Battle of Chaeronea

Macedonia’s victory over Greece effectively ended the era of the Greek city-state.

Date: August 2, 338 b. c.e.

Category: Wars and battles

Locale: Chaeronea, in Boeotia northwest of Thebes

Summary Philip II of Macedonia (r. 359-336 b. c.e.) modernized the Macedonian army. He taught his factious nobility to serve him loyally, using heavy cavalry, and created a highly professional phalanx of infantry. In the 340’s b. c.e., Philip began to penetrate southward through Thessaly while the Greek states were distracted by their perpetual feuds.

War broke out between Macedonia and a united Greece in 340 b. c.e. The decisive battle was probably fought in Chaeronea (kehr-uh-NEE-uh) on August 2, 338 b. c.e. Thebans and Boeotians held the Greek right flank, the Athenians the left, and various allies from central Greece and the Pelo-ponnese the center. The Greek phalanx hoped to crush the enemy by its usual straightforward attack. Philip, a master of innovation, combined use of cavalry and infantry. His right, pretending retreat, lured the Athenians into a charge. The Greek center and left moved obliquely to keep in close ranks. Into this hole the eighteen-year-old crown prince Alexander (later, the Great) led the Macedonian cavalry in wedge formation against the Thebans. Crack units of Macedonian infantry followed. After heroic resistance the Thebans were beaten; the other Greeks, panic-stricken, broke and ran.

Significance As a result of this battle, the independent city-states of Greece came under Macedonian control. In 337 b. c.e., Philip organized the Hellenic League with its seat at Corinth. He served as president of the league, and member cities were forbidden to wage war with each other and were forced to follow Philip’s foreign policy.

Further Reading

Hammond, N. G. L. Philip ofMacedon. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994.

Hornblower, Simon. The Greek World, 479-323 B. C. 3d ed. New York: Routledge, 2002.

Lendon, J. E. Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2005.

Montagu, John Drogo. Battles of the Greek and Roman Worlds: A Chronological Compedium of667 Battles to 31 B. C.,from the Historians of the Ancient World. Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 2000.

Thomas J. Sienkewicz

See also: Alexander the Great; Philip II of Macedonia.