Aetolian campaign
Encyclopedia
The Aetolian campaign, often referred to as "Demosthenes' Aetolian campaign", was a failed Athenian
offensive in northwestern Greece
during the Archidamian War. In 426 BCE, Demosthenes
was dispatched from Athens to the Corinthian Gulf in command of a fleet of 30 ships. Arriving in the northwest, he quickly assembled a coalition force from Athens' allies in the region and besieging the city of Leucas
. Before that siege reached a conclusion, however, he was persuaded to abandon it in favor of an attack on the tribal region of Aetolia
. Leaving Leucas, he set out towards Aetolia, losing along the way several major contingents from his army, whose leaders were apparently unhappy with his change in strategy.
At first the invasion met with little resistance, and several towns fell easily, but before long an effective Aetolian force was gathered by summoning tribesmen from throughout the region. Demosthenes, meanwhile, having alienated his Acarnania
n allies and failed to rendezvous as scheduled with reinforcements from Locris
, was critically short of the peltast
s (spear throwers) whose range and mobility could prove decisive in the rough terrain of Aetolia. After seizing the town of Aegitium, Demosthenes's army came under heavy attack from high ground and was driven into a retreat that soon became a rout. A great number of his men perished, and any notion of taking Aetolia had to be abandoned. The battle emboldened Sparta's allies in the region, meanwhile, and lasting damage to Athenian interests was avoided only through a tactically brilliant defense of Naupactus
and Acarnania
(which fully restored Demosthenes military reputation).
in the previous year, took a more aggressive stance than in previous campaigning seasons. A major fleet of 60 ships, commanded by Nicias
, was sent to attack first Melos and then Boeotia
(resulting in the Battle of Tanagra
). Demosthenes and Procles, meanwhile, with a fleet of half that size, were dispatched to round the Peloponnese and operate in the northwest and the Corinthian Gulf. Upon its arrival in the northwestern theatre, this relatively small Athenian force was substantially augmented by the addition of Messenia
n hoplite
s from Naupactus
, 15 Corcyraean ships, a great number of Acarnania
n soldiers, and smaller contingents from a number of Athens' other allies in the region. With this formidable force, Demosthenes fell upon and destroyed a garrison of Leucadian
troops, then attacked and blockaded the city of Leucas
itself. Leucas was a significant Peloponnesian
base in the region, and the Acarnanians enthusiastically advocated besieging and taking the city. Demosthenes, however, chose instead to follow the advice of the Messenians, who wished to attack and subdue the tribal region of Aetolia, which they asserted was threating Naupactus.
Thucydides notes that Demosthenes made this decision partly to please his Messenian allies, but also states that he also wished to, if possible, pass through Aetolia, increase his army on the march by adding to it the men of Phocis, and attack Boeotia
from the lightly defended western approach. Furthermore, as Nicias was simultaneously engaging in operations in eastern Boeotia, Demosthenes may have considered the possibility of forcing the Boeotians to fight on two fronts. Accordingly, he pulled up stakes at Leucas and set out for Aetolia. Before he arrived there, however, his force was appreciably diminished by the departure of several major contingents; the Acarnanians, upset that their preferred strategy of taking Leucas had been spurned, returned to their home country, and the Corcyraean ships also departed (apparently out of unwillingness to participate in an operation that offered their city no clear benefits).
, he began to advance into Aetolia, after making plans to rendezvous with a Locrian force in the Aetolian interior. His army advanced successfully for three days, reaching the town of Tichium on the third day. Here, Demosthenes called a halt while the plunder captured up to that point was transported back to his base. Some modern scholars have also suggested that the Locrian force that Demosthenes had planned to meet up with had been scheduled to join him at or before Tichium, and that his delay there was in part caused by his concern over their absence. The Locrians practiced a style of warfare similar to that of their Aetolian neighbors, and could have provided Demosthenes with skilled javelin throwers; in their absence, the Athenian-led force was critically deficient with regard to light missile troops, where its opponents were strongest.
Nonetheless, his confidence bolstered by the Messenians, who ensured him that the element of surprise would guarantee success as long as he continued to strike before the Aetolians had a chance to combine their forces against him, Demosthenes continued inland. The Messenians' advice, however, was already out of date. The Aetolians had learned of Demosthenes' plans even before he invaded, and by this time they had assembled a substantial force from throughout the region. Demosthenes advanced to the town of Aegitium, which he took easily, but he would go no further. The inhabitants of Aegitium retreated to the hills around the town, where they joined the main Aetolian army, and soon Demosthenes' force came under assault from the surrounding high ground. Moving with relative ease over the rough terrain, the Aetolian javelin throwers were able to fling their weapons and retreat easily before the heavily encumbered Athenian hoplites could reach them; without the Locrians, Demosthenes could rely only on a contingent of archers to keep the Aetolian skirmishers at bay. Even with the archers defending them, the Athenians were receiving the worst of the struggle; when the captain of the archers was killed, his men scattered, and the rest of the army shortly followed them. A bloodbath ensued. Demosthenes' co-commander Procles was killed, as was the Messenian guide. Leaderless troops of fleeing soldiers raced into exitless dry canyons or became lost on the battlefield, while the fast moving Aetolians mowed them down; the largest escaping contingent became lost in a forest, which was then set on fire around them. 120 of the 300 Athenians who had marched with Demosthenes were killed; casualties among the allies are not known, but were presumably of a similar order. Such losses were particularly exorbitant when contrasted with the toll of a traditional hoplite battle, in which casualty rates of over 10% were highly unusual.
.
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
offensive in northwestern Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
during the Archidamian War. In 426 BCE, Demosthenes
Demosthenes (general)
Demosthenes , son of Alcisthenes, was an Athenian general during the Peloponnesian War.-Early Military Actions:The military activities of Demosthenes are first recorded from 426 BC when he led an Athenian invasion of Aetolia. This was a failure. Demosthenes lost about 120 Athenians along with his...
was dispatched from Athens to the Corinthian Gulf in command of a fleet of 30 ships. Arriving in the northwest, he quickly assembled a coalition force from Athens' allies in the region and besieging the city of Leucas
Leucas
Leucas may refer to:* Leucas is a genus of plants from the family Lamiaceae.* Leucas, an English transliteration of the ancient Greek place name, Leukas ....
. Before that siege reached a conclusion, however, he was persuaded to abandon it in favor of an attack on the tribal region of Aetolia
Aetolia
Aetolia is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania.-Geography:...
. Leaving Leucas, he set out towards Aetolia, losing along the way several major contingents from his army, whose leaders were apparently unhappy with his change in strategy.
At first the invasion met with little resistance, and several towns fell easily, but before long an effective Aetolian force was gathered by summoning tribesmen from throughout the region. Demosthenes, meanwhile, having alienated his Acarnania
Acarnania
Acarnania is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today it forms the western part of the prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania. The capital...
n allies and failed to rendezvous as scheduled with reinforcements from Locris
Locris
Locris was a region of ancient Greece, the homeland of the Locrians, made up of three distinct districts.-Locrian tribe:...
, was critically short of the peltast
Peltast
A peltast was a type of light infantry in Ancient Thrace who often served as skirmishers.-Description:Peltasts carried a crescent-shaped wicker shield called pelte as their main protection, hence their name. According to Aristotle the pelte was rimless and covered in goat or sheep skin...
s (spear throwers) whose range and mobility could prove decisive in the rough terrain of Aetolia. After seizing the town of Aegitium, Demosthenes's army came under heavy attack from high ground and was driven into a retreat that soon became a rout. A great number of his men perished, and any notion of taking Aetolia had to be abandoned. The battle emboldened Sparta's allies in the region, meanwhile, and lasting damage to Athenian interests was avoided only through a tactically brilliant defense of Naupactus
Naupactus
Naupactus or Nafpaktos , is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nafpaktia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
and Acarnania
Acarnania
Acarnania is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today it forms the western part of the prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania. The capital...
(which fully restored Demosthenes military reputation).
Prelude
In the summer of 426 BC, Athens, having ended the immediate threat to its security by quashing the Mytilenean revoltMytilenean revolt
The Mytilenean revolt was an incident in the Peloponnesian War in which the city of Mytilene attempted to unify the island of Lesbos under its control and revolt from the Athenian Empire...
in the previous year, took a more aggressive stance than in previous campaigning seasons. A major fleet of 60 ships, commanded by Nicias
Nicias
Nicias or Nikias was an Athenian politician and general during the period of the Peloponnesian War. Nicias was a member of the Athenian aristocracy because he had inherited a large fortune from his father, which was invested into the silver mines around Attica's Mt. Laurium...
, was sent to attack first Melos and then Boeotia
Boeotia
Boeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:...
(resulting in the Battle of Tanagra
Battle of Tanagra
There were two Battles of Tanagra of importance in ancient Greek history. See:*Battle of Tanagra *Battle of Tanagra...
). Demosthenes and Procles, meanwhile, with a fleet of half that size, were dispatched to round the Peloponnese and operate in the northwest and the Corinthian Gulf. Upon its arrival in the northwestern theatre, this relatively small Athenian force was substantially augmented by the addition of Messenia
Messenia
Messenia is a regional unit in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, one of 13 regions into which Greece has been divided by the Kallikratis plan, implemented 1 January 2011...
n hoplite
Hoplite
A hoplite was a citizen-soldier of the Ancient Greek city-states. Hoplites were primarily armed as spearmen and fought in a phalanx formation. The word "hoplite" derives from "hoplon" , the type of the shield used by the soldiers, although, as a word, "hopla" could also denote weapons held or even...
s from Naupactus
Naupactus
Naupactus or Nafpaktos , is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nafpaktia, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
, 15 Corcyraean ships, a great number of Acarnania
Acarnania
Acarnania is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today it forms the western part of the prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania. The capital...
n soldiers, and smaller contingents from a number of Athens' other allies in the region. With this formidable force, Demosthenes fell upon and destroyed a garrison of Leucadian
Leucas
Leucas may refer to:* Leucas is a genus of plants from the family Lamiaceae.* Leucas, an English transliteration of the ancient Greek place name, Leukas ....
troops, then attacked and blockaded the city of Leucas
Leucas
Leucas may refer to:* Leucas is a genus of plants from the family Lamiaceae.* Leucas, an English transliteration of the ancient Greek place name, Leukas ....
itself. Leucas was a significant Peloponnesian
Peloponnesian League
The Peloponnesian League was an alliance in the Peloponnesus from the 6th to the 4th centuries BC.- Early history:By the end of the 6th century, Sparta had become the most powerful state in the Peloponnese, and was the political and military hegemon over Argos, the next most powerful state...
base in the region, and the Acarnanians enthusiastically advocated besieging and taking the city. Demosthenes, however, chose instead to follow the advice of the Messenians, who wished to attack and subdue the tribal region of Aetolia, which they asserted was threating Naupactus.
Thucydides notes that Demosthenes made this decision partly to please his Messenian allies, but also states that he also wished to, if possible, pass through Aetolia, increase his army on the march by adding to it the men of Phocis, and attack Boeotia
Boeotia
Boeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:...
from the lightly defended western approach. Furthermore, as Nicias was simultaneously engaging in operations in eastern Boeotia, Demosthenes may have considered the possibility of forcing the Boeotians to fight on two fronts. Accordingly, he pulled up stakes at Leucas and set out for Aetolia. Before he arrived there, however, his force was appreciably diminished by the departure of several major contingents; the Acarnanians, upset that their preferred strategy of taking Leucas had been spurned, returned to their home country, and the Corcyraean ships also departed (apparently out of unwillingness to participate in an operation that offered their city no clear benefits).
Campaign
If Demosthenes was daunted by these significant breaches in his coalition, he did not reveal it with his immediate actions. Establishing a base at the city of Oeneon in LocrisLocris
Locris was a region of ancient Greece, the homeland of the Locrians, made up of three distinct districts.-Locrian tribe:...
, he began to advance into Aetolia, after making plans to rendezvous with a Locrian force in the Aetolian interior. His army advanced successfully for three days, reaching the town of Tichium on the third day. Here, Demosthenes called a halt while the plunder captured up to that point was transported back to his base. Some modern scholars have also suggested that the Locrian force that Demosthenes had planned to meet up with had been scheduled to join him at or before Tichium, and that his delay there was in part caused by his concern over their absence. The Locrians practiced a style of warfare similar to that of their Aetolian neighbors, and could have provided Demosthenes with skilled javelin throwers; in their absence, the Athenian-led force was critically deficient with regard to light missile troops, where its opponents were strongest.
Nonetheless, his confidence bolstered by the Messenians, who ensured him that the element of surprise would guarantee success as long as he continued to strike before the Aetolians had a chance to combine their forces against him, Demosthenes continued inland. The Messenians' advice, however, was already out of date. The Aetolians had learned of Demosthenes' plans even before he invaded, and by this time they had assembled a substantial force from throughout the region. Demosthenes advanced to the town of Aegitium, which he took easily, but he would go no further. The inhabitants of Aegitium retreated to the hills around the town, where they joined the main Aetolian army, and soon Demosthenes' force came under assault from the surrounding high ground. Moving with relative ease over the rough terrain, the Aetolian javelin throwers were able to fling their weapons and retreat easily before the heavily encumbered Athenian hoplites could reach them; without the Locrians, Demosthenes could rely only on a contingent of archers to keep the Aetolian skirmishers at bay. Even with the archers defending them, the Athenians were receiving the worst of the struggle; when the captain of the archers was killed, his men scattered, and the rest of the army shortly followed them. A bloodbath ensued. Demosthenes' co-commander Procles was killed, as was the Messenian guide. Leaderless troops of fleeing soldiers raced into exitless dry canyons or became lost on the battlefield, while the fast moving Aetolians mowed them down; the largest escaping contingent became lost in a forest, which was then set on fire around them. 120 of the 300 Athenians who had marched with Demosthenes were killed; casualties among the allies are not known, but were presumably of a similar order. Such losses were particularly exorbitant when contrasted with the toll of a traditional hoplite battle, in which casualty rates of over 10% were highly unusual.
Aftermath
After returning to Naupactus, the defeated Athenian force sailed for home, leaving behind it a newly precarious strategic situation and a commander with a severely shaken reputation; the Aetolians were emboldened by their victory and began preparing for an offensive against Naupactus, and Demosthenes was so concerned about his potential reception in Athens (where the assembly was known to deal harshly with disgraced generals) that he chose not to return home with his fleet. In the upcoming months, however, the strategic situation would be stabilized and Demosthenes reputation restored by his spectacular victory at OlpaeBattle of Olpae
The Battle of Olpae was a battle of the Peloponnesian War in 426 BC, between armies led by Athens and Sparta.In 426, 3,000 hoplites from Ambracia invaded Amphilochian Argos in Acarnania on a gulf of the Ionian Sea and occupied the fort of Olpae...
.