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Short description

The finest citizens of Megalopolis have been equipped in (almost) the exact manner of the Antigonid Chalkaspides and are (almost) as capable.

Description

These first phalangites of the Achaian army are an exact copy of their Antigonid role models. Armed with brazen Pelte shields and long sarissa pikes, they are an impressive sight to behold on the battlefield. However, there are only so many men in Megalopolis, so this unit should be used wisely. They also lack the greaves of some of the other phalangites of the time (Plut. Philopoimen 9,2 attests they were only added to the Peltophoroi in 207 BC). The head of Zeus on some of their shields stands for the patron god of the “great city”.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

In 368/367 BC (Diod. XV, 72, 4), the Thebans, having broken Spartan hegemony in the Peloponnese at the Battle of Leuktra three and a half years earlier, decided to force the Western Arkadians into a Synoikismos. The term Synoikismos signified the planned merger of a number of villages into one city. In this case, the victorious Thebans aimed to promote their allies in Arkadia over those who favoured Sparta and to undermine the position of the two hitherto preeminent cities in Arcadia, Mantineia and Tegea. They collected money from their allies to fund a gigantic wall and the erection of public buildings (IMagn. 38 = Syll.3 559,28 seq.). The city was fittingly called Megale Polis, the big city. From its beginning on, it was a bulwark against Sparta and it was obvious to everyone that it would forever be an enemy of the Lakedaimonians.

When the news of Alexander’s victory at Gaugamela reached Hellas in 331 BC, the Greeks did what one would expect them to do – they rose up against the king. The young monarch seemed to be too far away and too occupied with his Persian adventure to pay much attention to matters at home. In fact, he had left Antipatros (398-319 BC) to rule over Greece in his stead and only equipped him with an average-sized army. Led by the Lakedaimonians, who had never accepted Macedon’s position, most of the Peloponnesians, supported by Athens, rebelled against Antipatros. Megalopolis, however, remained firm on Macedon’s side and was duly besieged by the freedom fighters. They held out long enough to allow Antipatros to defeat his enemies and kill their leader, king Agis III of Sparta. When Alexander heard of his regent’s victory, he sarcastically commented that while he had triumphed over Dareios III (ca. 380-330 BC), Antipatros had won “some mice war” (Plut. Agis 15,4). The events confirmed Megalopolis’ position as the central counterweight to Sparta on the Peloponnese.

In 270 BC, when the RIS campaign begins, Megalopolis is being governed by the tyrant Aristodemos the Good (late 4th century-252 BC). He was a supporter of Antigonos II Gonatas (ca. 320-239 BC) of Macedon and repelled at least one Spartan attack during the following decade. His successor Lydiadas beat back another Spartan advance before a drastic change in policy, told by Megalopolis’ most famous son, the historian Polybios (ca. 200-118 BC):

“Demetrios (II Aitolikos, son of Gonatas, ca. 279-229 BC) only reigned for ten years, his death taking place at the time the Romans first crossed to Illyria, and after this the tide of events seemed to flow for a time in favour of the Achaians' constant purpose; for the Peloponnesian tyrants were much cast down by the death of Demetrios, who had been, so to speak, their furnisher and paymaster, and equally so by the threatening attitude of Aratos (of Sikyon, leader of the Achaian League, ca. 271-213 BC), who demanded that they should depose themselves, offering abundance of gifts and honours to those who consented to do so, and menacing those who turned a deaf ear to him with still more abundant chastisement on the part of the Achaians. 4 They therefore hurried to accede to his demand, laying down their tyrannies, setting their respective cities free, 5 and joining the Achaian League. Lydiades of Megalopolis had even foreseen what was likely to happen, and with great wisdom and good sense had forestalled the death of Demetrios and of his own free will laid down his tyranny and adhered to the national government” (Polyb. II, 44, 2-5).

The Achaian League, however, was unlike most other ancient states, and went as far as allowing Lydiades to become Strategos in 234/233, 232/231 and 230/229 BC! As a rival of Aratos, he tried to dominate the policy of the league, but eventually died in battle against the Lakedaimonians in the summer of 227 BC (Polyb. II, 31, 2). The arch-enemies of Megalopolis were now led by Kleomenes III (r. 235-222 respectively 219 BC), who had reformed Sparta’s society and army and forced the Achaians into an alliance with their other arch-enemy, Macedon, giving them Corinth in order to be saved from the Lakedaimonians. The unlikely allies eventually turned the tide of the war and faced Kleomenes at a decisive battle near Sellasia in Lakonia in 222 BC. Significantly, Polybios writes that “there were also a thousand Megalopolitans armed in the Macedonian manner under the command of Kerkidas of Megalopolis” (Polyb. II, 65, 3). He later (IV, 69, 4-5) adds that they were armed with bronze shields, just like the Antigonid Chalkaspides. It does not need much imagination to speculate that the Macedonians had equipped their new allies as Macedonian Phalangites in the style of their very own Chalkaspides. Finally, in 217 BC, the Achaian League decreed to keep five hundred of these men under arms at all times, together with fifty horsemen from Megalopolis (Polyb. V, 91, 6).