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Short description

Even the Perioikoi from the towns of Lakonia were eventually trained to fight in a Macedonian phalanx.

Description

Even the Perioikoi from the towns of Lakonia were eventually trained to fight in a Macedonian phalanx. Kleomenes equipped his pikemen with konos helmets, pelte shields, painted composite linothorakes, double pteryges and greaves. At the Battle of Sellasia, they were eventually overcome by the Antigonid Chalkaspides and Leukaspides. They performed well enough, however, to be retained by Kleomenes' successor, so that we can still find Spartan phalangites in the army of the 'tyrant' Machanidas in 207 BC (Polyb. XI, 15, 6).

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

After the success of Alexander and his successors, to which the Greek city states found no answer, the latter began to consider to retrain their Hoplites to fight as Macedonian style pikemen. However, this formation needed a lot of strength, precision and cohesion and thus longer training than that of the "classical" Hoplites. In Sparta, there were even more obstacles to reforming the infantry, the first of which was the formidable respect the Hoplites and their traditions commanded. Finally, the number of Homoioi had fallen to a mere 700 by the middle of the 3rd century BC, a number so small that it made an effective Macedonian phalanx with its depth of 12 or 16 ranks almost impossible. The Ephors and Gerousia were not ready to break up the ancient order, so that it needed the bold and visionary ideas of the young kings Agis IV (r. 241-244, who was murdered to prevent the reforms) and Kleomenes III (r. 235-222) to introduce the sarissa into the Lakedaimonian army. To solve the lack of manpower, Kleomenes had 2000 members of the lower strata of Spartan society, some of them former citizens (Hypomeiones), enfranchised, along with 2000 or 2500 Peroikoi and mercenaries. They received the social status of Neodamodeis, new citizens (Plutarch, Life of Kleomenes 11, 3).

What, however, happened to the remaining Perioikoi, who had fought as Hoplites up to this point? As Myke Cole repeatedly writes in his 2021 book The Bronze Lie when taking on the Kleomenean War, we never learn anything about the equipment of the Perioikoi during this time. The author of these lines hence wants to put forward his own hypothesis: though there is no evidence that the Perioikoi who did not receive citizenship rights were added to the Macedonian phalanx, this may well have been done at a later point, especially before the Battle of Sellasia when Kleomenes was desperate to match the Chalkaspides and Leukaspides of the Antigonids. Before the fight started, Kleomenes had posted half of his army under the command of his brother Eukleidas on the Euas hill, as we learn from Polybios’ report (II, 65, 9). While Kleomenes personally commanded the Spartan citizens and the mercenaries, Eukleidas was given the Perioikoi and the allies. We definitely know that the Arcadian and Elian allies of Lakedaimon were not fighting as phalangites, hence this part of the army would have largely been made up of Hoplites if the Perioikoi were still fighting in traditional gear (there may have been Helot skirmishers on both hills; these were usually not mentioned by ancient authors). It would thus, in my eyes, make sense if at least part of the Periokoi were also equipped as Macedonian style pikemen, to strengthen this wing of the army – otherwise Antigonos Doson would have quickly realised that one part of the Lakedaimonian army was much weaker than the other. And in fact, Plutarch (Life of Kleomenes 23, 1) states that Kleomenes did free 2000 Helots in 222 BC to use them to counter the Leukaspides, a pikemen regiment of the Antigonid army. Since these Helots are only freed, not enfranchised, they will have become Perioikoi and it is likely that the Perioikoi mentioned under the command of Eukleidas at Sellasia were these pikemen.

With its close formation and the length of its sarissa (up to 6m), the Macedonian phalanx could not be overcome by a frontal attack. Hence Kleomenes quickly turned the tide in the conflict with the Achaian League for the domination of the Peloponnese: as the Achaians had not yet adopted the sarissa, they were unable to stop the Spartan new model army in battle and lost town after town during the Kleomenean War (229/228-222 BC). Kleomenes had properly begun the war with victory at the Battle of Mount Lykaion near Elis in 227 BC, which secured the support of the Elians (Plutarch, Life of Kleomenes 5). It was probably only after this triumph, which secured the king’s position in Sparta, that he undertook the reform of the Hoplites, at some point from 226 to 224 BC. From now on, his enemies s stood no chance. Yet, Kleomenes was too successful for his own good: the Achaian League eventually grew so desperate that it turned to its arch enemy, Antigonid Macedon, and offered king Antigonos Doson (r. 227-221) the greatest asset they had: the wealthy city of Corinth with its impregnable fortress Akrokorinthos, which controlled the access to the Peloponnese. Antigonos duly accepted the offer and led a big army south, eventually forcing Kleomenes to battle at Sellasia in the valley of the Oinus river, about 10km north of Sparta. The new style Spartan army was overcome by superior numbers, a stratagem of Antigonos and the discipline of both the Antigonid phalanx and the first ever attested Achaian pikemen unit (Polyb. II, 65-69).