Greece during Alexander's Expedition

Because of the sources’ understandable focus on Alexander and because the League of Corinth with one exception kept Greece quiet, little is known of

Greece during these years. That one exception was the revolt of Sparta’s king, Agis III. Sparta had not joined the League, and during the Persian counteroffensive in the Aegean Agis III began to prepare a revolt. Shortly after Issus (Nov. 333) the counter-offensive ended, but, before they sailed away, Darius’ generals in the west gave Agis money (Arr. Anab. II 13,6; Diod. XVII 48). With better financing or more direct Persian support, the revolt might have succeeded. As it was, many states (including Athens - Diod. XVII 62), mindful of the terrible example of Thebes, stood aloof, and the rebels’ forces soon became bogged down in the siege of Megalopolis (Curt., VI 1,20) which remained loyal to the Macedonians (see chap. 18).

Alexander had left as regent in Macedonia the veteran marshal Antipater, who was not the man to lose his head in a crisis; and even if he had denuded Macedonia of men of fighting age when he sent reinforcements to Alexander, he still had funds (Arr. Anab. III 16,10) with which to hire mercenaries. Antipater collected an army while the rebels were engaged in the siege, marched southwards (Diod. XVII 63,1), and crushed the rebels at Megalopolis. Agis fell in the fighting, and the revolt ended (Diod. XVII 63,4; Curt. VI 1,13-15). The battle allegedly took place on the same day as Gaugamela (Plut. Ages. 15), but this sort of programmatic simultaneity occurs too often in Greek historiography (see chap. 10) to have credibility. When exactly the Battle of Megalopolis took place is a vexed question, but presumably within a few months of Gaugamela.