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry
Casualties and losses:
Antigonus - light
Eumenes - 8,000


Background:
After the death of Alexander the Great in 323, his generals immediately began squabbling over his huge empire. Soon it degenerated into open warfare, with each general attempting to claim a portion of Alexander's vast empire. One of the most talented successor generals (Diadochi) was Antigonus Monophthalmus, so called because of an eye he lost in a siege. During the early years of warfare between the Diadochi, he faced Eumenes, a capable general who had already crushed Craterus. After the First War of the Diadochi , the war against Perdiccas, ended in 321 , the second partition of the Empire, the Partition of Triparadisus, took place. It stipulated that Antipater became the new regent of the Empire and Antigonus strategos of Asia charged him with hunting down and defeating the remnants of the Perdiccan faction. Antigonus took command of the Royal Army and after being reinforced with more reliable troops from Antipater's European army he moved against their enemies in Asia Minor. He first marched against Eumenes in Cappadocia but had to leave a substantial force to watch Alketas who was in Pisidia in his rear. Therefore, Antigonos was only able to take 10,000 infantry (half of them Macedonians), 2,000 cavalry and thirty elephants against Eumenes, who had some 20,000 infantry and 5,000 horse.
See the links for more details.

417

Orneae

The Battle of Orneae was an engagement that took place during the Peloponnesian War in the city of Orneae, between a Spartan garrison left in Orneae after the Battle of Hysiae and the forces of Argos and Athens.

Opponents: Orneae versus Argos and Athens
Strength:
Athens - 1200 Hoplites 40 Triremes
After the decisive defeat of Argos at Hysiae and the razing of the stronghold, the Spartan forces took the city of Orneae, fortified it, and settled the exiles from Argos in the city. The stronghold was left with a strong garrison that they then ordered to harass Argolis. After the withdrawal of the Spartan army, the Athenians sent a force of 40 triremes and 1,200 hoplites to aid the city of Argos in expelling the garrison and taking the city. The Argive/Athenian army then took Orneae by storm, both taking the city and being able to expel the garrison, and execute some of the exiles.
See links for more details.

546

Pallene

Pisistratus siezed power in Athens in 561 and ruled as a tyrant. He was thrown out, invited back in, thrown out again and then hired a mercenary army. In 546 he brought his army into Attica at Marathon and attacked his opponents at Pallene while the Athenians were eating lunch. He then regained power to rule the city until he died.

200

Panium

The Battle of Panium (also known as Paneion) was fought in 200 near Paneas (Caesarea Philippi) between Seleucid and Ptolemaic forces as part of the Fifth Syrian War. The Seleucids were led by Antiochus III the Great, while the Ptolemaic army was led by Scopas of Aetolia. The Seleucids achieved a complete victory, annihilating the Ptolemaic army and conquering the province of Coele-Syria. The Ptolemaic Kingdom never recovered from its defeat at Panium and ceased to be an independent great power. Antiochus secured his southern flank and began to concentrate on the looming conflict with the Roman Republic. See the link for more details.

412

Panormus

The battle of Panormus in 412 was a minor Athenian victory during the longer siege of Miletus, most notable for the death of the Spartan commander Chalcideus in the Peloponnesian War). In the aftermath of the Athenian disaster at Syracuse, the Spartans had decided to encourage revolts across the Athenian Empire. On the Ionian coast of Asia Minor the city of Miletus joined the revolt, with encouragement from the Athenian exile Alcibiades. The Spartans used the city as their main base in the area, and send a small fleet under Chalcideus to support the revolt. The Athenians reacted quickly, and soon established a blockade of the city. A fleet of twenty ships took up a position on the nearby island of Lade, and waited for reinforcements. Before these reinforcements arrived, the Athenians on Lade decided to carry out a raid on Milesian territory, and landed at Panormus, to the south of the city. Chalcideus led a small force out to oppose them, but was killed in the resulting battle. The Athenians must have been worried that a larger army was close behind, and so retreated without erected a trophy. They returned three days to do this, but then retreated once again, and the Milesians demolished the trophy on the grounds that it hadn't been erected while the Athenians held the ground after the battle. The major reinforcements from Athens arrived before the end of the summer, and a larger battle was fought at Miletus. The Athenians and their allies were victorious, but a Peloponnesian fleet arrived just in time to prevent them from taking advantage, and the siege of Miletus had to be abandoned.

497

Paphos, siege of

The siege of Paphos in c.497 was part of the Persian reconquest of Cyprus after the defeat of the Cyprian rebels at Salamis. The Greeks of Cyprus joined the Ionian Revolt in 498, possibly in the aftermath of the Ionian raid on Sardis. They were led by Onesilus of Salamis, and were offered naval assistance by the Ionians. The Persians responded by sending a major army and fleet to Cyprus. The two sides clashed at the land and naval battle of Salamis in +.497, which saw the Ionians victorious at sea, but the Cyprians defeated on land. Onesilus was killed, and the remaining Greek cities left were quickly placed under siege.
See the link.

317

Paraitakene

The Battle of Paraitakene was a battle in the wars of the successors of Alexander the Great (see Diadochi) between Antigonus I Monophthalmus and Eumenes.
Opponents:
Antigonids versus Eumenes’ Royalist faction
Commanders and leaders:
Antigonus I Monophthalmus- Demetrius I Poliorcetes - Peithon
Eumenes - Eudamus - Peucestas - Antigenes - Teutamus
Strength:
Antigonus - 28,000 heavy infantry, 5,500 light infantry, 6,900 light cavalry, 3,700 heavy cavalry, 65 war elephants
Eumenes - 17,000 heavy infantry, 18,000 light infantry, 6,000 cavalry, 125 war elephants
Casualties and losses:
Antigonus - 7,700, inc. 3,700 killed
Eumenes - 1,540, inc. 540 killed

Background:
After the death of Alexander the Great, his generals immediately began squabbling over his huge empire. Soon it degenerated into open warfare, with each general attempting to claim a portion of Alexander's vast kingdom. One of the most talented successor generals (Diadochi) was Antigonus Monophthalmus, so called because of an eye he lost in a siege. During the early years of warfare between the Diadochi, he faced Eumenes, a capable general who had already crushed the popular general Craterus.
See the links for more details.

497

Pedasus

The battle of Pedasus or Pedasa in 497 or 496 was the third in a series of battles between the Persians and Carian rebels during the Ionian Revolt, and was a major Persian defeat that effectively ended their first large scale counterattack against the rebels.
See the link for details.

335

Pelium, siege of

The Siege of Pelium was undertaken by Alexander the Great against the Illyrian tribes of what is modern-day Albania. It was critical for Alexander to take this pass as it provided easy access to Illyria and Macedonia, which was urgently needed in order to quell the unrest in Greece at this time in Athens and Thebes. This was an important point of demarcation in Alexander's early reign, as it established him among the Danubian tribes to the north as a serious monarch to be reckoned with, just as he would later establish this precedent for the Greek city states under his hegemony. Taking this place allowed Alexander to march his army to southern Greece quickly, which would eventually result in the total destruction of Thebes.
See links for more details.

340

Perinthus, siege of

The Siege of Perinthus in 340 was an unsuccessful attempt by Philip II of Macedon to defeat the Athenian forces at Perinthus, and take the city. The siege was conducted alongside an unsuccessful siege of Byzantium. Both sieges took place in the period just before the Fourth Sacred War.
Perinthus was officially allied with Philip, and in 340, when Philip decided to support his allies in the Chersonese against the local Athenian commander, he asked Perinthus and Byzantium to help. Both cities refused to offer support, and Philip decided to reduce them to obedience before dealing with the Athenians. Perinthus was a difficult target for a siege. The city stood on a promontory, connected to the land by a 200 yard wide heavily fortified isthmus. The coast was protected by cliffs, making any amphibious assault impossible. The promontory was covered by houses rising steeply on terraces, and the promontory was protected by strong fortifications. See the link.

330

Persian Gate

The Battle of the Persian Gate was a military conflict between a Persian force, commanded by the satrap of Persis, Ariobarzanes, and the invading Hellenic League, commanded by Alexander the Great. In the winter of 330, Ariobarzanes led a last stand of the outnumbered Persian forces at the Persian Gates near Persepolis, holding back the Macedonian army for a month. Alexander eventually found a path to the rear of the Persians from the captured prisoners of war or a local shepherd, defeating the Persians and capturing Persepolis.
See the links for more details.

381

Philus, siege of

The siege of Phlius in 381-380/379 saw the Spartans besiege one of their allies in order to restore the rights of a group of exiled oligarchs, one of a series of heavy handed Spartans interventions in the internal affairs of other Greek cities that came in the aftermath of the end of the Corinthian War.Like many Greek cities, Phlius suffered from an ongoing struggle between democrats and oligarchs. During the Corinthian War the democrats were in charge, and many of the former oligarchs were in exile, and their property confiscated. In 394 Phlius refused to contribute troops to the Spartan army, using a religious festival as an excuse, and thus missed the battle of Nemea.

404

Phyle

The Battle of Phyle was fought between Athenian exiles who were seeking to restore democracy to Athens and a Spartan garrison trying to protect the oligarchic Thirty Tyrants. In the battle, 700 Athenian exiles under Thrasybulus decisively defeated the Spartans and their Athenian cavalry in a dawn ambush. Following Athens' defeat in the Peloponnesian War, a narrow oligarchic government was imposed on the city by Lysander and the victorious Spartans. This government, which came to be known as the Thirty Tyrants as a result of its brutal actions, had exiled or driven away a number of citizens.
The battles at Piraeus and Munichia followed Thrasybulus' victory at Phyle. See the links for more details.

403

Piraeus

The Battle of Piraeus was between Athenian exiles who had defeated the government of the Thirty Tyrants and occupied Piraeus and a Spartan force sent to combat them. In the battle, the Spartans narrowly defeated the exiles, with both sides suffering appreciable casualties. After the battle, Pausanias arranged a settlement between the two parties which allowed the reunification of Athens and Piraeus, and the reestablishment of democratic government in Athens. Thirty were deposed and replaced by a more moderate government, the Ten. These new rulers, although they ended the brutality that had marked the reign of the Thirty, were not ready to compromise with the exiles, who now held Piraeus, the port of Athens. In the battle at Munichia the exiles were finally able to overthrow the tyrants.
See the links for much more detail.

479

Plataea

Battle of Plataea
Part of the Second Persian invasion of Greec Territorial changes Persia loses control of Attica and Boeotia
Opponents: Greek communities versus the Persian Empire
Commanders and leaders:
Greeks Pausanias
Persians Mardonius † Artabazos
Strength:
110,000 (Herodotus) 100,000 (Diodorus) 100,000 (Trogus) ~80,000 (modern consensus) 300,000 (Herodotus) plus 50,000 (estimation by Herodotus) Greek allies 500,000 (Diodorus) 70,000–120,000 (modern consensus, including Greek allies and non-combatants such as camp followers)
Casualties and losses:
10,000+ (Ephorus and Diodorus) 1,360 (Plutarch) 159 (Herodotus) 257,000 (Herodotus) 100,000 (Diodorus) 50,000–90,000 (modern consensus)

This is one of the most famous and significant battles in Greek history - We have assembled more details on this in articles with too much detail to include here at the links - including Plataea main.

429-427

Plataea, siege of

The siege of Plataea in 429-427 was a Theban victory that saw them capture Athen's only ally in Boiotia, although only after a two-year long siege. The city of Plataea was located on the southern edge of Boiotia, the area to the north-east of the Gulf of Corinth. It was the only Boiotian city that was not a member of the Boiotian League (dominated by Thebes), and was instead an ally of Athens. This was not an entirely popular policy inside the city, and two years before the start of the siege these disputes inside the city led to the incident that triggered the Great Peloponnesian War. In the spring of 43, with the outbreak of war looming, the Thebans decided to try and take control of Plataea. They had the support of one of the political factions inside the city, led by Nauclides, and decided to try and take advantage of this to take the city without a struggle.
See the link.

323

Plataea

This Battle of Plataea was between the Athenian and Boeotian armies during the Lamian War. When a coalition of cities including Athens and the Aetolian League decided to wage war against Macedonia, the Boeotians opposed the decision. After Alexander the Great had destroyed Thebes in 335 he had given the Theban lands to the Boeotians, but without Macedon as hegemon in central Greece the Boeotians feared the Athenians would revive Theban power as a counterweight to the Macedonians and so the Boeotians would lose the lands they gained. When Athens sent reinforcements to the army led by Athenian general, Leosthenes, the Boeotians mobilized to resist the Athenians. The Athenians' reinforcements consisted of five thousand men and five hundred horses, as well as two thousand mercenaries, while Leosthenes moved with part of his forces to meet with them. After joining with the Athenian reinforcements, Leosthenes formed his men in line and attacked the Boeotian camp, defeating the enemy. After the victory he hurried back to Thermopylae where he would meet Antipater's army.

480

Potidaea, siege of

The siege of Potidaea (480-479C) was an unsuccessful Persian attempt to capture the strongly fortified city in the aftermath of Xerxes's retreat from Greece, and is notable for the first historical record of a tsunami.
See the link for details.

432

Potidaea

The Battle of Potidaea was, with the Battle of Sybota, one of the catalysts for the Peloponnesian War. It was fought near Potidaea between Athens and a combined army from Corinth and Potidaea, along with their various allies.

Result: Athenian victory

Commanders and leaders:
Athens - Archestratus, Callias - 70 ships, 3,000 hoplites, 400 cavalry - Loss 150 men
Corinth, Potidaea - Aristeus - 1,600 hoplites, 400 light troops, 200 cavalry - Loss 300 men

Potidaea was a colony of Corinth on the Chalcidice peninsula, but was a member of the Delian League and paid tribute to Athens. After Sybota, Athens demanded that Potidaea pull down part of its walls, expel Corinthian ambassadors and send hostages to Athens. Athens was afraid that Potidaea would revolt due to Corinthian or Macedonian influence, as Perdiccas II of Macedon was encouraging revolts among Athens' other allies in Thrace. Athens gathered a fleet of 30 ships and 1,000 hoplites under the overall command of Archestratus, which was originally meant to fight Perdiccas in Macedonia, but was diverted to Potidaea. The Potidaeans sent ambassadors to Athens and Sparta, and when negotiations broke down in Athens, Sparta promised to help Potidaea revolt. The Athenian fleet sailed for Potidaea, but when it arrived, Archestratus attacked the Macedonians instead, as the Potidaeans had already revolted and allied with Perdiccas. Corinth sent 1,600 hoplites and 400 light troops to Potidaea as well, under the command of Aristeus, but as "volunteers", thus hoping not to provoke a larger war. In response, Athens sent out another 2,000 hoplites and 40 more ships, under the command of Callias. After some fighting against Perdiccas, the combined Athenian forces sailed to Potidaea and landed there. Perdiccas and 200 of his cavalry joined with Aristeus, and their combined army marched to Potidaea. In the ensuing battle, Aristeus' wing of Corinthian troops defeated a section of the Athenian line, but elsewhere the Athenians were victorious. Aristeus returned to Potidaea along the sea coast with some difficulty, hoping to avoid the main Athenian army. A reserve force of Potidaeans, located in nearby Olynthus, attempted to relieve Aristeus, but they were also defeated. The Corinthians and Potidaeans lost about 300 men, and the Athenians about 150, including Callias. The Macedonian cavalry did not join the battle. The Athenians remained outside Potidaea for some time, and were reinforced by another 1,600 hoplites under the command of Phormio. Both sides built walls and counter-walls, and the Athenians succeeded in cutting off Potidaea from the sea with a naval blockade. During the blockade, representatives from Corinth, Athens and Sparta met in Sparta, resulting in a formal declaration of war.
However, this siege, which lasted until 430/429, seriously depleted the Athenian treasury, with as much as 1,000 talents per year required for the military activity. This was not popular with the Athenians, and in combination with the plague that swept through Athens in the early 420s, made the continued leadership of Pericles untenable. The Periclean strategy of hiding behind the Long Walls and relying on the low cash reserves of the Peloponnesians was starting to become unfavourable to the greater Athenian consciousness.

432

Potidaea, siege of

Another article from the perspective of the siege rather than the battle.

356

Potidaea, siege of

The siege of Potidaea in 356 saw Philip II of Macedon capture the strongly fortified city at the head of the Pallene peninsula, but then hand it over to Olynthus in order to secure an alliance with that city. Potidaea was located at the narrow neck of the Pallene peninsula, the westernmost of the three peninsulas of Chalcidice. She had been a member of the Chalcidian League, led by nearby Olynthus, but in around 363-361 Athens took control of the city.

425

Pylos

The naval Battle of Pylos took place in 425 during the Peloponnesian Warat the peninsula of Pylos, on the present-day Bay of Navarino in Messenia, and was an Athenian victory over Sparta. An Athenian fleet had been driven ashore at Pylos by a storm, and, at the instigation of Demosthenes, the Athenian soldiers fortified the peninsula, and a small force was left there when the fleet departed again. The establishment of an Athenian garrison in Spartan territory frightened the Spartan leadership, and the Spartan army, which had been ravaging Attica under the command of Agis, ended their expedition (the expedition only lasted 15 days) and marched home, while the Spartan fleet at Corcyra sailed to Pylos.
See the links for much more detail on the battle.

217

Raphia

The Battle of Raphia, also known as the Battle of Gaza, was a battle fought on 22 June 217 near modern Rafah between the forces of Ptolemy IV Philopator, king and pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt and Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid Empire during the Syrian Wars. It was one of the largest battles of the Hellenistic kingdoms and was one of the largest battles of the ancient world. The battle was waged to determine the sovereignty of Coele Syria.
See the link for more details on this significant and interesting battle.

429

Rhium

The Battle of Rhium or the battle of Chalcis was a naval battle in the Peloponnesian War between an Athenian fleet commanded by Phormio and a Peloponnesian fleet composed of contingents from various states, each with its own commander. The battle came about when the Peloponnesian fleet, numbering 47 triremes, attempted to cross over to the northern shore of the Gulf of Patras to attack Acarnania in support of an offensive in northwestern Greece; Phormio's fleet attacked the Peloponnesians while they were making the crossing. In the battle, the Peloponnesian ships, hampered by the fact that many of them were equipped not as fighting vessels but as transports, circled together in a defensive posture. Phormio, taking advantage of his crews' superior seamanship, sailed around the clustered Peloponnesians with his ships, driving the Peloponnesians closer and closer together until they began to foul oars and collide with each other. The Athenians then suddenly attacked, routing the Peloponnesians and capturing 12 ships.
The miliary significance of the battle is noted due to Phormio's unusual, innovative tactics.
Opponents: Athenians versus Spartans, Corinthians, and other members of the Peloponnesian League
Commanders and leaders:
Athens - Phormio
Corinthians - Machaon, Isocrates, Agatharchidas, and others
Strength:
Athens - 20 triremes
Sparta- Corinth 47 triremes, some being used as transports
Casualties and losses:
Athens None
Sparta12 ships captured, with most of their crews

See the links

497

Salamis

The battle of Salamis, in c.497, was a land and sea battle on Cyprus, won by the Persians on land and the Cypriotes and their Ionian allies at sea. In 499 the Greek cities of Ionian revolted against Persian authority. Early in the campaigning season of 498 they attacked and burnt Sardis, the capital of the satrapy of Lydia, and although they were then forced to retreat and suffered a defeat near Ephesus (498 ), the daring attack helped convince other Greek cities to join the revolt. Amongst them were the Greek kingdoms of Cyprus, led by Onesilus of Salamis.
See details at the link.

480

Salamis

The Battle of Salamis was a naval battle fought between an alliance of Greek city-states commanded by Eurybiades, and the Persian Empire under King Xerxes.

Opponents: Greek city-states versus the Persian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Greeks:Eurybiades Themistocles - Adeimantus - 371 - 378 ships - Losses 40 ships
Persians: Xerxes I of Persia, Artemisia I of Caria, Achaemenes, Ariabignes, Damasithymos, ~900–1207 ships - 600–800 ships 400–700 ships:
[Losses: Greeks - 200 - Persians - 700 ships

It resulted in a decisive victory for the outnumbered Greeks. The battle was fought in the straits between the mainland and Salamis, an island in the Saronic Gulf near Athens, and marked the high point of the second Persian invasion of Greece. Although heavily outnumbered, the Greek Allies were persuaded by the Athenian general Themistocles to confront Persian fleet. The Persian king Xerxes was also eager for a decisive battle. In the cramped conditions of the Straits, the great Persian numbers were an active hindrance, as ships struggled to maneuver and became disorganized. Seizing the opportunity, the Greek fleet formed in line and scored a decisive victory. Xerxes retreated to Asia with much of his army, leaving Mardonius to complete the conquest of Greece.
See the links for detail.

386

Salamis- Cyprus

The Persians led by Orontes by land and by Tiribazus by sea besieged king Evagorus of Salamis city on Cyprus on orders from Persian king Artaxerxes. The siege began after the Persians had defeated Evagorus's smaller fleet off Citium.

306

Salamis - Cyprus

The battle of Salamis of Cyprus in 306 was a decisive naval victory during Demetrius I Poliorcetes’s invasion of Cyprus (Fourth Diadoch War). The island had been held by Ptolemy I for at least a decade, and had been used as a base for attacks on Antigonus Monophthalmus’s (Demetrius’s father) possessions on the coast of Syria and Asia Minor.
See both links.

306

Salamis on Cyprus, siege of

In 306 Salamis was the most important Greek city on the island of Cyprus. The island was held by Ptolemy I, the ruler of Egypt, who was using it as a base in his wars against Antigonus Monophthalmus, who held most of the coast of Asia Minor and Syria. In 306 Antigonus sent his son Demetrius (soon to be known as “the besieger”) to capture the island. He landed in the north east of the island with an army of 15,000 infantry and 400 cavalry, and advanced towards Salamis. The island was defended by Ptolemy’s brother Menelaos, who had a smaller force - 12,000 infantry and 800 cavalry concentrated at Salamis. Despite being outnumbered Menelaos advanced north from Salamis, fighting a battle with Demetrius five miles from the city. Demetrius was victorious, and forced Menelaos back into Salamis.

440-439

Samian war

The Samian War from 440 to 439 was between Athens and Samos. The war was initiated by Athens's intervention in a dispute between Samos and Miletus. When the Samians refused to break off their attacks on Miletus as ordered, the Athenians easily drove out the oligarchic government of Samos and installed a garrison in the city, but the oligarchs soon returned, with Persian support. A larger Athenian fleet was dispatched to suppress this agitation. This fleet initially defeated the Samians and blockaded the city, but Pericles, in command, was then forced to lead a substantial portion of the fleet away upon learning that the Persian fleet was approaching from the south. Although the Persians turned back before the two fleets met, the absence of most of the Athenian fleet allowed the Samians to drive off the remaining blockaders and, for two weeks, control the sea around their island; upon Pericles's return, however, the Athenians again blockaded and besieged Samos; the city surrendered nine months later. Under the terms of the surrender, the Samians tore down their walls, gave up hostages, surrendered their fleet, and agreed to pay Athens a war indemnity over the next 26 years. During the course of the war, the Samians had apparently appealed to Sparta for assistance; the Spartans were initially inclined to grant this request, and were prevented from doing so primarily by Corinth's unwillingness to participate in a war against Athens at the time. In 433, when Corcyra requested Athenian assistance against Corinth, the Corinthians would remind the Athenians of the good will they had shown at this time.

See the links for more details

356

Samos, siege of

The siege of Samos in 356 saw the rebels against Athens besiege one of the loyal members of the Athenian League (Social War). In 357 Chios, Rhodes, Cos and Byzantium, with the support of Mausolus, the satrap of Caria, rebelled against the Athenian League. The Athenians sent a force under Chares and Chabrias to deal with the revolt, but they suffered a defeat at Chios in 357 or 356 in which Chabrias was killed. In the aftermath of this victory the rebels raised a fleet of 100 ships and raided Imbros and Lemnos, in the northern Aegean, and then turned south to besiege Samos.

See the link for results.

423-421

Scione, siege of

The siege of Scione in 423-421 came after the city rebelled against Athens, with Spartan support, but continued on after those cities agreed a short-lived peace treaty, and at the end the defenders of the city were either executed or sold into slavery. Scione was located in Pallene, the western-most of the three narrow peninsulas that jut south from Chalcidice, in the north of modern Greece (south of Thessalonica). The city of Potidaia, at the head of the Pallene peninsula was held by Athens, and for the first few years of the Great Peloponnesian War Scione was an Athenian ally. This changed in 423, when encouraged by the success of the Spartan general Brasidas in northern Greece the people of Scione decided to revolt. When he learnt of the revolt Brasidas crossed over to Scione, where he made a speech and left a garrison. This was soon strengthened, and Brasidas hoped to use the city as a base for an attack on Potidaia.
See the link for details.

398-97

Segesta, siege of

The Siege of Segesta took place either in the summer of 398 or the spring of 397 . Dionysius the Elder, tyrant of Syracuse, after securing peace with Carthage in 405 , had steadily increased his military power and tightened his grip on Syracuse. He had fortified Syracuse against sieges and had created a large army of mercenaries and a large fleet, in addition to employing catapults and quinqueremes for the first time in history.
See the link for much more detail and results.

222

Sellasia

The battle occured during the Cleomenean War.
The Battle of Sellasia took place during the summer of 222 between Macedon and the Achaean League, led by Antigonus III Doson, and Sparta under the command of King Cleomenes III. The battle was fought at Sellasia on the northern frontier of Laconia and ended in a Macedonian-Achaean victory.
See the link for details.

479-478

Sestus, siege of

The siege of Sestus (Sestos) in the Autumn-winter of 479-478 was the last significant fighting during the campaign of 479, and saw an Athenian force besiege and capture the main Persian base in the Chersonese, on the European side of the Hellespont (Greco-Persian Wars)t. In the aftermath of their victory at the battle of Mycale in 479 the Greeks decided to move north to the Hellespont, to dismantle the bridges of ships that the Persians had built to support their invasion of Greece in 480. When they arrived they discovered that the bridges had already been destroyed. The Peloponnesian contingent, led by King Leotychidas of Sparta, the overall Greek commander at Mycale, decided to go home for the winter. The Athenians, under Xanthippus decided to try and expel the Persians from the Chersonese (the Gallipoli peninsula) - command of the sea routes to the Black Sea was important to the Athenians, who got much of their grain from that area.
See the link for much more detail.

367-6

Sestus, siege of

The siege of Sestus in c.367-6 saw forces loyal to the Persian emperor Artaxerxes II unsuccessful besiege allies of the rebel satrap Ariobarzanes, during the second stage of the Satrap's revolt. The siege is mentioned in Xenophon's Agesilaus (II 26). Ariobarzanes, who was probably a usurper as satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia, had refused to hand his satrapy over to its rightful holder. Artaxerxes sent Autophradates, satrap of Lydia, Mausolus, satrap of Caria and Cotys, satrap of Paphlagonia and king of Thrace to deal with the revolt. Mausolus commanded a fleet of 100 ships and blocked Ariobarzanes in either Assus or Adramyttium. Autophradates commanded the land army besieging Adramyttium, while Cotys besieged Sestus, which was on straits side of the Thracian Chersonese (the modern Gallipoli). Ariobarzanes asked for help from Athens and from Sparta.
See the link for more.

494

Sepeia

At the Battle of Sepeia the Spartan forces of Cleomenes I defeated the Argives, fully establishing Spartan dominance in the Peloponnese. The Battle of Sepeia is infamous for holding the highest number of casualties within a battle during the classical Greek period. The closest thing to a contemporaneous source for the description of the battle is, as for many events in this time period, the Histories of Herodotus (written approximately fifty years later, c. 440.

See the links for more details

Sicily Expedition

The Sicilian Expedition was an Athenian military expedition to Sicily, which took place from 415–413 during the Peloponnesian War between the Athenian empire, or the Delian League, on one side and Sparta, Syracuse and Corinth on the other. The expedition ended in a devastating defeat for the Athenian forces, severely impacting Athens. The expedition was hampered from the outset by uncertainty in its purpose and command structure—political manoeuvring in Athens swelled a lightweight force of twenty ships into a massive armada, and the expedition's primary proponent, Alcibiades, was recalled from command to stand trial before the fleet even reached Sicily. Still, the Athenians achieved early successes. Syracuse, the most powerful state in Sicily, responded exceptionally slowly to the Athenian threat and, as a result, was almost completely invested before the arrival of back up in the form of Spartan general, Gylippus, who galvanized its inhabitants into action. From that point forward, however, as the Athenians ceded the initiative to their newly energized opponents, the tide of the conflict shifted. A massive reinforcing armada from Athens briefly gave the Athenians the upper hand once more, but a disastrous failed assault on a strategic high point and several crippling naval defeats damaged the Athenian soldiers' ability to continue fighting and also their morale. The Athenians attempted a last-ditch evacuation from Syracuse. The evacuation failed, and nearly the entire expedition were captured or were destroyed in Sicily. The effects of the defeat were immense. Two hundred ships and thousands of soldiers, an appreciable portion of Athens' total manpower, were lost in a single stroke. The city's enemies on the mainland and in Persia were encouraged to take action, and rebellions broke out in the Aegean. Some historians consider the defeat to have been the turning point in the war, though Athens continued to fight for another decade. Thucydides observed that contemporary Greeks were shocked not that Athens eventually fell after the defeat, but rather that it fought on for as long as it did, so devastating were the losses suffered. Athens managed to recover remarkably well from the expedition materially, the principal issue being the loss of manpower rather than the loss of ships.
See the links for many more details.

404

Siege of Athens and Piraeus

The siege that forced the Athenians to surrender after they had lost their fleet at Agesopotamia. See the link for details

385

Siege of Mantinea

The siege of Mantinea in 385 saw the Spartans take advantage of their dominant position in Greece after the end of the CorinthianWar to attack one of their long standing local rivals and a half-hearted ally in the recent war. Mantinea was located about fifty miles from Sparta. The city had been formed by the merger of five villages, possibly as recently as the previous century, and had joined the Peloponnesian League.
See links for more details.

309

Siracena, siege of

The Siege of Siracena in Sarmatia was a Bosporan siege led by Satyrus II and Meniscus on the fortified capital city of the Siraces, Siracena. It that occurred in 309 during the First Bosporan Civil War, the Siraces were a hellenized Sarmatian tribe that had sided with Eumelos, a claimant to the Bosporan throne and a brother of Satyrus.
See the link for details.

414

Siege of Syracuse

This was the main event during the Athenian Sicilian Expedition and is described there as well.

397

Siege of Syracuse

The Siege of Syracuse in 397 was the first of four unsuccessful sieges Carthaginian forces would undertake against Syracuse from 397 to 278.
Read the link for much more detail.

343

Siege of Syracuse

The Siege of Syracuse from 344 to 343/342 was part of a war between the Syracusan general Hicetas and the tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius II. The conflict became more complex when Carthage and Corinth became involved. The Carthaginians had made an alliance with Hicetas to expand their power in Sicily. Somewhat later the Corinthian general Timoleon arrived in Sicily to restore democracy to Syracuse. With the assistance of several other Sicilian Greek cities, Timoleon emerged victorious and reinstated a democratic regime in Syracuse. The siege is described by the ancient historians Diodorus Siculus and Plutarch, but there are important differences in their accounts.
Read the links for more details in this complex event.

327

Sogdian Rock

The Sogdian Rock or Rock of Ariamazes, a fortress located north of Bactria in Sogdiana (near Samarkand), ruled by Arimazes, was captured by the forces of Alexander the Great in the early spring of 327 as part of his conquest of the Achaemenid Empire.

497

Soli, Siege of

Soli was besieged and captured by the Persians during their defeat of the Ionian Revolt.

Spahacteria

The Battle of Sphacteria was a land battle of thePeloponnesian War, fought in 425 between Athens and Sparta. Following the Battle of Pylos and subsequent peace negotiations, which failed, a number of Spartans were stranded on the island of Sphacteria. An Athenian force under Cleon and Demosthenes attacked and forced them to surrender.

Location:
Sphacteria, a small island at the entrance to the bay of Pylos
Opponents: Athens versus Sparta
Commanders and leaders:
Athens - Demosthenes, Cleon
Sparta - Epitadas †, Hippagretas, Styphon
Strength:
Athens - 3,000+ soldiers, 8,000 lightly armed rowers
Sparta - 440
Casualties and losses:
Athens -About 230
Sparta - 148 killed, Remainder captured + triremes

See the three links for much more detail about this significant battle.

272

Sparta, siege of

The Siege of Sparta took place in 272 and was a battle fought between Epirus, led by King Pyrrhus, (r. 297–272) and an alliance consisting of Sparta, under the command of King Areus I (r. 309–265) and his heir Acrotatus, and Macedon. The battle was fought at Sparta and ended in a Spartan-Macedonian victory. Following his defeat in Italy by the Roman Republic, Pyrrhus was forced to retreat back to Epirus. On his return to Epirus, he declared war against Antigonus Gonatas (r. 283–239), managing to take control of Macedon. In 272, he was approached by a Spartan prince, Cleonymus, a claimant to the Spartan throne who had been overlooked. Pyrrhus saw this invitation as an opportunity to extend his wars of conquest to the Peloponnese and invaded Sparta.
See link for details.

Spartalos

Opponents:
Athens versus Chalcidice, Spartolos, Olynthus
Commanders and leaders
Athens - Xenophon
Others - Unknown
Strength:
Athens - 4,000 total
Allies - 5,000 infantry, 400 cavalry
Casualties and losses:
Athens - Over 430
Others - no more than 315

This was an early Athenian defeat - see the links for more details

433

Sybota

Location off Corcyra
Result Stalemate.
Both Corinth and Corcyra claim victory.
Opponents: Corcyra, and Athens versus Corinth
Commanders and leaders:
Corcyra - Athens - Miciades, Aisimides, Eurybatus, Lacedaimonius, Diotimus, Proteas
Corinth - Xenoclides
Strength:
Corcyra - 110 Corcyraean ships, 10 Athenian ships
Corinth - 150 ships
Casualties and losses:
Corcyra - Athens 70 ships destroyed, 1000+ captured, many killed
Corinth - 30 ships destroyed, many killed

Corinth had been in dispute with Corcyra, an old Corinthian colony but by then really independent. Corcyra, which had the second largest navy in Greece at the time, allied itself with Athens, an enemy of Corinth (as Corinth was allied with Sparta). Athens sent ten ships to Corcyra to reinforce the Corcyraean fleet, with instructions not to fight the Corinthian fleet unless they attempted to land on the island. Corinth, meanwhile, assembled a fleet of ships under the command of Xenoclides and prepared to sail to Corcyra. Corcyra gathered a fleet under Miciades, Aisimides and Eurybatus, who made the Sybota islands their base of operations.
The Athenian commanders, Lacedaimonius (the son of Cimon), Diotimus, and Proteas, sailed with them. When the Corinthian ships arrived, the Corcyraeans formed their line of battle, with the Athenians on the right and their own ships making up the rest of the line in three squadrons. The Corinthian ships were lined up with the Megarans and Ambraciots on the right, the Corinthians on the left, and the remainder of their allies in the centre. Both sides fought with hoplites on their ships, along with archers and javelin-throwers, in a manner Thucydides calls "old-fashioned." Instead of ramming and sinking the other ships, both sides attempted to board their opponents' ships and fight what was essentially a land battle at sea. The Athenian ships, although they were part of the line, did not at first join the battle, as the Corinthians had not attempted to land. The Corcyraean ships on the left routed the Corinthian right wing, chasing them all the way back to their camp on the coast, which they then burned. The Corinthian left wing, however, was more successful, and the Athenians were forced to come to the aid of their allies. Despite the Athenian intervention, the Corinthians were victorious, and sailed through the wreckage of defeated ships often killing survivors rather than taking prisoners (including, although they did not know it, some of their own allies who had been defeated on the right-wing). The Corcyraeans and Athenians returned to Corcyra to defend the island, but when the Corinthians approached again, they almost immediately retreated, as 20 more Athenian ships under the command of Glaucon were on their way. The next day, the new Athenian ships threatened a second battle if the Corinthians attempted to land on Corcyra. The Corinthians retreated completely rather than risk another battle. Both the Corinthians and Corcyraeans claimed victory, the Corinthians having won the first battle, and the Corcyraeans having avoided a Corinthian occupation of their island. Soon after this battle, the Athenians and Corinthians fought again at the Battle of Potidaea, leading to a formal declaration of war from Sparta.

626

Tanagra

457

Tanagra

Opponents: Athens versus Sparta
Commanders and leaders:
Athens - Myronides
Sparta - Nicomedes
Strength:
Athens 14,000
Sparta 11,500
Casualties and losses - Unknown

See the links for more detail.

When the Phocians made war on the cities of Doris—the traditional homeland of Doric Greeks —the Doric Spartans sent a relief force under the command of Nicomedes, son of Cleombrotus, acting as regent for his under-age nephew, King Pleistoanax. An army of 1,500 Spartan hoplites with 10,000 of their allies entered Boeotia and compelled the submission of Phocis. Athens, already contemptuous of Spartan treatment and now suspecting her of negotiating with factions within the city to undermine democracy and prevent the construction of the Long Walls, maneuvered to cut off the Spartan army isolated in Boeotia. Facing either transport across the Gulf of Corinth controlled by the Athenian navy or a difficult march through the Geraneia mountain passes held by Athenian soldiers supported from Megara, the Spartans decided to wait either for the opening of a safe route home or an outright Athenian assault. Meeting the Spartans at Tanagra, Athens fielded "their whole army, supported by 1,000 troops from Argos and by contingents from their other allies, making up altogether a force of 14,000 men." Although both sides sustained "great losses," the Spartans were victorious and now able to return home through the mountain passes of the Isthmus. The Athenian politician and general Cimon, who had been exiled from Athens 3 years prior, came to the Athenian camp to offer to fight but was sent away. Two months later, the Athenians regrouped and defeated Thebes at the Battle of Oenophyta and took control of Boeotia, taking down the wall the Spartans had built. With the victory the Athenians also occupied Phocis, the original source of the conflict and the Opuntian Locris.

426

Tanagra

This Battle of Tanagra was a battle in the Peloponnesian War in 426 between Athens and Tanagra and Thebes.

Opponents: Athens versus Tanagra and Thebes
Commanders and leaders:
Athens - Nicias, Hipponicus, Eurymedon
Thebes - Unknown
Strength:
Athens - 2,000 hoplites
Thebes - Unknown
Casualties and losses Unknown and Unknown

In 426 Athens sent a fleet to the island of Melos consisting of 60 ships and 2,000 hoplites under the command of Nicias. Melos had refused to join the Delian League, and still refused to do so even when the Athenians plundered the island. The Athenians, however, did not conquer the island, but instead sailed to Oropus on the coast of Boeotia. The hoplites landed on shore and marched towards Tanagra, where they were joined by the main Athenian army that had been marching from Athens under Hipponicus and Eurymedon. They plundered the countryside, and the next day defeated a combined Tanagran and Theban army, but returned to Athens after the victory.

218

Tegea

In the Peloponnesian War the Tegeatae were the firm allies of the Spartans, to whom they remained faithful both on account of their possessing an aristocratical constitution, and from their jealousy of the neighbouring democratical city of Mantineia, with which they were frequently at war. They were involved in many wars, feequently as allies to Sparta. In 212 they were attacked and occupied by the Spartans.

479--450

Tegea

Herodotus records a battle of uncertain date between the Spartans and Tegeans plus Argives between these dates.

375

Tegyra

Tegyra was a town in Boeotia, the site of an oracle and temple of Apollo, who was even said to have been born there. It was the site of the Battle of Tegyra in 375. It was located north of Lake Copais, above the marshes of the river Melas. Its location has been identified with sparse remains 5 km (3 mi) northeast of Orchomenus, a hill with springs at the base, the head of the Polygira tributary of the Melas.
Location - Tegyra, near Orchomenus, Boeotia
Result - Theban victory
Opponents Thebans versus Spartans
Commanders and leaders:
- Thebans - Pelopidas
Spartans - Gorgolleon & Theopompus
† Strength:
Thebans - 300 infantry, 200 cavalry
Spartans - 1,000-1,800
Casualties and losses:
Thebans - Low
Spartans - moderate
The battle was between regular hoplite forces. In the battle, a Theban army commanded by Pelopidas was faced by a substantially larger Spartan force, while retreating from an abortive attack on Orchomenus, but successfully attacked and routed the Spartans. The battle marked the first occasion in the historical record in which a Spartan force had been defeated by a numerically inferior enemy in a set battle (as opposed to irregular warfare, employed by Iphicrates).

See the links for more details about this important battle.

465-63

Thasos, siege of

The Thasian rebellion was an incident in 465, in which Thasos rebelled against Athenian control, seeking to renounce its membership in the Delian League. The rebellion was prompted by a conflict between Athens and Thasos over control of silver deposits on the Thracian mainland, which Thasos had traditionally mined. The rebellion was eventually crushed, after a long and difficult siege, but not before Sparta had secretly promised to invade Attica in support of the Thasians.

479

Thebes, siege of

The siege of Thebes in 479 followed the Greek victory over the invading Persians at Plataea, and ended after the main Persian supporters in Thebes surrendered. The victorious Greeks spent some time burying their dead (and arguing about who had performed best at the battle). They then decided to move against Thebes. They reached Thebes ten days after the battle, and demanded the surrender of the main Persian supporters and in particular Timagenidas and Attaginus.
See link for details.

377

Thebes campaign

The Theban campaign of 377 was the second attempt by King Agesilaus II of Sparta to force Thebes to accept Spartan control, but like his first attempt in the previous year the campaign ended in failure.
See the link for much detail.

335

Thebes

The Battle of Thebes was a battle that took place between Alexander the Great and the Greek city-state of Thebes in 335 immediately outside of and in the city proper in Boeotia. After being made hegemon of the League of Corinth, Alexander had marched to the north to deal with revolts in Illyria and Thrace, which forced him to draw heavily from the troops in Macedonia that were maintaining pressure on the Greek city-states of the south to keep them in subjection. Although Alexander did not desire to destroy Thebes, after sending several embassies requesting their submission on what he considered merciful terms, he eventually decided to destroy the city as an example to others.

389

Theodosia, siege of

The Siege of Theodosia in 389 was the first of three sieges carried out against the city of Theodosia (modern day Feodosia) by the rulers of the Bosporan Kingdom, who attempted time and time again to annex the city to their dominions during the long Bosporan-Heracleote War. The first of these sieges was carried out by Satyros I, the father of Leukon I

365

Theodosia, siege of

The Siege of Theodosia was a siege carried out by Leukon I sometime after his accession to the Bosporan throne in around 365. Satyrus I, the father of Leukon, had previously laid siege on Theodosia but died during it. The exact numbers of the forces in the siege aren't known.

360

Theodosia, siege of

The Siege of Theodosia in c.?360 was the third and final siege by the Bosporan Kingdom under Leukon I against the city of Theodosia, a probable colony of Heraclea Pontica, who had aided the city in two previous sieges. Prelude In the first siege, Satyros I, the father of Leukon, besieged the city but lost his life there at the age of 81. Leukon besieged the city himself but, after having been tricked by Tynnichus, retreated back to Panticapaeum. After his defeat, Leukon had to solidify his position on the throne after getting word that some of his friends and subjects were conspiring against him due his failure at Theodosia. He enlisted the aid of merchants and put down the conspiracy

480

Thermopylae

The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas I of Sparta, and the Achaemenid Empire of Xerxes I over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place simultaneously with the naval battle at Artemisium, in August or September 480 , at the narrow coastal pass of Thermopylae ("The Hot Gates"). The Persian invasion was a delayed response to the defeat of the first Persian invasion of Greece, which had been ended by the Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathonin 490.

Date 20 August or 8–10 September 480
Location Thermopylae, Greece
Result
Persian victory - Territorial changes Persians gain control of Phocis, Boeotia, and Attica
Opponents:
Greek city-states versus Persian Empire
Commanders and leaders:
Greeks - Spartans - King Leonidas of Sparta † Demophilus †
Persians - King Xerxes I of Persia Mardonius Hydarnes II Artapanus
Strength:
Greeks - Total 5,200 (or 6,100) (Herodotus) 7,400+ (Diodorus) 11,200 (Pausanias) 7,000 (modern est.)
Persians - 2,641,610 (Herodotus) 70,000–300,000 (modern est.)
Casualties and losses"
Greeks - 4,000 (Herodotus)
Persians. 20,000 (Herodotus)

This is one of if not the most famous battles in ancient history. See the links for much more detail.

323

Thermopylae

The Battle of Thermopylae was fought in 323 between the Macedonians and a coalition of armies including Athens and the Aetolian League in the pass of Thermopylae during the Lamian War. After Antipater received news of the outbreak of the war, he sent messengers to Craterus and Philotas who were in Asia with an army of over 10,000 soldiers, to come to his aid. But receiving news of the progress of the war and realizing that he could not wait for his reinforcements to arrive, he marched south to Thessaly with 13,000 foot soldiers and 600 horsemen, while he left Sippas in command of Macedon. But the Thessalians, who initially supported Macedon, changed sides to the Athenian alliance and joined the Athenian general Leosthenes' forces in occupying the passes of Thermopylae, significantly outnumbering the Macedonians. Antipater was defeated in the ensuing battle and since he could not retreat because the Athenian coalitions' forces were stronger than his forces, he shut himself in the city of Lamia where he was subsequently besieged by Leosthenes' forces.
Opponents:
Athens, +Aetolian League versus Macedon
Commanders and leaders:
Athens - Leosthenes
Macedon - Antipater
Strength:
Macedon - 13,000 infantry 600 cavalry

279

Thermopylae

The Battle of Thermopylae was fought in 279 between invading Gallic armies and a combined army of Greek Aetolians, Boeotians, Athenians, and Phocians at Thermopylae. The Gauls under Brennus were victorious, and advanced further into the Greek peninsula where they attempted to sack Delphi but were completely defeated.

Background:
Gallic groups, originating from the various La Tène chiefdoms, began a south-eastern movement into the Balkan peninsula from the 4th century. Although Gallic settlements were concentrated in the western half of the Carpathian basin, there were notable incursions, and settlements, within the Balkan peninsula itself. From their new bases in northern Illyria and Pannonia, the Gallic invasions climaxed in the early 3rd century, with the invasion of Greece.
The 279 invasion of Greece proper was preceded by a series of other military campaigns waged in the southern Balkans and against the kingdom of Macedonia, favoured by the state of confusion ensuing from the complex and divisive succession processes following Alexander's sudden death.
The Celtic military pressure toward Greece in the southern Balkans reached its turning point in 281. In 280 a great army, comprising about 85,000 warriors, approached from Pannonia and split into three divisions. These forces marched south in a great expedition to Macedon and central Greece. Under the leadership of Cerethrius, 20,000 men moved against the Thracians and Triballi. Another division, led by Brennus and Acichorius moved against Paionians, while a third division, headed by Bolgios, headed towards the Macedonians and Illyrians. Bolgios inflicted heavy losses on the Macedonians, whose young king, Ptolemy Keraunos, was captured and decapitated. However, Bolgios' contingent was repulsed by the Macedonian nobleman Sosthenes, and satisfied with the loot they had won, Bolgios' contingents turned back. Sosthenes, in turn, was attacked and defeated by Brennus and his forces, who were then free to ravage the country. After these expeditions returned home, Brennus urged and persuaded them to mount a third united expedition against central Greece, led by himself and Acichorius.

Battle:
A Greek coalition made up of Aetolians, Boeotians, Athenians, Phocians, and other Greeks north of Corinth took up positions at the narrow pass of Thermopylae, on the east coast of central Greece. During the initial assault, Brennus' forces suffered heavy losses. Hence he decided to send a large force under Acichorius against Aetolia. The Aetolian detachment, as Brennus hoped, left Thermopylae to defend their homes. The Aetolians all joined the defence - the old and women joining the fight. Realising that the Gallic sword was dangerous only at close quarters, the Aetolians resorted to skirmishing tactics. The Gauls destroyed Kallion, on the border between Eurytania and Aetolia, committing horrible atrocities, but the resistance of the entire Aetolian population at the site of Kokkalia, where also the elderly and the women and children fought, dealt a decisive blow to the Galatian threat. According to Pausanias, only half the number who had set out for Aetolia returned. Eventually Brennus found a way around the pass at Thermopylae, but the Greeks escaped by sea.

Aftermath:
Brennus pushed on to Delphi where he was defeated and forced to retreat, after which he died of wounds sustained in the battle. His army fell back to the river Spercheios where it was routed by the Thessalians and Malians. Some of the survivors of the Greek campaign, led by Comontoris (one of Brennus' generals) settled in Thrace, founding a short-lived city-state named Tyle.[ Another group of Gauls, who split off from Brennus' army in 281, were transported over to Asia Minor by Nicomedes I to help him defeat his brother and secure the throne of Bithynia. They eventually settled in the region that came to be named after them as Galatia. They were defeated by Antiochus I, and as a result, they were confined to barren highlands in the centre of Anatolia. In contrast, the Aetolian League strengthened its position in mainland Greece and for about a century the League controlled Delphi. The Aetolians set up an honorary stele on a base which presumably depicted pieces of armour from the Gauls. They also erected the so-called “Portico of the Aetolians” or Western Portico, one of the largest buildings close to the sanctuary of Apollo. As a token of gratitude, the Aetolians were accorded the right to participate at the amphictyonic convention. The Amphictyonic Soteria, were organised, and in 246 were renamed “Aetolian Soteria” and evolved into Panhellenic Games which took place every five years.

378

Thespiae

The battle of Thespiae in 378 was a Theban victory that ended a period of Sparta raids from their base at Thespiae, and in which the Spartan commander Phoebidas was killed (Theban-Spartan War (379-371)). In 382 the Spartans had seized control of Thebes, but three years later a group of Theban exiles, with help from within the city, had overthrown the pro-Spartan government and expelled the Spartan garrison of the Cadmea, the citadel of Thebes. The first Spartan campaign in Boeotia, in 379, had achieved very little other than dragging Athens into the war. In 378 King Agesilaus II took command, but he did little better, and was eventually forced to retreat after a standoff near Thebes. Before he left he refortified Thespiae, and then left a Spartan garrison in the city, commanded by Phoebidas, the Spartan commander who had seized Thebes in 382.

546

Thymbra

The battle in which Cyrus the Great defeated Croesus and then, after besieging Sardis concured Lydia

545

Thyreatis

This battle during a Argive- Spartan conflict is often termed 'Battle of 600 Champions'. The two sides were fighting over Thyreatis. It was owned by Argos but ocupied by Sparta. The Argives moved to retake their town. At a truce meeting the sides agreed to select 300 soldiers each to fight a Homeric struggle. By nightfall only 3 heros remained, 2 Argives and 1 Spartan. The following day an argument ensued over who had won resulting in renewal of the contest into a full scale battle in which the Spartans finally emerged victorious.

332

Tyre, siege of

The Siege of Tyre was orchestrated by Alexander the Great in 332 during his campaigns against the Persians. The Macedonian army was unable to capture the city, which was a strategic coastal base on the Mediterranean Sea, through conventional means because it was on an island and had walls right up to the sea. Alexander responded to this problem by first blockading and besieging Tyre for seven months, and then by building a causeway that allowed him to breach the fortifications. It is said that Alexander was so enraged at the Tyrians' defence of their city and the loss of his men that he destroyed half the city. According to Arrian, 8,000 Tyrian civilians were massacred after the city fell. Alexander granted pardon to all who had sought sanctuary in the temple, including Azemilcus and his family, as well as many nobles. 30,000 residents and foreigners, mainly women and children, were sold into slavery.
See link for details.

331

Uxian defile

The Battle of Uxian Defile was fought by Alexander the Great against the Uxian tribe of the Persian Empire. The battle raged on the mountain range between the key Persian cities of Susa and Persepolis. Normally, the tribes in the Persian Empire would pay tribute to the Great King, but the Persians had been unable to subdue the Uxians. As a result, whenever Persian armies wanted to use the pass for logistical purposes, they were required to pay a fee. The Uxians had sent Alexander an embassy to the effect that they expected him to pay the same tribute the Persians were required to. Alexander agreed, saying that on a given day he would follow the main road and pay the agreed upon tribute. But instead he surrounded them and crushed their resistance.
See the link for details

349

Zeira, siege of

The siege of Zeira in 349 came at the start of Philip II of Macedon's campaign against Olynthus and Chalcidice, and saw him capture and destroy the city. See link.

WARS and CAMPAIGNS

499 -449

Greco-Persian war

The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499i] and lasted until 449 . The conflict between the multitude of independent and competing Greek communities and the huge and multiethnic Persian empire began when Cyrus the Great conquered the Greek- inhabited region on the Aegean coast of Ionia in 547. The Persian empire was itelf divided into satrapies (provinces) of which two included parts of Ionia.Desiring to control the autonomous Ionian cities, the Persians appointed local tyrants to rule each of them. Thus a multi-sided and multi-layered series of struggles was inevitable. Within each city factions based on competing individuals and families and democratic and oligarchial power sought support from outside while the communities also competed with each other. And they were subodinate to the competing satraps. The various Ionian communities had been founded by different Greek communities from which they sought assistance. At the higest level the Persian kings considered extending their empire into Europe including Thrace, Thessaly, Macdeon and Greece. The Persian king, Darius demanded that the Ionian cities support his invasion of Thrace and his Scythian expedition, which they did becoming in direct personal contact with him.
We have two different essays on the wars at the links.

492

Caducian Campaign

Mardonius' campaign was the opening event of the Persian Wars.
He was Darius's son-in-law. He re-subjugated Thrace, which had nominally been part of the Persian empire since 513 Mardonius was also able to force Macedon to become a fully subordinate client kingdom of Persia; it had previously been a vassal, but retained a broad degree of autonomy. However, further progress in this campaign was prevented when Mardonius's fleet was wrecked in a storm off the coast of Mount Athos. Mardonius himself was then injured in a raid on his camp by a Thracian tribe, and after this he returned with the rest of the expedition to Asia. The following year, having given clear warning of his plans, Darius sent ambassadors to all the cities of Greece, demanding their submission. He received it from almost all of them, except Athens and Sparta. With Athens still defiant, and Sparta now also effectively at war with him, Darius ordered a further military campaign for the following year.

385

Cadusian Campaign

This Cadusian Campaign was a military campaign of King Artaxerxes II of Persia against the Cadusii a people who lived in a mountainous district of Media Atropatene on the south-west shores of the Caspian Sea, Artaxerxes organized an expedition that, according to Plutarch, consisted of 300,000 infantry soldiers and 10,000 cavalry soldiers. He commanded the expedition in person and among the officers accompanying him were Tiribazus and Datames. Advancing inside enemy territory, it didn't take long before the army started to suffer from starvation. The mountainous terrain offered little food but some pears, apples, and other tree-fruits insufficient to feed such a host of fighting men. The army was reduced to eating their own beasts of burden first and later their own cavalry mounts. Tiribazus found a solution to resolve the campaign and save the King's army. He knew that the Cadusii were divided between two rival chiefs so he sent his son to negotiate with one while he negotiated with the other. Both Tiribazus and his son convinced the Cadusii chiefs that the other had sent envoys to the Persian King and sought an advantageous peace. Neither of the two chiefs wanting to be outmaneuvered by their rival, they submitted to Artaxerxes. With the successful negotiations concluded the army retreated, ending the campaign.

395 - 387

Corinthian War

The Corinthian War was a Greek conflict lasting from 395 until 387 , pitting Sparta against a coalition of four allied states, Thebes, Athens, Corinth, and Argos, supported by the Persians. The immediate cause of the war was a local conflict in northwest Greece in which both Thebes and Sparta intervened. The deeper cause was hostility towards Sparta, provoked by that city's "expansionism in Asia Minor, central and northern Greece and even the west". The Corinthian War followed the Peloponnesian War (431–404 , in which Sparta had achieved hegemony over Athens and its allies. The war was fought on two fronts, on land near Corinth (hence the name) and Thebes and at sea in the Aegean. On land, the Spartans achieved several early successes in major battles, but were unable to capitalize on their advantage, and the fighting soon became stalemated. At sea, the Spartan fleet was decisively defeated early in the war by an Achaemenid fleet allied with Athens, an event that effectively ended Sparta's attempts to become a naval power.
See the three links for much more detail on the war.

Map of the battles in the Corinthian war at this link.

378

Boeotian War

The Boeotian or Theban War broke out in 378 as the result of a revolt in Thebes against Sparta. The war made Thebes dominant in the Greek World at the expense of Sparta. However by the end of the war Thebes’ greatest leaders, Pelopidas andEpaminondas, were both dead and Thebes power was already declining, resulting in the power of Macedon.
See the links for details.

323 -322

Lamian War

The Lamian War, or the Hellenic War was fought by a coalition of cities including Athens and the Aetolian League against Macedon and its ally Boeotia. The war broke out after the death of the King of Macedon, Alexander the Great, and was part of a series of attempts to challenge Macedonian hegemony over mainland Greece. The war takes its name from the protracted siege of the Macedonian forces at Lamia. Although the Athenian coalition was initially successful against the Macedonian forces in Europe, their inability to take the city of Lamia and their failure to retain control of the sea gave the Macedonians time to bring reinforcements from Asia and secure victory.
See the three links for details.

460 - 446

First Peloponnesian War

The First Peloponnesian War was fought between Sparta as the leaders of the Peloponnesian League and Sparta's other allies, most notably Thebes, and the Delian League led by Athens with support from Argos. This war consisted of a series of conflicts and minor wars, such as the Second Sacred War. There were several causes for the war including the building of the Athenian long walls, Megara's defection and the envy and concern felt by Spartans at the growth of the Athenian Empire. The First Peloponnesian War began in 460 with the Battle of Oenoe, where Spartan forces were defeated by those of Athenian-Argive alliance.
See both links for much more detail about the whole war.

431 - 404

Peloponnesian War

The Peloponnesian War (431–404) was fought by the Delian League led by Athens against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases. In the first phase, the Archidamian War, Sparta launched repeated invasions of Attica, while Athens took advantage of its naval supremacy to raid the coast of the Peloponnese and attempt to suppress signs of unrest in its empire. This period of the war was concluded in 421 , with the signing of the Peace of Nicias. That treaty, however, was soon undermined by renewed fighting in the Peloponnese. In 415 , Athens dispatched a massive expeditionary force to attack Syracuse, Sicily; the attack failed disastrously, with the destruction of the entire force in 413. This ushered in the final phase of the war, generally referred to either as the Decelean War, or the Ionian War. In this phase, Sparta, now receiving support from the Achaemenid Empire, supported rebellions in Athens's subject states in the Aegean Sea and Ionia, undermining Athens's empire, and, eventually, depriving the city of naval supremacy. The destruction of Athens's fleet in the Battle of Aegospotami effectively ended the war, and Athens surrendered in the following year. Corinth and Thebes demanded that Athens should be destroyed and all its citizens should be enslaved, but Sparta refused. Although the term "Peloponnesian War" was never used by Thucydides, one of the conflict's most important historians, the fact that the term is all but universally used today is a reflection of the Athens-centric sympathies of modern historians. As prominent historian J. B. Bury remarks, the Peloponnesians would have considered it the "Attic War".
See the links for more details.

743 - 724

First Messenian War

First Messenian War
The First Messenian War was a war between Messenia and Sparta. It began in 743 and ended in 724, according to the dates given by Pausanias. The war continued the rivalry between the Achaeans and the Dorians that had been initiated by the purported Return of the Heracleidae. Both sides utilized an explosive incident to settle the rivalry by full-scale war. The war was prolonged into 20 years. The result was a Spartan victory.
See the links for details

660 -650

Second Mesenian War

The Second Messenian War was a war which occurred ca. 660 - 650 between the Greek citizens of Messenia and Sparta. It started around 40 years after the end of the First Messenian War with the uprising of a slave rebellion. Other scholars, however, assign earlier dates, claiming, for example, that 668 is the date of the war's start, pointing at Sparta's defeat at the First Battle of Hysiae as a possible catalyst for the uprising.
See the links for more details

Sicilian Expedition

The Sicilian Expedition was an Athenian military expedition to Sicily, which took place from 415–413 during the Peloponnesian War between the Athenian empire, or the Delian League, on one side and Sparta, Syracuse and Corinth on the other. The expedition ended in a devastating defeat for the Athenian forces, severely impacting Athens. The expedition was hampered from the outset by uncertainty in its purpose and command structure—political manoeuvring in Athens swelled a lightweight force of twenty ships into a massive armada, and the expedition's primary proponent, Alcibiades, was recalled from command to stand trial before the fleet even reached Sicily. Still, the Athenians achieved early successes. Syracuse, the most powerful state in Sicily, responded exceptionally slowly to the Athenian threat and, as a result, was almost completely invested before the arrival of back up in the form of Spartan general, Gylippus, who galvanized its inhabitants into action.
See the links for more details.

357 -355

Social War

The Social War, also known as the War of the Allies, was between Athens with the Second Athenian League and the allied city-states of Chios, Rhodes, Cos and Byzantion.
Having not learned from its first imperial design Athens' increasingly dominated over the Second Athenian League, then Chios, Rhodes, Cos and Byzantion overthrew the generals Chares and Chabriaswere given command of the Athenian fleet. During midsummer of 357 Chabrias democratic governments and broke away from the league. Chabrias's fleet was defeated and he was killed in the attack on the island of Chios. Chares was given complete command of the Athenian fleet and withdrew to the Hellespont for operations against Byzantion. The older and semi-retired generals Timotheus, Iphicrates and his son Menestheus were sent to help him during an oncoming naval battle between the sighted enemy fleet on the Hellespont. Timotheus and Iphicrates refused to engage due to a blowing gale but Chares did engage and lost many of his ships. In an all too typical political struggle Timotheus and Iphicrates were accused by Chares and put on trial, however only Timotheus was condemned to pay a fine, and escaped. In 356 the revolting allies ravaged the Athenian-loyal islands of Lemnos and Imbros but were only able to lay siege to Samos because it was defended by cleruchs. Chares commanded the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Embata, and lost decisively. King Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, used the war as an opportunity to further the interests of his Macedonian kingdom in the Aegean region. In 357 Philip captured Amphipolis, a depot for the gold and silver mines from Mount Pangaion and the approach to it, as well as for timber, securing Macedon's economic and political future. He secretly offered Amphipolis to the Athenians in exchange for the valuable port Pydna; when they complied, both Pydna and Potidaea were conquered over the winter and occupied; Philip, however, did not surrender Amphipolis. He also took the city of Crenides from the Odrysae and renamed it Philippi. Chares was in need of money for his war effort but frowned upon asking it from home; thus, partly compelled by his mercenaries, he entered the service of the revolted Persian satrap Artabazus. The Athenians originally approved this collaboration but then ordered it to be dropped due to the Persian king, Artaxerxes III Ochus's, complaint and their fear of Persian support for the revolting confederates. As a result of increasing Athenian operations near the Persian empire, in 356 Persia asked Athens to leave Asia Minor, threatening war. In 355 Athens, lacking its former financial and naval resources, complied and withdrew, recognizing the independence of the confederate allies. Chares' war party was replaced by a peaceful one under Eubulus. The financial surplus racked for the war was put in a fund to be used for public entertainment.

595 - 585

First Sacred War

The First Sacred War, or Cirraean War, was fought between the Amphictyonic League of Delphi and the city of Kirrha (Cirrha). At the beginning of the 6th century the Pylaeo-Delphic Amphictyony, controlled by the Thessalians, attempted to take hold of the Sacred Land (or Kirrhaean Plain) of Apollo which resulted in this war. The conflict arose due to Kirrha's frequent robbery and mistreatment of pilgrims going to Delphi and their encroachments upon Delphic land. The war, which culminated with the defeat and destruction of Kirrha, is notable for the use of chemical warfare at the Siege of Kirrha, in the form of hellebore being used to poison the city's water supply. The war's end was marked by the organization of the first Pythian Games.
The leader of the attack was the Tyrant Cleisthenes of Sicyon, who used his powerful navy to blockade the city's port before using an allied Amphictionic army to besiege Kirrha. The Athenians also participated with a contingent led by Alcmaeon. On the Thessalian side, the leaders were Eurylochos and Hippias. What transpired after this is a matter of debate: the earliest, and therefore probably most reliable, account is that of the medical writer Thessalos. He wrote, in the 5th century, that the attackers discovered a secret water-pipe leading into the city after it was broken by a horse's hoof. An asclepiad named Nebros advised the allies to poison the water with hellebore which soon rendered the defenders so weak with diarrhea that they were unable to resist the assault. Kirrha was captured and the entire population was slaughtered. Nebros was considered an ancestor of Hippocrates, so this story has caused many to wonder whether it might not have been guilt over his ancestor's use of poison that drove Hippocrates to establish the Hippocratic Oath. Later historians told different stories. According to Frontinus, who wrote in the 1st century AD, after discovering the pipe, the Amphictionic League cut it, leading to great thirst within the city. They then restored the pipe and the desperate Kirrhans immediately began drinking the water, unaware that Kleisthenes had poisoned it with hellebore. According to Polyaenus, a writer of the 2nd century the attackers added the hellebore to the spring from which the water came. Polyaenus also gave credit for the strategy not to Kleisthenes but to General Eurylochus, who he claimed advised his allies to gather a large amount of hellebore from Anticyra, where it was abundant. The stories of Frontinus and Polyaenus both have the same result as Thessalos's tale: the defeat of Kirrha. The last major historian to advance a new story of the siege was Pausanias, who was active in the 2nd century. In his version of events, Solon of Athens diverted the course of the River Pleistos to avoid through Kirrha but the enemy was able to get enough water from their wells and rainwater collection. Solon then added a great quantity of hellebore to the water of the Pleistos and let it flow into Kirrha.The First Sacred War ended with the victory of the allies of the Amphictyony. Kirrha was destroyed and its lands were dedicated to Apollo, Leto and Artemis and it was forbidden to cultivate them or let animals graze on them. Its inhabitants fled to mountain Kirphe. Cleisthenes was generously rewarded with one third of the booty. In order to celebrate the end of the fighting the first Pythian Games were organized with Cleisthenes playing a major part in them. However, modern scholarship is very sceptical on the exact events and on the long duration of the war.

458-457

Second Sacred War

The Second Sacred War was the Spartan defeat of Phocians at Delphi and the restoration of Delphian self-control. Phocians captured three towns in the Spartan metropolis of Doris. A Spartan army marched on Doris, defeated the Phocians, and restored Dorian rule. On their way back to Peloponnese, Athenians attacked the Spartan army; they were repelled, and Sparta's army returned home. After the Five Years Truce, Sparta embarked on a campaign of truncating "Athens' imperialistic ambitions in Central Greece". So the conflict was over the occupation of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi: hence 'sacred'. The Spartans quickly removed the Athenian-backed Phocians and returned stewardship to the Delphians. After the Spartans left, however, an Athenian army—led by Pericles—took the city and re-installed Phocian rule.

356 - 346

Third Sacred War

The Third Sacred War was fought between the forces of the Delphic Amphictyonic League, principally represented by Thebes, and then by Philip II of Macedon, and the Phocians. The war was caused by a large fine imposed in 357 on the Phocians by the Amphictyonic League (dominated at that moment by Thebes), for the offense of cultivating sacred land; refusing to pay, the Phocians instead seized the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, and used the accumulated treasures to fund large mercenary armies.
See the links for details

477 -449

Wars of the Delian League

The Wars of the Delian League (477–449 ) were a series of campaigns fought between the Delian League of Athens and her allies (and later subjects), and the Achaemenid Empire of Persia. These conflicts represent a continuation of the Greco-Persian Wars, after the Ionian Revolt and the first and second Persian invasions of Greece. The Greek alliance, centred on Sparta and Athens, that had defeated the second Persian invasion had initially followed up this success by capturing the Persian garrisons of Sestos and Byzantium, both in Thrace, in 479 and 478 respectively. After the capture of Byzantium, the Spartans elected not to continue the war effort, and a new alliance, commonly known as the Delian League, was formed, with Athens very much the dominant power. Over the next 30 years, Athens would gradually assume a more hegemonic position over the league, which gradually evolved into the Athenian Empire. Throughout the 470s , the Delian League campaigned in Thrace and the Aegean to remove the remaining Persian garrisons from the region, primarily under the command of the Athenian politician Cimon. In the early part of the next decade, Cimon began campaigning in Asia Minor, seeking to strengthen the Greek position there. At the Battle of the Eurymedon in Pamphylia, the Athenians and allied fleet achieved a stunning double victory, destroying a Persian fleet and then landing the ships' marines to attack and rout the Persian army. After this battle, the Persians took an essentially passive role in the conflict, anxious not to risk battle where possible. Towards the end of the 460s , the Athenians took the ambitious decision to support a revolt in the Egyptian satrapy of the Persian Empire. Although the Greek task force achieved initial success, they were unable to capture the Persian garrison in Memphis, despite a three year long siege. The Persians then counter-attacked, and the Athenian force was itself besieged for 18 months, before being wiped out. This disaster, coupled with ongoing warfare in Greece, dissuaded the Athenians from resuming conflict with Persia. In 451 , a truce was agreed in Greece, and Cimon was able to lead an expedition to Cyprus. However, whilst besieging Kition Cimon died, and the Athenian force decided to withdraw, winning another double victory at the Battle of Salamis-in-Cyprus in order to extricate themselves. This campaign marked the end of hostilities between the Delian League and Persia, and some ancient historians claim that a peace treaty, the Peace of Callias, was agreed to cement the final end of the Greco-Persian Wars.

323 - c. 220

Wars of the Diadochi

The Diadochi were the rival generals, families, and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for control over his empire after his death in 323 in four 'named' wars plus several other local conflicts. See the links for details and the four entries for the specific wars..

First Diodach War

The First Diadoch War saw the first open fighting between the former generals of Alexander the Great. In the aftermath of his death, an attempt had been made to organise his empire (settlement of Babylon, 323). This had seen Perdiccas, his clossest associate at the time of his death, appointed regent for Alexander’s incapable brother and infant son, Craterus appointed guardian of the monarch, a largely honorary role and Antipater left in command in Macedonia.

Second Diodach War

The Second War of the Diadochi was the conflict between the coalition of Polyperchon (as Regent of the Empire), Olympias and Eumenes and the coalition of Cassander, Antigonus, Ptolemy and Lysimachus following the death of Cassander's father, Antipater (the old Regent)

Third Diodach War

Though his authority had seemed secure with his victory over Eumenes, the eastern dynasts were unwilling to see Antigonus rule all of Asia. In 314 they demanded from Antigonus that he cede Lycia and Cappadocia to Cassander, Hellepontine Phrygia toLysimachus, all of Syria to Ptolemy, and Babylonia to Seleucus, and that he share the treasures he had captured. Antigonus only answer was to advise them to be ready, then, for war.

Fourth Diodach War

The Fourth Diadoch War (307-301) was the final stage of the struggle between Antigonus and his fellow successors (Diadochi) for control of the inheritance of Alexander the Great. By the end of 308 Cassander had eliminated the main threats to his position in Greece and Macedonia. Polyperchon had been bought off by an appointment as general of the Peloponnese. An Egyptian expedition of 308 had ended in failure. That expedition had been launched during a rare period of alliance between Ptolemy and Antigonus. When it failed, Antigonus needed to find a new way to disrupt Cassander’s efforts to consolidate his position in Greece.