Commands & Colors: Ancients: Expansion #6: The Spartans

Title
Commands & Colors: Ancients: Expansion #6: The Spartans

Collection Tree

Collection Items

Megalopolis (331 BC)
Sparta had stood on the sidelines while Athens and Thebes battled Macedon at Chaeronea. As the Macedonian army plunged ever deeper into Asia, King Agis III sensed an opportunity to regain the hegemony of Greece for Sparta. Agis began secret …
-331

Chaeronea (338 BC)
Philip II gained the throne of Macedon in 359 BC and re-organized his army into a combined arms force. He then set on a long diplomatic and military campaign to dominate the Greek city-states. In 338, Athens and Thebes allied …
-338

Mantinea (362 BC)
Thebes’ shocking victory at Leuctra in 371 had ended the Spartan hegemony over Greece. Epaminondas then organized the Arcadian League of cities in the Peloponnesus, in order to counter-balance Sparta and ensure Theban supremacy. A division in the…
-362

Leuctra (371 BC)
Sparta’s victory over Athens in the Peloponnesian War (431-404) cemented the reputation of her hoplites as the premier infantry force in the world. However, Spartan arrogance following this victory led to the outbreak of hostilities with her former…
-371

Tegyra (375 BC)
In 379 BC, an insurrection ejected the Spartan garrison at Thebes, and the city set about reestablishing its control over the Boeotian League. After several years, the Thebans succeeded in driving Spartan garrisons out of every city in Boeotia,…
-375

Lechaeum (391 BC)
The Spartan commander at Lechaeum, honoring the tradition of the Amyclaeans in his army to return to their city of Amyclae to celebrate a religious festival, marched an escort force of Hoplites and cavalry past Corinth. After successfully leading his…
-391

Coronea (394 BC)
After the battle of Nemea, Agesilaus was moving south into Boeotia with an army of helots and veterans of the Ten Thousand, reinforced by some Spartan regiments and other allies. The coalition forces lined up to oppose him at Coronea. …
-394

Nemea (394 BC)
After the Theban victory at the battle of Haliartus, Athens, Thebes, Corinth and Argos joined together in an anti-Spartan alliance. Aristodemus was sent north to challenge the alliance and the two armies met near the dry riverbed of Nemea. The …
-394

River Centrites (401 BC)
After the battle of Cunaxa, the Ten Thousand chose Cheirisophus and Xenophon as leaders. Xenophon led an organized retreat through Carducia and Armenia toward the Black Sea, constantly harassed first by Persian armies and then by local tribes. Using…
-401

Piraeus (403 BC)
After the Thirty were deposed, the new government, although more moderate, was not ready to compromise with the Athenian exiles, who now held the Athenian port of Piraeus. The new government sent emissaries to Sparta, and Sparta sent Pausanias at …
-403

Munychia (404 BC)
Thrasybulus and the Athenian exiles marched from Phyle to the port city of Piraeus. The next day, oligarchic forces under the command of Critias, one of the Thirty Tyrants, marched out to meet them. Thrasybulus had taken a defensive position …
-404

Phyle (404 BC)
Following Athens’ defeat in the Peloponnesian War, the victorious Spartans imposed an oligarchic government on the city which became known as the Thirty Tyrants. Late in 404, Thrasybulus, leading a force of Anthenian exiles, gathered at Phyle near…
-404

Anapus River (415 BC)
In 415 BC Athens and Sparta were still under the Peace of Nicias, when the Sicilian city of Segesta requested help from Athens in their war against Selinus. Some Athenians saw this as an opportunity to take over all of …
-415

Mantinea (418 BC)
Ironically, the greatest Hoplite battle of the Peloponnesian War was fought during the Peace of Nicias (421-415). Athens was able to forge an anti-Spartan coalition. King Agis II of Sparta marched out to seek a decisive battle. The Spartan army …
-418

Amphipolis (422 BC)
In 424 BC, the Spartan general Brasidas led an army toward Thrace to threaten the only accessible part of the Athenian Empire. He reached Thrace and offered generous terms to the people of Amphipolis, who surrendered without a fight. In …
-422

Delium (424 BC)
The first great Hoplite battle of the Peloponnesian War was fought between Athens and Boeotia. The Athenians formed a plot with some Boeotian democrats to overthrow the Theban autocracy. Demosthenes led an expedition in the west, while Hippocrates…
-424

Sphacteria (425 BC)
After the Battle of Pylos, a force of Spartan soldiers was isolated on the island of Sphacteria. Demosthenes, commanding the force at Pylos, initially planned to starve the Spartans out, but it became clear over time that the Spartans would …
-425

Olpae (426 BC)
During the Second, or Great, Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) the Athenians recognized their inferiority to Sparta in land warfare, and chose to fight with proxy forces and at sea. Nevertheless, there were many small battles, and the clash at Olpae …
-426

Tanagra (457 BC)
The First Peloponnesian War (460-445 BC) broke out due to Megara’s defection from the Spartan alliance, and Spartan envy and fear over the growth of the Athenian Empire. Nicomedes marched an army into Boeotia in 457 BC to intervene in …
-457

Mycale (479 BC)
In the spring of 479 BC, various Ionian cities began a revolt against their Persian rulers, and soon were forced to turn to the Greek mainland for help. A meeting was called in Athens, and a Greek fleet of 110 …
-479

Plataea (479 BC)
The Persian emperor Xerxes I led a massive invasion of Greece to avenge the defeat of his father’s forces at Marathon. After annihilating the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, Xerxes captured and burned Athens. Macedon, Thessaly and Boeotia submitted to…
-479

Thermopylae - Grand Overview (480 BC)
King Xerxes desired to punish the Athenians for his father’s defeat at Marathon and their support for Ionian revolts. He planned a second invasion of Greece in 480 BC and amassed a huge to extend the Persian Empire …
-480

Thermopylae - Middle Gate (480 BC)
King Xerxes desired to punish the Athenians for his father’s defeat at Marathon and their support for Ionian revolts. He planned a second invasion of Greece in 480 BC and amassed a huge army to extend the Persian Empire into …
-480

Sepeia (494 BC)
Cleomenes I of Sparta, inspired by the words of the oracle at Delphi that he would take Argos, marched into Argive territory. It was here that the Argive army took up a defensive position. The Argive generals wanted to be …
-494

Thyreatis (545 BC)
Sparta and Argos were quarreling over Thyreatis, a territory which was occupied by Sparta, but belonged to Argos. The Argives marched out to recover their land, but instead of engaging in battle, the two armies agreed that rather than commit …
-545

Hysiae (669 BC)
King Darius I of Persia sent an expedition against Athens in reprisal for the burning of Sardes in 498 BC during the failed Ionian Revolt. The Persian fleet under the joint command of Datis and Artaphernes landed near Marathon bay, …
-669
View all 26 items