Battle of Chaeronea (August 2, 338 BC) - A battle in Greece near the Boeotian town of Chaeronea, during which the Macedonian king Philip II defeated the united army of the Greek city-states.
In the 4th century BC. e. to the north of Hellas was the small mountainous country of Macedonia. Separated from the Hellenic city-states by the vast Thessaly, Macedonia was considered a barbaric country among the Greeks themselves, although by the middle of the 4th century BC. e. The Macedonian elite was completely Hellenized, and the common people began to actively adopt the customs and achievements of a much more cultured Greece.
However, for a long time this country was not taken seriously by the Greeks, until the throne of a small kingdom in 359 BC. e. the energetic 23-year-old Philip II did not rise.
Philip II of Macedon
Philip showed outstanding diplomatic talent and was able to quickly deal with numerous and powerful enemies. Having bribed the Thracian king, he was able to persuade him to execute Pausanias, one of the pretenders to the Macedonian throne. Then he defeated another challenger, Argei, who enjoyed the support of Athens.
To get rid of the threat from Athens, Philip promised them Amphipolis, which saved Macedonia from internal turmoil. Having become politically stronger and stronger, he soon took possession of Amphipolis, established control over the gold mines and began to mint gold coins. Having thus received significant funds, Philip began to carry out grandiose military and political reforms.
Promotional video:
Rise of Macedonia
Previously, the Macedonian army was not characterized by special discipline and high combat qualities, but now everything has changed. The main force of the Macedonian army began to be phalanx, like the Greeks. But the Macedonian phalanx differed from the Greek in its weapons and numbers.
Only the first rows of the phalanx had heavy weapons - metal shells and shields, the rest simply did not need them. The main weapon of the Macedonian infantryman was the sarissa - a spear, the length of which varied depending on the row in which the warrior stood. If the sarissa in the first two rows practically coincided in length with the spears of the Greek hoplites (a little more than 2 meters), then in the 12th row of the Macedonian phalanx, the soldiers held sarissas 12 cubits long (5.4 m) with both hands. In total, the Macedonian phalanx included from 16 to 24 rows - twice as many as the Greek one.
It is not known exactly how the spearmen acted with their sarissa in battle, but there is evidence that it was impossible to break through the front of the Macedonian phalanx. Ancient authors compared it with a terrible beast bristling with spears.
The heavily armed cavalry, in the ranks of which the king himself fought, Philip called "comrades" (hetairas). Its role in the Macedonian army was much greater than in the armies of the Greek city-states: more professional soldiers served in it, and often it was the strike of the Getaira cavalry that decided the outcome of the battles. The Macedonian king paid the same great attention to the siege of cities; he spared no money to purchase all the technical innovations of Greek siege equipment and build the required number of combat vehicles on their model.
Already by 350 BC. e. Philip the Great felt strong enough to actively intervene in Greek affairs. And the goal that he wanted to achieve was nothing more and nothing less than domination over all of Hellas. On this path, he used a variety of means: military force, deception, bribery. It is Philip who owns the legendary phrase: "A donkey laden with gold will take any fortress."
Reasons for the Battle of Chaeronea
For 10 years, Philip has managed to achieve a lot. He subdued Thessaly and Northern Greece, made the once mighty Thebes his satellite. Athens and Sparta remained; with their inclusion in the orbit of Macedonian influence, the goal could be considered achieved. But here I found a scythe on a stone. However, Sparta, great only for its past, took almost no part in subsequent events, but in Athens there was a man who managed to stop the avalanche-like expansion of Macedonian influence. This man was the great orator Demosthenes. The speeches in which he exposed the predatory plans of the Macedonian king, Demosthenes himself called "philippics", and they had an unprecedented incendiary force.
Thanks to the energetic efforts of Demosthenes, a longtime opponent of Philip the Great and now also one of the leaders of Athens, an anti-Macedonian coalition was formed, including a number of Greek cities; through the efforts of Demosthenes, the strongest of them was attracted to the union - Thebes, who were still in alliance with Philip. The longstanding feud between Athens and Thebes gave way to a sense of danger, which was caused by the increased power of Macedonia.
The combined forces of these states tried to oust the Macedonians from Greece. The allies were even able to win victories in two small battles. But the question of the fate and freedom of Hellas was decided in the last, general battle, into which both opposing sides were going to throw all available forces.
Preparing for battle. Battle
The Battle of Chaeronea, which decided the fate of Hellas, took place on August 2, 338 BC. e. near the village of Chaeronea in Boeotia. The forces of the parties were approximately equal: the Macedonian king had 30,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry, the entire army of the Greeks numbered, in all probability, from 28 to 35,000 people. The Allies on the right flank were Thebans, on the left - the Athenians, the center was occupied by the militias of other Greek cities and mercenaries. The right flank of the Macedonians was led by the king himself, and he entrusted the left flank to his 18-year-old son Alexander.
Any detailed description of the Battle of Chaeronea has not survived. But on the basis of the rather scant evidence of Diodorus, Justin and Polienus, it is possible to reconstruct the approximate course of events. Knowing the fervor of the Athenians in battle, Philip the Great decided to wear them out first.
The initial position of the Greeks was advantageous: the river covered their flank on one side, the hill on the other. By order of the Macedonian king, the phalanx closed ranks and, hiding behind shields, began to slowly retreat. This technique was worked out in the battles with the Thracians. The Athenians, shouting: "Let's chase them to the heart of Macedonia," rushed forward. When the attacking army upset the ranks and entered the plain, Philip threw the phalanx into the offensive.
By this moment, Alexander's cavalry had burst into the formed gaps between the enemy troops, and Philip had the opportunity to surround the enemy. Frustrated, most of the Greeks fled the battlefield. The famous Athenian orator and politician Demosthenes also fled, through whose efforts the anti-Macedonian coalition was organized. About 1000 Athenians were killed, another 2000 Athenian hoplites were taken prisoner.
Many Thebans and other allies were killed on the battlefield. In particular, the famous Theban "Sacred Detachment" of 300 young men completely died, to the last person. Later, Philip himself recognized their unprecedented heroism, comparable to the feat of the Spartans in the battle of Thermopylae.
Consequences of the Battle of Chaeronea
After the victory, overjoyed, Philip II of Macedon threw a feast right on the battlefield among uncleaned bodies. And then it was time to deal with the vanquished. Justin wrote about it:
“To the Athenians, who showed special hostility towards him, he returned the captives without ransom, handed over the bodies of those killed for burial and even invited them to collect all the remains and put them in the tombs of their ancestors … Philip, on the contrary, took ransom not only for the captives, even for the right to bury the fallen. He ordered the most prominent citizens to have their heads cut off, he sent others into exile, and took all their property for himself."
The cruelty that was shown to Thebes, Philip explained their "betrayal" - after all, before Thebes were an ally of Macedonia. Mildness towards the Athenians is explained by the fact that in order to fulfill further plans (an offensive war against Persia), Philip needed a powerful Athenian fleet.
Be that as it may, the Battle of Chaeronea decided the fate of Greece - her freedom perished. Philip achieved his goal. In 337 BC. e. in Corinth, at a meeting of representatives of all Greek city-states, Philip II was proclaimed the leader of all the Hellenes and began to prepare his great Eastern campaign. But at the peak of power, fate turned out to be unfavorable to the great king - the next year he was struck by the sword of an assassin. Philip II's grandiose plans were already fulfilled by his son Alexander the Great.
A. Domanin
