Battle
While Archelaus let his men relax after taking their positions, Sulla set his men to work building trenches which he hoped would cut Archelaus' cavalry off from the plains and move the fighting to more boggy areas. Archelaus recognized Sulla's strategy, and launched several attacks on the workers and the soldiers sent to protect them. In one of these, Archelaus' stepson Diogenese distinguished himself in a valiant attack where he died gloriously. In Archelaus' final attack, Sulla routed his troops and carried his camp. Plutarch says that so many men died that the marshes ran with blood, and almost two hundred years later weapons were still found sticking out of the marshes. After the battle, he destroyed three Boeotian towns: Anthedon, Darymna, and Halae. Later, upon meeting fisherman from Halae who gifted him fish, Sulla told them he was surprised there were any of them left, but let them go and told them not to worry. As a result of this incident, the people of Halae were inspired to repopulate their town.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Orchomenus
Famous quotes containing the word battle:
“The battle which I witnessed took place in the Presidency of Polk, five years before the passage of Webster’s Fugitive-Slave Bill.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The militancy of men, through all the centuries, has drenched the world with blood, and for these deeds of horror and destruction men have been rewarded with monuments, with great songs and epics. The militancy of women has harmed no human life save the lives of those who fought the battle of righteousness. Time alone will reveal what reward will be allotted to women.”
—Emmeline Pankhurst (1858–1928)
“If you are willing to inconvenience yourself in the name of discipline, the battle is half over. Leave Grandma’s early if the children are acting impossible. Depart the ballpark in the sixth inning if you’ve warned the kids and their behavior is still poor. If we do something like this once, our kids will remember it for a long time.”
—Fred G. Gosman (20th century)