Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)
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| Battle of Chaeronea | |||||||||
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| Part of the Wars of Alexander the Great | |||||||||
 Battle plan of Chaeronea (338 BC) |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Macedon | Athens, Thebes |
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| Commanders | |||||||||
| Philip II of Macedon, Alexander the Great |
Chares of Athens, Lysicles of Athens, Theagenes of Boeotia |
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| Strength | |||||||||
| 22,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry |
35,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 3,800 killed | 5,000 Athenians killed, 254+ Boeotians killed, 3,000 captured |
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The Battle of Chaeronea 338 BC, fought near Chaeronea, in Boeotia, was the greatest victory of Philip II of Macedon. There, Philip (with 22,000 men) with hisThessaly, Epirus, Aetolia, Northern Phocis and Epicnemidian Locrians allies defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes and allies, securing Macedonian hegemony in Greece.[1]
Athenians and Thebans occupied the center of the line. In the Macedonian line, Philip commanded the right wing, while Alexander commanded the left wing, together with the best commanders of the king. The famed Companions were situated to the rear of the Macedonian line.
Ancient sources tell us that the two sides fought bitterly for a long time. It would appear that Philip deliberately withdrew his troops on the right wing, in order to break up the enemy lines. Most sources agree in saying that Alexander was the first to break into the Theban lines, followed by a courageous band (presumably his kinsmen and friends); upon seeing this, Philip urged his forces to attack with great fury and the Athenians — ardent but untrained — were unable to resist his Macedonian veterans. With the rout of the Athenians, the Thebans were left to fight for themselves and were crushed. Of the famed 300-strong Sacred Band of Thebes, 254 fell on the field of battle, while 46 were wounded and captured.
According to Diodorus Siculus, the battle was hotly contested for a long time, until finally Alexander forced his way through the enemy line and put his opponents to flight.[2] More than a thousand Athenians fell in the battle and no less than two thousand were captured. Likewise, many of the Boeotians were killed and not a few taken prisoners.[2]
A different account of the battle was advanced by the Alexander historian Nicholas G. L. Hammond which has established itself as the popular version in latter years. He speculated that it was Alexander, in person, who at the head of the Companion cavalry drove into the gap and outflanked the enemy lines; however none of the sources we have (the main ones being Plutarch, Frontinus and Diodorus) mention this feature of the battle. It should be noted that Hammond never pretended that this was anything more than speculation, but the story has subsequently been propagated in many history books and web sites as historical fact.
[edit] Effect
After a Battle of Chaeronea the Theban Army was destroyed and most of the Theban Sacred Band (the 300 elite troops of Thebes) lay dead. The Athenian Army suffered a large loss as well. Now with hardly any soldiers left to defend central Greece, King Philip II of Macedon sent his 18 year old son Alexander to Athens to negotiate and bring an end to the fighting.
Philip offered that in return of pledging allegiance to him and providing him soldiers and financial support for invading Persia, the Greek Poleis (City-State) that fought against him would be spared. The Athenians, shocked by Philip's mercy, quickly agreed to the terms, as did the remainder of the Greek Poleis.
Philip created the Corinthian League, similar to the Delian League created by Athens and the Peloponnesian League created by Sparta. However, the Corinthian League lasted much longer and was successful unlike any Greek alliance attempted before, creating a national entity. To keep the rivalries of the Greek Poleis from ripping the League apart as they did during the Delian and Peloponnesian, Philip maintained representatives from Macedon to maintain order.
With the Corinthian League created, Philip's son Alexander led the Greek forces to victories against Persia and extending Hellenism from Greece to the borders of India.
