Battle of Sellasia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Sellasia |
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| Part of the Cleomenean War | |||||||
 A map of depicting the South Peloponnese. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
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League of Leagues
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Sparta | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Antigonus III Doson Philopoemen Cercidas Alexander Demetrius of Pharos |
Cleomenes III Eucleidas † |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 28,000 infantry, 1,200 cavalry |
20,000 infantry, 650 cavalry |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Substantial | Heavy 5,800 Spartans dead |
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The Battle of Sellasia was a major battle in ancient Greece. It happened in the summer of 222 BC. The battle was fought between Macedon and the Achaean League on one side, and Sparta on the other. The Macedonian and Achaean forces were led by Antigonus III Doson. The Spartan army was led by their King, Cleomenes III.
The battle took place near Sellasia, a town on the northern border of Laconia. This area was part of Sparta's territory. The battle ended with a big victory for Macedon and the Achaean League. This win changed who was in charge in the Peloponnese region of Greece.
In 229 BC, King Cleomenes III of Sparta started a war against the Achaean League. The Achaean League was the most powerful group of cities in the Peloponnese at that time. Cleomenes won many battles against them. This made Sparta the strongest power in the region. Because of this, Aratus of Sicyon, a leader of the Achaean League, asked Antigonus III Doson, the King of Macedon, for help.
Macedon agreed to help, but only if the Achaeans gave them control of the strong fortress of Acrocorinth. In 224 BC, the Macedonians invaded the Peloponnese with an alliance of Greek states. By 222 BC, they had pushed Cleomenes and his Spartan army back into Laconia.
In the summer of 222 BC, the Macedonian and Achaean army marched to Sellasia. There, they met Cleomenes' army, which was waiting for them. After a short standoff, Antigonus attacked the Spartan positions. The Spartans were on two fortified mountains called Olympus and Evas. The Macedonian right side defeated the Spartan left side on Evas. The fight on the other side was much tougher. The Spartans pushed back the Macedonian phalanx at first. But the Macedonians had more soldiers and eventually forced the Spartans to retreat. After this defeat, Cleomenes had to leave Sparta and go into exile in Alexandria. Antigonus became the first non-Spartan general to take control of Sparta.
Contents
Why the Battle Happened
Sparta's Rise to Power
The war started because King Cleomenes III of Sparta took control of several important cities in Arcadia. These cities were part of the Achaean League. The Achaean League was the main power in the Peloponnese region. They declared war on Sparta to get their cities back.
The Achaean leader, Aratus of Sicyon, tried to recapture these cities. But his efforts mostly failed. Sparta became stronger and held onto the cities. The Achaeans faced more defeats in 226 BC. They lost battles at Mount Lycaeum and Ladoceia.
Achaean League Seeks Help
The Achaean League's situation got worse. Their ally, Ptolemy III of Egypt, stopped supporting them financially. Ptolemy had been paying for the Achaeans' fight against Macedon. But he decided that Sparta would be a better ally to balance Macedon's power.
Then, Sparta won another big victory against the Achaean army at the Battle of Dyme. This made the Achaean League want to make peace with Cleomenes. But the peace talks did not work out.
So, Aratus sent messengers to the King of Macedon, Antigonus III Doson. He asked for military help. Antigonus agreed to help. But he had one condition: the Achaean League had to give Macedon control of the very strong fortress called Acrocorinth.
Many Achaeans were very angry about this condition. Cleomenes used this anger to his advantage. He quickly took over the important cities of Corinth and Argos, along with many smaller towns. Aratus eventually accepted Macedon's terms. He also gave the cities of Orchomenus and Heraia to Macedon. After this, Antigonus gathered his army to invade the Peloponnese.
Getting Ready for Battle
Macedonian March and Spartan Fortifications
Antigonus marched towards the Peloponnese with a large army. He had 20,000 foot soldiers and 1,300 cavalry (soldiers on horseback). They had to travel through the island of Euboea. This was because the Aetolian League, who were enemies, blocked their path further south.
When the Macedonian army reached the Isthmus of Corinth, they found their way blocked. Cleomenes had built many strong walls and trenches across the Isthmus. The Macedonians tried several times to break through these defenses. But they were pushed back and lost many soldiers.
Sparta's Setback and Cleomenes' Plan
However, the city of Argos rebelled against Sparta. With help from some Macedonian soldiers, they forced the Spartan soldiers out. This defeat made Cleomenes leave his strong position on the Isthmus. He had to retreat back to Arcadia.
Meanwhile, Antigonus brought back an old alliance called the "League of Leagues." Most of the Greek city-states joined this new league. Antigonus then captured several cities in Arcadia that had supported Cleomenes. He returned to Achaea and sent his Macedonian troops home for the winter.
Around this time, Ptolemy of Egypt stopped sending money to Cleomenes. This left Cleomenes without money to pay his mercenary soldiers. To get money, Cleomenes started selling freedom to the helots (enslaved people in Sparta) in exchange for payment.
Cleomenes learned that Antigonus had sent all his Macedonian troops home. So, he decided to attack the Achaean League. He made it seem like he would raid the area around Argos. But instead, he changed direction and attacked Megalopolis.
The Spartans managed to get past a weak part of the city's defenses. They started to take over the city. The people of Megalopolis didn't know the Spartans were inside until dawn. A small group of citizens fought bravely at the back. This allowed most of the people of Megalopolis to escape. Cleomenes offered to give the city back if they joined his alliance. But they refused. So, Cleomenes ordered his soldiers to loot and destroy the city.
The destruction of Megalopolis shocked the Achaean League. Cleomenes then raided the territory of Argos. He knew Antigonus couldn't stop him because he didn't have enough soldiers. Cleomenes hoped this raid would make the people of Argos lose faith in Antigonus. But it only made it clearer that Cleomenes had to be defeated in a direct battle.
The Battle of Sellasia
The Armies Face Off
Antigonus called his army back from Macedon to respond to Cleomenes' attacks. The Macedonian army marching into Laconia was joined by soldiers from their allies in the Peloponnese. The historian Polybius said the total army had 29,200 men.
The Macedonian part of this army included 10,000 phalangists (soldiers in a tight formation), 3,000 peltasts (light infantry), and 300 cavalry. They also had 1,000 Agrianians, 1,600 Illyrians led by Demetrius of Pharos, and 1,000 Galatians. Plus, there were 3,000 other mercenary foot soldiers and 300 mercenary cavalry.
The Greek allies also sent many soldiers. The Achaeans provided 3,000 foot soldiers and 300 cavalry. The Arcadians sent 1,000 foot soldiers from Megalopolis, led by Cercidas. The Boeotians sent 2,000 foot soldiers and 200 cavalry. The Acarnanians sent 1,000 foot soldiers and 50 cavalry. The Epirotes sent 1,000 foot soldiers and 50 cavalry.
To fight the Macedonian invasion, Cleomenes gathered the largest army he could. He had about 20,650 men. This included Spartan hoplites (citizen-soldiers), possibly 2,000 Lacedaimonians (people from Laconia) who fought like Macedonian phalangists. He also had soldiers from the perioeci (free non-citizens of Sparta) and mercenaries, along with 650 cavalry. Cleomenes fortified the mountain passes leading into Laconia with barriers and trenches. Then, he moved his army to a strong position at the pass of Sellasia.
The Fight Begins
When Antigonus and his army arrived at Sellasia, they saw the Spartan army in strong positions. The Spartans were on two hills, Olympus and Euas. The Oenous River flowed between these hills. Eucleidas, with the perioeci and allies, was on Euas. Cleomenes held Olympus with the Spartans and mercenaries. On the flat ground between the hills, Cleomenes placed his cavalry and the rest of his mercenaries. The Spartans' strong defenses made the Macedonians hesitate to attack right away.
Antigonus placed his phalanxes facing the Spartan foot soldiers on top of the two hills. He ordered them to advance and take the heights. His cavalry, made up of Macedonians, Achaeans, Boeotians, and mercenaries, was in the center. They faced the enemy cavalry.
The allied right side attacked the Spartans on Euas. But they were attacked from the side by enemy foot soldiers who had been with the cavalry. Without protection from their heavy infantry, the advancing allies were in trouble. They were being attacked by Spartans from both the front and the back.
Then, an Arcadian cavalryman named Philopoemen ignored orders and charged with his men. This quick action saved the light infantry on Euas from being completely destroyed. It also helped turn the tide of the battle. The Illyrians and other light infantry soon drove the Spartans from the hill and killed Eucleidas. After the battle, Antigonus praised Philopoemen for his bravery and criticized his own commander, Alexander.
The battle on Olympus between the two phalanxes lasted longer. But when the allied reinforcements from Euas attacked the Spartans from the side, the Spartans fought almost to the last man. Their king, Cleomenes, fled the battlefield with only a few companions. According to the ancient writer Plutarch, out of 6,000 Spartan citizens, only 200 survived. The others chose to die honorably rather than surrender. Cleomenes and his closest friends took a ship from Gythium to Alexandria. He joined his mother and sons there and lived in exile until he died three years later.
