A Brief History
At an unknown date in 331 BC, a Macedonian army of Alexander the Great, led by his regent, Antipater, defeated the forces of Sparta, led by King Agis III. The Spartan King had conspired with the mortal enemy of the Greeks, the Persians, and had let on his plans to attack the Macedonian forces of Alexander.
Digging Deeper
Megalopolis, founded in 371 BC and located in the southern Greek region of Arcadia, was the first city of note in Arcadia, boasting a theater that could hold 20,000 people. The city today has a population of less than 6000, but was believed in Ancient Greece to have been a site of the battles between the Titans and the Olympians (Greek Gods).
The Persians were unable to provide much support for King Agis and his Spartans, so Agis rounded up the mercenary survivors of the Battle of Issus, men who had fought for the Persians. In the summer of 331 BC, Agis led his army against the Macedonian garrison of the Peoloponnese and Corninth led by Corrhagus, defeating the Macedonians. While Agis was battling Corrhagus, Antipater was busy in Thrace putting down a rebellion led by the Macedonian General Memnon. When Antipater had solved that crisis, he led his army back south to find and defeat Agis and his Spartans. Agis was occupied with the siege of Megalopolis, an anti-Spartan city and the capital of Arcadia when the Macedonians arrived.
The Macedonians were augmented with troops drawn from the barbarians of the north, and numbered around 40,000. The Spartans had about half that number (22,000), and despite early success, the Spartans were crushed by the larger force. Over 5300 of the Spartan soldiers died, at a cost of 3500 Macedonians. When defeat became inevitable, the Spartan King, wounded and unable to stand, insisted on being left behind to help cover the retreat of the main force, and is said to have taken several Macedonian lives before being killed by a javelin.
Alexander the Great, only 24 or 25 years old at the time of Megalopolis, had already conquered much of the Persian Empire, but would die only 8 years later at the age of 32. Antipater was not only a military leader and regent of Alexander, but was like Alexander educated by Aristotle and was named the executor of Aristotle’s will. Antipater lived a long 78 year life and died of natural causes in 319 BC having looked after the Empire (with others) after Alexander’s death, again acting as regent for the son of Alexander. Antipater also left a literary legacy of 2 books of letters and a work of history.
The Battle of Megalopolis was the decisive defeat of the Spartans and forced Sparta into the League of Corinth, a cornerstone of Alexander’s attempt to unify Greece.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Grainger, John D. Antipater’s Dynasty: Alexander the Great’s Regent and his Successors. Pen and Sword Military, 2019.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="13047 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=13047">49 Comments
I find it interesting that many well known historical figures names began with the letter A. It is also interesting that the generations passed on to people that were not related yet their names all began with A. it is almost as if planned that way, or that’s how they picked their next conqueror.
Thanks this will help in my paper about Alexander the Great
I really wish I would have seen this article so I could have used it on my paper!! It would have been a really good use of information. Really good article!
Yet another Spartan King who died fighting to give his men time to retreat. They just don’t make leaders like they used to.
Great article. Just goes to show how dedicated to war spartans were.
The Spartans being outnumbered and the King’s death in battle has been seen before this battle. It is surprising to hear of another Spartans loss, but also goes to show the military dominance of Alexander the Great’s army and conquest showing the success of him and his commanders.
Alexander the Great’s army showed a great deal of dominance through many battles, this one included. As we have learned throughout the semester, there have been previous occasions where the Spartan army was outnumbered and defeated. These Spartan leaders die fighting for their men to retreat. They are the epitome of what a great leader is.
It is sad to see Sparta defeated after all of their great victories in battle, but they have shown how truly strong they are and have produced great military leaders and strong warriors. This battle also shows just how powerful Alexander the Great became during the height of his empire.
It’s always weird to hear about the Persians and the Spartans working together. Either way, this is just another one of the things that made Alexander great, defeating Spartans seems like it was rather difficult.
It is articles like this that make you realize how difficult it was for a king to keep control of the territory that they conquered. They were always at risk of countries and people, even their allies, attempting to raise a rebellion against them. There was even the risk of being assassinated as well. Alexander became such a great military leader and was even able to defeat the legendary military forces of the fierce Spartan army.
I think that it is weird that the Persians and Sparta worked together. Sparta is such an independent group and would never think of them working with someone. But it showed how Alexander was such a great military leader.
What stood out the most for me was that the spartan king attempted to hold back the macedonian army while he was unable to stand and even managed to kill a couple of them. It amazes me the mindset and bravery it took to lead sparta
It did shock me in this article that Sparta allied with the Macedonians as they would never seem to ally with anyone. Maybe they thought the combined man-power would be too much for anyone to match and conquer.
Another Spartan King who wanted the respect of his men and have the chance to see his family after the long battles. I wish there were leaders like this now in America. People don’t have the passion like they used to.
I did not know that Antipater looked after Alexander’s empire after Alexander’s death. Makes me wonder how well the empire would have been sustained if someone else looked after Alexander’s empire.
This article opened my eyes to the struggle that kings went through in order to keep control of their territory. There were always many potential risks, assassination included. Alexander was a more passionate leader than many are in more recent years.
Would’ve been interesting to see what would’ve happened had Alexander successfully unified Greece. Or how much more territory he would’ve conquered had he lived much longer.
it is interesting to think about a battle between the greatest warriors of all time, the Spartans, versus the greatest general of all time. It is a heavy weight fight, that has epic proportions behind it.
Whoa, of course Sparta lets me down yet again! I really thought they were really powerful. I mean so was Alexander, so I guess that’s why he won. He was more advanced and really wanted to conquer everything.
Its shocking that sparta worked with the persians at that time, also its crazy to think how much more alexander
Its crazy to think how much Alexander could have done if he had lived longer, he was pretty young when he died and a great leader.
The Spartan king was really a man among boys when he tried to fight off the Macedonians without the use of his lower body to give his men time to retreat. Alexander did whip the Spartans here, though.
Charismatic is a word that I use describe Alexander. And this charisma is what was able to keep his kingdom together. He was also charismatic while leading the troops against the mighty Spartans.
Another example added to the list of reasons why Alexander was “Great.” After being feared by so many, Sparta was defeated by the one and only, Alexander. Even though they were defeated, the Spartan king, fought until he died.
Defeating the spartans is just another accomplishment to add to the list of Alexander. He was so accomplished on the battle field that it does not surprise me that his forces, though much greater in size, were able to defeat the spartans pretty easily. He was such a good leader because he was able to rally and fight along side his troops.
This battle shows just how powerful Alexander the Greats army was. The battle of megalopolis was also very important towards unifying Greece by forcing the Spartans into the League of Corinth.
Alexanders relentlessness at such a young age, 24 or 25 at the time of this battle, is why he was able to expand his empire so far. The Spartans were a feared military society, and Alexander took care of them easily.
Not surprising to hear of a Spartan commander working with the Persians. Kinda seemed like the thing to do back then, team up with the Persians only to fight them years after.
The battles of Alexander have captivated me. His demeanor in how he wants to conquer the world are astonishing, and this battle is a part of that wild ride. It is no doubt that Alexander was one of the fiercest personalities of all time.
Fascinating how the unification of Greece was such a long, drawn out process. Nowadays you would think that unification would be desired, but it is interesting to see how it was battled for in ancient times.
What interested me most about this account is how comparable the death rates were between the two armies. It seems like every later account of Alexander describes him mowing down enormous armies while only losing a handful of men.
I want to find Antipater’s books. It would be interesting to look at true primary sources, no matter how much Alexander may have had him censored.
No matter the battle, Alexander always seemed to remain fierce and strong. It is a shame he died relatively young and we could not see him as a ruler.
It is sad to see that Alexander, a great warrior and leader, died at the age of 32. But, it is also remarkable to see the battles he won and fought in even though he was so young.
I think it would be interesting to read Antipater’s books.
Some of the battles Alexander won, this one included is why he gets the term “Great” added after his name.
I enjoyed learning about all of these battles
It is amazing that I never knew how many battles that the Spartans actually lost. I remember they lost eventually in 300, but they seemed to be a forced to be reckoned with. Instead, they do not seem to be as strong as I have previously thought.
Alexander was one of the greatest military leaders ever. It’s sad he died so young, because who knows what else he may have been able to accomplish. He did run his men ragged, and they eventually refused to go on fighting.
It’s worth noting Alexander was handed a military made up of men who already had combat experience for the most part. Played a big part in his winning.
He was such a great leader but also a great listener, and decided to hold when his army did not want to fight anymore.
I would hate to be killed by javelin. Imagine putting that on your tombstone
I cannot believe that when defeat became inevitable, the wounded Spartan King, insisted on being left behind to help cover the retreat of the main force, and is said to have taken several Macedonian lives before being killed by a javelin.
This was an interesting read, and really shows why he deserves the name “Alexander the Great”
javelin is a harsh way to go but it is a pretty iconic way to end your life
Imagine what he would have achieved had he not died at 32.
It’s sad that Alexander died so young, it would’ve been amazing to see what he would have accomplished in the future.
Even though i like the spartans, Alexander was such a crazed conquerer and military genius no wonder they had no chance. They shouldn’t have even fought him and just joined him from the beginning!
Though Alexander is said to have been a mad man and he treated people inhumanely, there is no taking away from his excellent abilities on the battlefield