| |
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. Despite the majority of the Spartan army
campaigning in Crete, the remaining Spartans were able to mount a defence led
by the Spartan Crown Prince Acrotatus. The Spartans were able to withstand the
Epiriote assaults until the arrival of the main Spartan army, led by King Areus
I, and Macedonian reinforcements, prompting Pyrrhus to abandon the siege. After
this failure, Pyrrhus ravaged the Spartan hinterland whilst fending off
counter-attacks by the victorious Spartans. On the invitation of an Argive
ally, Pyrrhus attempted to seize Argos. The assault culminated in a fiasco with
Pyrrhus being attacked by his Argive opponents, the pursuing Spartan army of
Areus and a Macedonian army commanded by Antigonus Gonatas. Pyrrhus was killed
in the ensuing battle in the streets of Argos, ending Epiriote hopes of
establishing a hegemony in Greece.
Opponents:
Epirus vversus Sparta and Macedon
Commanders and leaders:
Epirus - Pyrrhus and Ptolemy †
Macedon and Sparta - Areus I Acrotatus, Ameinias the Phocian
Strength:
Epirus - 27,000 men, 24 elephants
Macedon and Sparta - 2,000 Spartan Youths, Periokoi, and Helots
6,000–7,000 Spartan Women
Background:
In 281, at the request of the Greek city of Tarentum, Pyrrhus, the King of the
Greek state of Epirus, began the Pyrrhic War taking an army of 25,500 men and
20 elephants to Italy to help fight the Romans.[1] The Romans had succeeded in
conquering most of Italy and were now moving in to take the Greek cities in
Magna Graecia.[2] After arriving in Italy in 280 BC, Pyrrhus defeated a Roman
army at the Battle of Heraclea, near Tarentum.[3] Pyrrhus repeated his success
against Romans by defeating another army at the Battle of Asculum.[3] These
victories proved to be very costly to Pyrrhus and he diverted his attention to
Sicily, where the Greek states on the island were appealing for his help
against Carthage.[4] Despite defeating the Carthaginians and occupying most of
the island, Pyrrhus' behaviour alienated him from his Greek allies and he was
forced to abandon Sicily and return to the Italian mainland.[5] Pyrrhus
attacked the rebuilt Roman army and after the inconclusive Battle of
Beneventum, Pyrrhus returned to Epirus after leaving a garrison at Tarentum.[6]
The war in Italy had drained Pyrrhus' financial and military resources.[7] To
increase his resources and bolster his standing, he declared war on King
Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedon. He ravaged part of the country before managing
to defeat Antigonus at the Battle of the Aous.[8] This defeat compelled
Antigonus to flee to Thessaloniki, where he was protected by his strong
navy.[7] Following Antigonus' flight, Pyrrhus was able to gain control of most
of Macedon and Thessaly, declaring himself King of Macedon.[7]
Prelude:
Upon his seizure of the Macedonian throne, Pyrrhus was approached by a Spartan
Prince, Cleonymus who was serving as an officer in his army.[9] The Spartan
persuaded Pyrrhus to assist him in his plot to capture Sparta.[10] Cleonymus'
motives in wanting to attack Sparta were twofold. Firstly, he bore a grudge
because his countrymen had overlooked him in favour of his nephew, Areus I when
determining the successor of the Agiad throne. Plutarch, the Greek historian,
attributed Cleonymus' non-selection as king to his violent disposition and
arbitrariness.[11] Moreover, Cleonymus had been slighted because his new wife,
Chilonis, had been seduced by Areus' son, Arcotatus.[12] These perceived
insults spurred Cleonymus to leave Sparta and scheme to usurp the throne.[11]
Pyrrhus was receptive to Cleonymus' appeals to install him on the Spartan
throne and agreed to assist him. To achieve this, the Epiriote King assembled
an army numbering of 27,000 men. It consisted 25,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry
and was supplemented by 24 war elephants.[11] The size of Pyrrhus' expedition
indicates that he viewed aiding Cleonymus as an opportunity to extend his
hegemony into the Peloponnese and securing Sparta as an ally.[13] An alternate
theory is that Pyrrhus undertook his invasion of the Peloponnese as a means of
cutting off any support that Antigonus was still receiving from the southern
Greek poleis.[9] After mustering his force, Pyrrhus marched south through
central Greece and through to the Peloponnese. N. G. L. Hammond speculates that
Pyrrhus' army marched down to Pleuron on the Aetolian side of the Gulf of
Corinth and crossed from there into the Peloponnese.[14] This suggests that the
invasion was facilitated by the Aetolian League, a power confederate in Central
Greece, which was hostile to Antigonus.[15] Upon his arrival in the
Peloponnese, Pyrrhus was welcomed in Achaia before continuing his march to
Megalopolis.[16] There he was met by Spartan ambassadors[17] as well as those
from Messene, Athens and the Achaean League.[14] Pyrrhus appears to have
received support for his invasion from some of Sparta's neighbours, namely
Elis, Megalopolis and some Achaian cities which would profit from reduced
Spartan power.[15] In response to the Spartan emissaries' inquiries as to his
intentions, the Epiriote King managed to deceive them.[15] Pyrrhus asserted
that his aim in invading the Peloponnese was to liberate the cities still held
by Antigonus and to send his sons to Sparta to be educated in the agoge.[18]
After the withdrawal of the ambassadors, the Epiriote army advanced into
Laconia followed the Eurotas River south and started to ravaging the territory
of the Spartan perioeci.[19] Pyrrhus' deceit prompted outrage in Sparta and the
ambassadors were again dispatched to the Epiriote to upbraid him for his
perfidy.[13]
Battle:
First day:
Sparta was only lightly defended. The majority of the Spartan army had
accompanied Areus on campaign in Crete, where the Lacedaimonians were
supporting the polis of Gortyn.[20] As such, Sparta must have seemed like an
easy target to Pyrrhus.[15] Arriving outside Sparta in the evening, Cleonymus
advised Pyrrhus to attack immediately to take advantage of the dearth of
defenders. Pyrrhus decided against launching an immediate offensive as he
feared the destruction that would be wrought by his Gallic soldiers if they
were to enter the city at night.[21] Anticipating no resistance, Pyrrhus
ordered his army to make camp and prepared to enter Sparta in the morning.[22]
The appearance of the Epirote army before their city caught the Spartans
unprepared. Despite the Lacedaimonian gerousia being in favour of sending the
women to Crete for their protection, this was opposed by Arachidamia, the
former queen and grandmother of the Eurypontid King Eudamidas II, who ensured
that the Spartan women would remain to assist with the protection of the
city.[23] After the arrangements for the women were reached, the Spartans began
bolstering the settlement's defences. The defenders were aware that the
Epiriotes had brought elephants and to counteract them, the older men and women
dug a trench parallel to Pyrrhus' camp with wagons sunken into the ground at
the flanks to hinder the enemy's advance.[23] The trench was a formidable
obstacle, spanning 800 feet in length with a depth of six feet and a width of
nine feet. [22] Pausanias recounts that the meagre Spartan garrison were
assisted during the siege by allies who had arrived from Argos and Messene.[24]
Additionally, the Spartans sent messengers to both Areus summoning him back to
Sparta and to Antigonus, seeking assistance from him despite the fact that
Sparta and Macedon had historically been enemies.[16] When daybreak approached
and the Epiriote army was preparing its attack, the Spartans assumed defensive
positions behind their trench. They were encouraged by the women who had
remained and by the sight of Chilonis, who had placed a halter around her neck,
declared that she would commit suicide rather than return to Cleonymus if
Pyrrhus captured the city.[25] The besiegers, led by Pyrrhus in person,
attempted to storm the Spartan defences but were repulsed as they were unable
to secure firm footing in the face of Spartan attacks, rendering the trench
impassable.[26] Seeking to circumvent this obstacle, Pyrrhus sent a force of
2,000 Gauls and some picked Chaonians under the commander of his son Ptolemy to
go around the trench.[26] These troops found their path blocked by the wagons
which the Lacedaimonians had sunken into the soil. The wagons were planted so
deeply that they hindered not only the Epiriote assault but also Spartan
efforts to repel the foray.[26] Eventually the Gauls managed to remove some of
the wagons, giving them the opportunity to burst into the city. Acrotatus,
seeing the danger, exploited a series of depressions in the terrain to lead a
force of 300 men undetected against the Epiriote rear. This manoeuvre evoked
panic amongst the Gauls who were compelled to abandon their attempt to enter
the city and had to turn around to confront the attack to their rear.[26] After
a hard fought battle, the Epiriote flanking group was pushed back into the
trench with heavy casualties inflicted upon them. The Spartans, elated by
Arcotatus' leadership, told him to withdraw from the battle and return to
Chilonis so as to beget more children like him for Sparta.[26]
Second day:
Pyrrhus brought 24 elephants with him to besiege Sparta. Pyrrhus failed to
breach the Lacedaimonian defences and when night fell, he withdrew back to his
camp. According to Plutarch, Pyrrhus received an omen during the night. As he
slept, he dreamt of Sparta being smitten and set alight by thunderbolts coming
from his own hand.[27] While Pyrrhus and most of his counsellors interpreted
the dream as indicating that they would seize Sparta by storm, his friend
Lysimachus warned him that places struck by thunderbolts were usually avoided
and that Pyrrhus was destined not to enter Sparta.[27] Pyrrhus dismissed this
interpretation and buoyed by what he deemed to be a portentous sign, he
prepared his men for a further assault.[27] In the face of the renewed Epiriote
offensive, the Spartans held their defences with vigour. Due to the lack of
manpower, the Spartan women were active in offering missiles to the defenders
as well as taking away the wounded and providing food and drink to those who
required it.[28] To nullify the advantage of the Spartans' position, the
Epiriotes began filling up the trench with materials which they were bringing
to the front line as well as the bodies of their slain comrades. The efforts of
the besiegers were hindered by the Spartans who were aware of the importance of
maintaining their defensive obstacles.[27] In response to the Spartan
counter-attack against the Epiriotes filling the trench, Pyrrhus decided to
personally lead a charge against the Spartan lines.[28] Mounted on his horse,
the Epiriote King was able to force his away through the trench, over the
wagons and into the city with a group of his companions. The sudden onslaught
of Pyrrhus sparked panic amongst the defenders of this section. At this point
Pyrrhus' horse was wounded by a javelin which pierced its belly causing it to
throw the King to the ground.[28] The fall of the King threw his companions
into a state of confusion and enabled the Spartans to rally. The Spartans
launched a barrage of missiles at the King's comrades, felling many of them.
Despite the deaths of many of his guards, Pyrrhus was successfully taken to the
safety of the main Epiriote lines.[28]
Fighting retreat:
Following this unsuccessful foray, Pyrrhus ordered his army to fall back. He
hoped that the Spartans would now be willing to come to terms due to the heavy
casualties they had suffered.[27] Pyrrhus' hopes of a Spartan capitulation were
thwarted by the arrival of reinforcements. Upon hearing of Pyrrhus' intention
to conquer Sparta, Antigonus Gonatas had dispatched his general, Ameinias the
Phocian, from Corinth with a group of mercenaries to relieve the
Lacedaimonians.[29] Shortly after this, the defenders' numbers were further
augmented by the arrival of Areus with 2,000 men from Crete.[30] The arrival of
these reinforcements greatly reduced the strain on the Spartans, with women and
those who were not of military age being able to withdraw from the front
line.[27] Bolstered by the fresh troops, the Spartans and their Macedonian
allies prepared themselves for Pyrrhus' next assault against the trench. The
presence of more adversaries intensified Pyrrhus' determination to capture the
city and he ordered another attack on the trenches. He was unable to accomplish
anything and suffered further losses. The failure of this attack convinced
Pyrrhus about the futility of persevering with the siege and he decided to lift
it and withdraw.[31] Pyrrhus intended to spend the winter in Laconia, possibly
with the purpose of launching a fresh attack on Sparta and sent his army to
begin ravaging the surrounding countryside. At this point, Pyrrhus received an
emissary from Aristeas, a prominent citizen of the major Peloponnesian polis of
Argos, seeking his assistance to overthrow the regime of Aristippus, which was
supportive of Antigonus and the Macedonians.[31] Pyrrhus hastened to seize the
opportunity to capture Argos and began to withdraw from Laconia, heading north
to Argolis.[31] His retreating army were continuously harried by the Spartans
under the command of Areus. By setting ambushes and occupying important
positions along the Epiriote line of retreat, the Spartans were able to
inflicted significant casualties on Pyrrhus' rearguard of Gauls and
Molossians.[32] In an attempt to counter the panic and crumbling morale of his
rear which was engaging the Spartans, Pyrrhus sent his son Ptolemy to take
command. By doing this, Pyrrhus' hope was that his son's presence would rally
the rearguard and give him enough time to extricate the rest of his army from
the narrow pass through which they were marching.[33] The battle intensified
around Ptolemy's position and he was set upon by a picked Spartan band led by
Evaclus. In the fight that ensued, Ptolemy was slain and his remaining troops
being overwhelmed by the triumphant Spartans.[31] Upon hearing of his son's
death and the disintegration of his rearguard, Pyrrhus charged the Spartans
with his Molossian cavalry, killing Evaclus with his own hand before destroying
the remainder of his picked Spartan troops. With the defeat of Evaclus' force,
Pyrrhus was able to withdraw the rest of his army from Laconia.[34]
Aftermath:
After their evacuation of Laconia, Pyrrhus directed his army towards Argos and
upon learning that Antigonus was in the vicinity pitched his camp at
Nauplia.[35] After a series of negotiations between the Argives, Macedonians
and Epiriotes, Pyrrhus agreed to withdraw from Argos.[35] During the night, he
entered Argos accompanied by his army with Aristeas' aid. In the ensuing melee,
the Epiriotes were set upon by the Argives as well as Antigonous' Macedonians
and a body of Spartans led by Areus, who had been brought into the city by
Aristippus' faction. While attempting to retreat, Pyrrhus was struck on the
head by a tile and while lying stunned, was decapitated by Antigonus'
troops.[36] Pyrrhus' defeat in the Peloponnese led to the diminution of Epirus'
power and the loss of its Macedonian and Thessalian conquests.[37] Antigonus
capitalised on his Peloponnesian victory to wrest back control of Macedonia and
become the preeminent power in Greece.[38] The establishment of Macedonian
dominance led to a breakdown of the Spartan-Macedonian alliance. In a bid to
further his own royal ambitions, Areus had Sparta join a coalition of Greek
poleis and fought Macedon in the Chremonidean War.[39] The war ended in a
crushing Spartan defeat with Antigonus defeating and killing his former ally
Areus in a battle on the Isthmus of Corinth in 265 BC.[40] The defeat was so
disastrous for Sparta that they would not rise to be a regional power until the
reign of Cleomenes III thirty years later.[41
Sources:
Ancient :
Pausanias (1918). Description of Greece. Translated by Jones, W. H. S. New
York: Harvard University Press. Plutarch (1973). Life of Pyrrhus. Translated by
Scott-Kilvert, Ian. New York: Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044286-3.
Modern:
Cartledge, Paul; Spawforth, Antony (1989). Hellenistic and Roman Sparta: A Tale
of two Cities. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-03290-3. Cross, Geoffrey (2015).
Epirus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107458673. Fox, Robert
Lane (2006). The Classical World. Maryborough: Penguin Books. ISBN
978-0-14-103761-5. Green, Peter (1993). Alexander to Actium: The Historical
Evolution of the Hellenistic Age. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
ISBN 0-500-01485-X. Hammond, N. G. L. (1988). A History of Macedonia:
336–167 BC. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198148151. Pomeroy,
Sarah (2002). Spartan Women. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN
0-415-03290-3. Walbank, F. W. (1984). The Cambridge Ancient History, Part 1:
The Hellenistic World. VII. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN
0-521-23445-X. Wylie, Graham (1999). "Pyrrhus ???eµ?st??".
Latomus. 58. Societe d'Etudes Latines de Bruxelles. II (2): 298–313. JSTOR
41538744.
|
|
