Immediately after the war, the Spartans dismantled the Athenian Empire and placed ten commanders-in-chief in each of the newly "liberated" poleis (Hamilton 1997, 46). According to the peace settlement arranged by an Athenian named Theremenes and the Spartan general Lysander in 404 b. c.e., the Athenian democracy was dismantled and replaced by the Thirty Tyrants, an oligarchy loyal to Sparta. For a year, a "reign of terror" endured, prompting a civil war in 403 led by the Athenian Thrasyboulos, who established himself and his army at Phyle, a border fort between Attica and Boiotia. The Thirty Tyrants summoned Sparta for assistance, but their combined forces could not defeat the "men of Phyle." Finally, King Pausanias of Sparta resolved the situation. The Thirty Tyrants were deposed, a general amnesty was declared, and in September 403, nomothetes ("law-givers") began the process of re-creating the Athenian democracy (Schwenk 1997, 11).
Other than their relative kindness to Athens, however, the Spartans quickly showed themselves to be even less pleasant rulers than the Athenians. For one thing, there was the problem of Persia. Sparta had advertised itself at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War as the "Liberator of Hellas," meaning they were liberating Greece from Athens, which had previously liberated Greece from Persia. In the struggle to defeat Athens, however, Sparta had turned to Greece's old nemesis in 411 and received Persian support and money in exchange for control of the eastern Greek poleis, mainly those of the Ionian coast and the islands. This struck the Greeks as particularly treacherous and began an early distrust of the Spartans even before the Peloponnesian War was over (Hamilton 1997, 45). This pro-Persian position of the Spartans changed somewhat at the very end of the fifth century due to political turmoil within the Persian Empire. As the pro-Spartan Athenian historian Xenophon tells it, after the death of Artaxerxes, the crown passed to Xerxes II. Xerxes Il's younger brother Cyrus attempted to seize control of the Persian Empire using several thousand Greek mercenaries, whom he marched all the way to Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). There, at Kunaxa in 401 b. c.e., Cyrus was killed and his forces defeated, and the Greek mercenaries began their long march home—called the Anabasis ("March Up"). Meanwhile, the Greek poleis who had supported Cyrus were in considerable trouble with the local Persian authorities loyal to Xerxes, and it appeared there might be serious repercussions for the Greeks' support of Cyrus. Sparta came to the defense of the eastern Greeks, attempting to undo their pro-Persian reputation and reestablish themselves as liberators of the Greeks. King Agesilaus of Sparta set out to Ionia to do battle with the Persians (Hamilton 1997, 49).
He did not get very far. The Spartans were never a great navy, whereas the Persians had a large fleet under the admiralship of Konon, an exiled Athenian general. In 394 b. c.e. at Knidos, the Persian fleet under Konon defeated the Spartan navy. The Spartans abandoned the eastern Greeks to their fate and returned home.
Meanwhile, the mainland Greeks (the Greeks in Greece as we know it today), Persian attacks notwithstanding, grew increasingly impatient with Sparta for all its inept rulings, so much so that Athens and Corinth, which were traditional enemies, formed an alliance with Thebes and Argos to wage war on Sparta. This Corinthian War began with the Battle of Nemea in 395 b. c.e. and endured until 387/386 (the ancient Greeks reckoned years from summer to summer; thus, one of their years can overlap two "modern" years), when the Spartan navy seized control of the Hellespont and starved Athens into submission by cutting off its main supply route. This brought about the King's Peace, a treaty that was arranged by the Persian king Xerxes II at the instigation of Sparta. According to its stipulations, all empire building in Greece was to cease, and Greece was to function as a collection of independent, autonomous poleis, all under the loose leadership of Sparta. Athens retained control of the islands of Lemnos, Imbros, and Syros, and Sparta maintained its traditional hold on Messenia (Schwenk 1997, 13-17). For a while, the fighting stopped, at least among the Greek "superpowers."
By this point, Athens had recovered from its losses in the Peloponnesian War and was interested in again establishing a network of alliances with the other Greek poleis. In 384 b. c.e., it allied with the island of Chios. In the following years, Byzantion, Methymna, Mitylene on Lesbos, and the kingdom of Odrysia followed suit. All this culminated in 377 b. c.e. with the formal creation of the Second Athenian League (the first having been the Delian League of the previous century). This political entity was defined on the so-called Aristoteles Decree (IG II2, 43), wherein Athens promised not to infringe upon the sovereignty of its allies, not to seize control of their territories, not to demand tribute, and generally not to act the way it did during the Delian League (see chapter 7) (Schwenk 1997, 21-24).
Simultaneously, Sparta showed that it could be obnoxious even without association with Persia. In general disregard of the King's Peace, Sparta responded to an invitation from a pro-Spartan faction in Thebes to take over the city. Technically, as per the "autonomous poleis" provision in the King's Peace, Thebes should have been left alone, but in 382 b. c.e., a Spartan contingent marched into Thebes and seized control of the Cadmeia, the city's acropolis. They set up a puppet, pro-Spartan government in Thebes until the anti-Spartan Theban coalition managed to expel the opposing forces in 379. The Athenians and their allies pointed out that the Spartans had hopelessly violated the stipulations of the King's Peace, rendering it null and void (Hamilton 1997, 41).
In an effort to avoid another Peloponnesian War, in 375 b. c.e. a renewed King's Peace was established, but this time Sparta and Athens shared hegemony over Greece. However, it was not until 371 that a formal peace treaty—negotiated by a fellow named Kallias—was signed. This peace brought about new problems, again with Thebes. The problem was, just as Sparta represented its allies in the Peloponnesian League (see chapter 7), and Athens represented its allies in the Athenian League, Thebes demanded that it represent its allies in the Boiotian League, of which it was the dominant member. The Spartans refused to recognize Thebes's power, arguing that Thebes was actually infringing upon the Boiotian cities' autonomy. A Spartan army led by King Kleombro-tos marched up to Boiotia to end the Theban dominion. At the Battle of Leuc-tra, the Theban army, lead by Generals Epameinondas and Pelopidas, utterly destroyed the Spartan army. King Kleombrotos was killed, along with almost half the Spartans (an estimated 700 out of the 1,500 they had sent) (Schwenk 1997, 24-25; Hamilton 1997, 42). An inscription set up by the victors and currently housed in the Theban Museum reads (Tod 1985, #130):
Xenokrates l Theopompos l Mnasilaos l When the spear of Sparta was mighty, then did Xenokrates receive the right by will of Zeus to erect a trophy, Not fearing the shield armament from Erotas nor from Lakainas "Thebans conquered in war!”
The victory-bearing trophy announces by spear,
Nor did we race second to Epamenondas.
From 371 to 362 b. c.e., it was Thebes's turn to be hegemon of Greece (see chapter 7). In reality, Theban power had been growing continually during the fourth century, minus the brief interlude of Spartan power in 382-379 b. c.e. Thebes was especially making headway in allying with its northern neighbors, such as the Macedonians, during the generalship of Epameinondas, who also improved Theban fighting techniques. This training of the soldiers was especially so with the Sacred Band, an elite corps of soldiers of the Theban army trained to the pinnacle of hoplite fighting technique (see chapter 6). With a good army and the support of the other Greek poleis, Thebes had brought down the Spartans—who had been, for the previous 400 years, the premier army of Hellas. No one, not even the Thebans themselves at first, believed it.
The Spartans raced home; the Thebans followed. Under Epameinondas and Pelopidas, the Thebans liberated the Peloponnese from Sparta, freeing the helots and establishing the cities of Messene and Megalopolis. More so than the defeat at Leuctra, this was Sparta's ultimate undoing, for the creation of an autonomous Messenia deprived Sparta of the majority of its fertile land and almost all of its labor (see earlier section of this chapter, on colonization). Many Spartiates, the citizen-soldiers of Sparta, lost their property, and with it their citizenship. This further depleted Sparta of its army, as only citizens were supposed to fight. New ranks of society were therefore permitted to join the Spartan army in order to keep its ranks from becoming too depleted, such as the neodamodies, or "newly created citizens,” and the hypomeiones, or "lower classes” (see chapter 6). Even so, King Agesilaus and his son Agis were henceforth forced to fight as mercenaries from Egypt to Italy to raise money to pay for soldiers to fight for Sparta (see above—they had lost their property). Sparta's glory days were over (Hamilton 1997, 56).
In spite of attempts by other poleis to halt the growing power of Thebes, that city remained dominant in Greece until the Battle of Mantinea in 362 b. c.e., when the Thebans were confronted with a combined army of Spartans, Athenians, and Mantineans. Technically, the superior Theban army won the day, but Epameinondas was killed. Without his inspired leadership, the Thebans could not manage the gains they had won, and, in spite of its victory, Thebes fell from power (Munn 1997, 93-94).
And so a general Greek squabbling began again. By this time, Athens was emerging as the dominant power in southern Greece, while new political rivals were forming in the north, especially in Macedon and Thessaly. The real turning point for Greece in the fourth century came in 360 b. c.e., when Philip II of Macedon ascended the throne.
The Greeks had always thought of the Macedonians as northern barbarians (as opposed to the Persians, who were eastern barbarians). Actually, to the Athenians, the Macedonians were worse than barbarians if we are to believe Demosthenes, who claimed that Philip was "Not only not a Greek nor related to the Greeks, but not even a barbarian from a land worth mentioning. No! He is a pestilence from Macedonia, a region where you cannot even buy a slave worth his salt!" (Orations 9.31).
The Macedonians were organized into tribes with minimal international trade and a monarchy that allowed for minimal political development or sophistication. The Macedonians spoke some Greek, and an earlier king— Alexander I—had convinced the deputies of the Olympic Games that his family was descended from Heracles and that he was thus Greek and eligible to compete in the Games (Heskel 1997, 169). Nevertheless, in the eyes of the Greeks, the Macedonians were definitely outsiders at the dawn of the fourth century b. c.e., relevant only when fighting turned northward. Thebes specifically kept an eye on Macedon, as well as on other northern kingdoms such as Illyria and Thessaly. During the reign of Epameinondas, hostages from the Macedonian royal family were sent to Thebes to ensure Macedon's goodwill and alliance, and also to raise a generation of Macedonians with pro-Theban sentiments. These hostages were well treated and were raised with Thebans— being educated and playing sports together helped the two groups develop a sense of camaraderie.
One of those Macedonian hostages was Philip II (see Image 5.4), who learned everything he knew about the Greeks, their diplomacy, and their fighting techniques from Epameinondas. Philip remained in Thebes for three years. In 359/360 b. c.e., the previous king of Macedon, Perdiccas II, died, and Philip returned home to be regent for Perdiccas's son Amyntas. Soon Philip declared himself king (rather in spite of the too-young Amyntas), a position he formalized after the birth of his son Alexander in 356 b. c.e. (Heskel 1997, 178-179).
While these events were unfolding up north, Athens, ever the imperialist, became embroiled in the Social War of 357-355, wherein the majority of its allies attempted to withdraw from the Second Athenian League due to the obnoxious behavior of Athens's general, Khares. Perhaps the most significant event of this war was Athens's loss (to Macedon) of Amphipolis on the Black Sea, an excellent hub of trade and an important source of food for Athens. Much of Athens's foreign policy from this point revolved around getting back Amphipolis, just as the Spartans were fixated on the reacquisition of Messenia. A second important event during the Social War was the seizure of the Delphic sanctuary by the city of Phokis. This led to the Third Sacred War, which began in 356 and involved most of mainland Greece up to and including Macedon. The Third Sacred War continued until the Peace of Philokrates was signed in 346.
The Peace of Philokrates, named for the Athenian ambassador who served as liaison between Macedon and Athens, was essentially, although unofficially, dictated by Philip II. According to its provisions, both Athens and Macedon were to cease fighting, and each was to remain in possession of its current ter-ritories—a formalization of the status quo. The Athenians were not content with the treaty, but they signed it for the sake of peace and for their newly emergent empire. However, Amphipolis remained in the possession of Mace-don, a state of affairs that the Athenians could not tolerate. The Athenian ambassadors who had signed the treaty were accused of treason, and the Peace was rejected by Athens. Up north, Philip II was not overly scrupulous about keeping his hands out of others' local affairs, either.
After a brief attempt to renew the Peace in 342, war broke out yet again between Macedon and Greece. This time, however, Philip II clearly had the upper hand. Both armies met in Boiotia at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 b. c.e. Philip led the infantry, and his young and talented son Alexander led the cavalry. Macedon won the day, and they then swept their army through Greece and seized control of the entire mainland. For the first time in history, all of mainland Greece was under the authority of a single king, and that king was a Macedonian "barbarian."
Nevertheless, the Macedonians did not advertise their control of Greece, but instead pulled together the various poleis into a voluntary league convened in Corinth—hence, the League of Corinth. Most of the poleis joined in, but Sparta did not, because the Macedonians had accepted the autonomy of Messenia, which the Spartans would not tolerate under any conditions. The Macedonians accepted the noncompliance of Sparta, as it made the League look that much more voluntary.
Philip II did not get to enjoy his conquest of Greece very long. In 336 b. c.e., he was assassinated at his daughter's wedding, right when he believed himself to be at the pinnacle of security. According to Diodorus Siculus (16.93.1-2), "The theater being packed, Philip himself appeared wearing a white mantle, and by his orders the spear-bearers followed standing a long way off from him. For so he showed to everyone that he was protected by the common good-will of the Greeks, and that he did not need the protection of spear-bearers. So great was his preeminence; and while everyone praised and blessed the man, the unforeseen and completely unexpected plot against the king was revealed along with his death." Philip was assassinated by one of his own guards.
And so Greece fell into the hands of Philip's son Alexander, now known as Alexander the Great. Alexander was only twenty years old when he received the crown of Macedon and Greece, but by this age he had already served as the head of his father's cavalry and knew something about military leadership.
Much of what we know about Alexander and his escapades comes from his biographer Arrian, whose Anabasis tells of Alexander's conquests in Europe and Asia. As with most new monarchs, Alexander spent the initial years of his reign consolidating his power. The years 336-334 b. c.e. were spent securing his northern frontiers in Thrace and Illyria and suppressing revolts in Greece. When this was done, Alexander decided to fulfill his father's final wish of conquering the Persian Empire. Before his death, Philip had sent some 10,000 men into Asia to prepare for such a conquest, so, in reality, Alexander was stepping into a war in media res. In the spring of 334 b. c.e., Alexander went to Asia himself, bringing with him about 37,000 men from Greece, Thrace, Thessalia, the northern reaches of Greece, and Macedon itself. Greece (and Macedon) he left in the care of his general Antipater with 13,500 footmen and cavalry (Diodorus Siculus 18, 17, 3-5).
After a brief trip to Troy and a sacrifice to Achilles for appearances' sake, Alexander proceeded to the River Granikos, where he won his first victory and, according to Arrian (Anabasis 1, 16, 7), "He sent off to Athens 300 panoplies of Persian armor to be a dedication to Athena in the city, and he commanded this inscription be written: 'Alexander, son of Philip, and the Greeks—minus the Lakedaimonians—from the Barbarians who live in Asia.'"
In the autumn of 333 b. c.e., Alexander and his army came into direct confrontation with King Darius III at the Battle of the Issos River. The army did not capture the king, although Alexander did achieve a stunning victory, which cleared for him the route to Syria and won him several members of the Persian royal family as hostages. While treating with Darius about a ransom for his family, Alexander conquered all of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. In Egypt, the Pharaoh adopted Alexander as his official heir, not only allowing Alexander and his own heirs legitimately to inherit Egypt, but also raising Alexander to the status of a god. The nature of Macedonian kingship was now beginning to change. In northern Egypt, Alexander established the city of Alexandria, one of the intellectual capitals of the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
In the summer of 331 b. c.e., Alexander and Darius once again met on the field of battle, this time at Gaugamela by the Tigris River in northern Mesopotamia. Once again, Alexander was victorious and pushed the Persian army past Babylon, which he then occupied. From here he proceeded to the capital of the Persian Empire itself: Persepolis. Here, according to Arrian (3, 18, 11), "He burnt the Persian palace, although Parmenio [a general] advised him to save it, in that, among other things, it was not good to destroy what was now his own property, and that similarly the men throughout Asia would not join him, as they would not believe him to be taking rule of Asia for himself, merely invading to conquer it. But Alexander said that he wanted to take revenge on the Persians for what they did invading Greece—trashing Athens and burning the sanctuaries, and for as many other evil deeds done to Greece he took vengeance." (Although Alexander himself was not Greek, and his father had conquered Greece by force, Macedonians liked to think of themselves as Greek—hence Alexander's concern with how Greece had been treated by others.)
Darius himself was assassinated by a usurper named Bessos. In 330/329, Alexander continued his eastward conquest, chasing down Bessos as he went. He finally caught up with the assassin in Afghanistan (then called Sogdiana), where he had Bessos captured, flogged, mutilated, and executed in honor of Darius. In Afghanistan, Alexander made a diplomatic marriage to a princess named Roxana, daughter of the Sogdian leader Oxyartes. This marriage helped to stabilize Alexander's control over, and legitimacy in, Sogdiana. In the summer of 327 b. c.e., Alexander brought his army past the Hindu Kush mountains and into India, the northern portion of which he conquered.
By this point, Alexander's empire stretched from Macedon and Greece in the west, to Egypt in the southwest, to India in the east. Impressive as this was, however, his army was getting tired. When Alexander wanted to move farther east, his soldiers rebelled and refused to follow. Alexander set India as his eastern boundary and returned to Babylon, where he attempted to unite the Mace-donian/Greek and Persian elements of his empire into one cultural/political whole (Arrian 7, 11, 9). This he tried to achieve through forced marriages between Greek soldiers and Persian women, as well as through the Persian technique of leaving local authorities in control of their own territories—at least once they had shown their loyalty to Alexander. The Greeks were not thrilled by either notion, and most of the marriages dissolved upon Alexander's death.
Alexander died at age thirty-three on June 13, 323 b. c.e., after a long bout of drinking. His body was transported to Egypt, where he received the most elaborate mummification ritual known in Egypt. As soon as news of his death reached Greece, the Greeks launched into the Lamain War, whereby the various poleis tried to throw off Macedonian hegemony. By 322, the successors of Alexander (see below) crushed the revolt, and Greece remained firmly under Macedonian control until the Roman conquests.
One must remember, though, that the entire notion of "Greece" had changed by Alexander's death. During the reign of Philip II, Greece was the land south of Mt. Olympos to Crete, Ionia, Magna Graecia, and the colonies on the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts. Macedon was not Greece, and Persia certainly was not. After Alexander's conquests, though, what might be considered the Greek world spread. Areas that had been linguistically and culturally distinct, even foreign, to the Greeks now became areas for relocation, where Greek rulers administered different ethnic groups, which were increasingly intermarrying and intermixing. Greek culture spread, which is why modern archaeologists study Greek temples in Afghanistan and statues of Athena from Chandragupta's India. This is why Egyptologists study Egyptian cities with Greek names, such as Heliopolis ("City of the Sun"), and why numismatists study Indian coins bearing pictures of the Buddha identified by Greek writing. For the next 300 years, the "Greek world" stretched from France to Egypt to India.
World History
