Cleomenean War - Macedonian Intervention

Macedonian Intervention

Antigonus, who had brought with him a large force of 20,000 infantry and 1,300 cavalry, was marching through Euboea towards the Peloponnese. The hostile Aetolian League occupying parts of Thessaly had threatened to oppose him if he went further south than Thermopylae, despite their neutrality at that point in the war. Aratus met Antigonus at Pagae, where he was pressured by Antigonus into giving Megara to Boeotia. When Cleomenes heard of the Macedonian advance through Euboea, he abandoned his siege of Sicyon and constructed a trench and palisade running from Acrocorinth to the Isthmus. He chose this location to avoid facing the Macedonian phalanx head-on.

Despite numerous attempts to break through the defensive line and reach Lechaeum, Antigonus' force failed and suffered considerable losses. These defeats took such a toll on Antigonus that he considered abandoning his attack of the palisade and moving his army to Sicyon. However, Aratus was visited one evening by some friends from Argos who invited Antigonus to come to their city. The Argives were ready to revolt under the command of Aristoteles, as they were irritated that Cleomenes had not made any reforms in the city. Antigonus sent 1,500 men under the command of Aratus to sail to Epidaurus and, from there, march to Argos. At the same time the Achaean strategos for the year, Timoxenos, advanced with more men from Sicyon. When the Achaean reinforcements arrived, the entire city except for the citadel was in the hands of the Argives.

When Cleomenes heard about the revolt at Argos, he sent his stepfather with 2,000 men to try and save the situation. Megistonous was killed while assaulting the city, however, and the relief force retreated, leaving the Spartans in the citadel to continue resistance. Cleomenes abandoned his much stronger position at the Isthmus for fear of being encircled and left Corinth to fall into the hands of Antigonus. Cleomenes advanced his troops upon Argos and forced his way into the city, rescuing the men stuck in the citadel. He retreated to Mantinea when he saw Antigonus' army on the plain outside the city.

After retreating into Arcadia and receiving news of his wife's death, Cleomenes returned to Sparta. This left Antigonus free to advance through Arcadia and on the towns that Cleomenes had fortified, including Athenaeum—which he gave to Megalopolis. He continued to Aegium, where the Achaeans were holding their council. He gave a report on his operations and was made chief-in-command of all the allied forces.

Antigonus took the opportunity to revive the Hellenic League of Philip II of Macedon, under the name League of Leagues. Most of the Greek city states took part in the league. These included Macedon, Achaea, Boeotia, Thessaly, Phocis, Locris, Acarnania, Euboea and Epiros. Peter Green claims that for Antigonus, the League was just a way to further Macedon's power.

In the early spring of 223 BC, Antigonus advanced upon Tegea. He was joined there by the Achaeans and together they laid siege to it. The Tegeans held out for a few days before being forced to surrender by the Macedonians' siege weapons. After the capture of Tegea, Antigonus advanced to Laconia, where he found Cleomenes' army waiting for him. When his scouts brought news that the garrison of Orchomenus was marching to meet Cleomenes, however, Antigonus broke camp and ordered a forced march; this caught the city by surprise and forced it to surrender. Antigonus proceeded to capture Mantinea, Heraea and Telphusa, which confined Cleomenes to Laconia. Antigonus then returned to Aegium, where he gave another report about his operations before dismissing the Macedonian troops to winter at home.

Knowing that Cleomenes got the money to pay for his mercenaries from Ptolemy, Antigonus, according to Peter Green, seems to have ceded some territory in Asia Minor to Ptolemy in return for Ptolemy withdrawing his financial support of Sparta. Whether this assumption is accurate or not, Ptolemy certainly withdrew his support, which left Cleomenes without money to pay for his mercenaries. Desperate, Cleomenes freed all helots able to pay five Attic minae; in this way he accumulated 500 talents of silver. He also armed 2,000 of the ex-helots in Macedonian style to counter the White Shields, the Macedonian crack troops, before planning a major initiative.

Cleomenes noted that Antigonus had dismissed his Macedonian troops and only traveled with his mercenaries. At the time Antigonus was in Aegium, a three-day march from Megalopolis. Most of the Achaeans of military age had been killed at Mount Lycaeum and Ladoceia. Cleomenes ordered his army to take five days' worth of rations and sent his troops toward Sellasia, to give the appearance of raiding the territory of Argos. From there he went to the territory of Megalopolis; during the night he ordered one of his friends, Panteus, to capture the weakest section of the walls, while Cleomenes and the rest of the army followed. Panteus managed to capture that section of the wall after killing the sentries. This allowed Cleomenes and the rest of the Spartan army to enter the city.

When dawn came, the Megalopolitans realised that the Spartans had entered the city; some of them fled, while others stood and fought against the invaders. Cleomenes' superior numbers forced the defenders to retreat, but their rearguard action allowed most of the population to escape—only 1,000 were captured. Cleomenes sent a message to Messene, where the exiles had gathered, offering to give back their city if they became his allies. The Megalopolitans refused; in retaliation the Spartans ransacked the city and burnt it to the ground. Nicholas Hammond estimated that Cleomenes managed to accumulate around 300 talents of loot from the city.