Cleomenean War - Domination of The Peloponnese

Domination of The Peloponnese

Ptolemy III of Egypt offered continued assistance to Cleomenes on the condition that the Spartan king would offer his mother and children as hostages. Cleomenes hesitated but his mother, after learning of Ptolemy's offer, went voluntarily to Egypt.

In 226 BC, the citizens of Mantinea appealed to Cleomenes to expel the Achaean garrison from the city. One night, he and his troops crept into the city and removed the Achaean garrison before marching off to nearby Tegea. From Tegea, the Spartans advanced into Achaea, where Cleomenes hoped to force the League to face him in a pitched battle. Cleomenes advanced with his army to Dyme and was met by the entire Achaean army. In the battle that followed, the Spartans routed the Achaean phalanx, killing many of the Achaeans and capturing others. Following this victory, Cleomenes captured the city of Lasium and presented it to the Elians.

The Achaean League was demoralized by this battle; Aratus declined the generalship, and when both Athens and the Aetolian League turned down their appeals, they sued Cleomenes for peace. Initially, Cleomenes made only minor requests of the Achaean delegates, but as the talks progressed, Cleomenes' demands became greater and he eventually insisted that leadership of the League be surrendered to him. In exchange, he would return to the Achaeans the prisoners and strongholds he had seized. The Achaeans invited Cleomenes to Lerna, where they were holding council. While marching there, Cleomenes drank too much water, which caused him to lose his voice and cough up blood—a situation that forced him to return to Sparta.

Aratus took advantage of this incident, and began plotting against Cleomenes with King Antigonus III Doson of Macedon. Previously, in 227 BC, two ambassadors from Megalopolis were sent to Macedon to request help. Antigonus showed little interest at the time, and these efforts failed. Aratus wanted the Macedonian king to come to the Peloponnese and defeat Cleomenes, in return for control of Acrocorinth. This was not a sacrifice that the League was willing to make, however, and they declined to seek help from Macedon.

When the Achaeans arrived at Argos for an assembly, Cleomenes came down from Tegea to meet them. However, Aratus—who had reached an agreement with Antigonus—demanded that Cleomenes present 300 hostages to the Achaeans and enter the city alone, or approach the city with all his forces. When this message reached Cleomenes, he declared that he had been wronged and once again declared war on the Achaeans.

Achaea was now in turmoil, and some cities were close to revolt; many residents were angered at Aratus' decision to invite the Macedonians into the Peloponnese. Some also hoped that Cleomenes would introduce constitutional changes in their cities. Encouraged by this development, Cleomenes invaded Achaea and seized the cities of Pellene, Pheneus and Penteleium, effectively splitting the Achaean League in half. The Achaeans, concerned about developing treachery in Corinth and Sicyon, dispatched their mercenaries to garrison the cities and then went to Argos to celebrate the Nemean Games.

Cleomenes estimated that Argos would be easier to capture while filled with festival-goers and spectators to cause panic. During the night, he seized the rugged area above the city's theatre. The people of the city were too terrified to offer resistance. They accepted a garrison, delivered twenty hostages to Cleomenes and became Spartan allies. The capture of Argos gave Cleomenes' reputation a massive boost, since no Spartan king had ever managed to seize Argos. Even Pyrrhus of Epirus, one of the most famous generals of the age, had been killed while trying to take the city.

Soon after the seizure of Argos, Cleonae and Phlius surrendered themselves to Cleomenes. Meanwhile, Aratus was in Corinth investigating those suspected of supporting Sparta. When he heard what had happened at Argos, Aratus expected the city to fall to Sparta. He summoned an assembly and, with all the citizens present, he took his horse and fled to Sicyon. The Corinthians did surrender the city to Cleomenes, but the Spartan king criticized them for failing to arrest Aratus. Cleomenes sent his stepfather Megistonous to Aratus, asking for the surrender of Acrocorinth—the citadel of Corinth, which had an Achaean garrison—in return for a large amount of money.

In quick succession, Hermione, Troezen and Epidaurus surrendered to Cleomenes, who went from Argos to Corinth and started besieging the citadel. He sent a messenger to Aratus proposing that Acrocorinth should be garrisoned jointly by both the Spartans and the Achaeans, and that he would deliver a twelve talent pension. Aratus faced the hard decision of whether to give the city to Antigonus or to let it fall to Cleomenes. He chose to conclude an alliance with Antigonus and sent his son as a hostage to Macedon. Cleomenes invaded the territory of Sicyon and blockaded Aratus inside the city for three months before Aratus was able to escape to attend the Achaean council at Aegium.