Chremonic War

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The Chremonideic War was a rising of Athens and other Poleis against the Macedonian-Antigonidic hegemony in Greece and at the same time a conflict between the kings Ptolemy II of Egypt and Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedon . It lasted from 267 to 261 BC. Chr. , Named after the leading Athenian politician of the time, Chremonides , and ended in the defeat of the Athenians, who were allied with the Ptolemies .

background

In the course of the Diadoch Wars, after the death of Alexander the Great, Ptolemaic Egypt, the Seleucid Empire and the Antigonid Macedonia emerged as the dominant and mostly mutually hostile successor states of his empire. The Greeks were more of a supporting actor in these disputes, because the comparatively small city-states, especially Athens and Sparta , could hardly hold their own against the great Hellenistic empires . Nevertheless, the great powers rivaled for control of Hellas. The Poleis' striving for autonomy was therefore a welcome pretext for the major powers involved in order to be able to present themselves as liberators of the Greeks from their respective opponents, even if they were actually trying to expand their own influence.

course

Traditional supremacy in Greece had existed since 338 BC. BC Macedonia, which secured its hegemony on the one hand through strong garrisons (especially in Chalkis and Corinth ), on the other hand through the establishment of Promakedonian oligarchies in many cities. At the beginning of the Chremonideic War, Antigonus II Gonatas was king of Macedon . His most important rival was the Egyptian king Ptolemy II , who already controlled numerous Poleis and did everything to gain a foothold in the Aegean ; consequently he supported the anti-Macedonian party in Athens, which was led by the Stoic Chremonides. Basically, there was a conflict between Antigonos Gonatas and Ptolemy II over control of Hellas, the latter claiming, as was common since the Diadochi , to want to give the Greeks freedom and democracy. This conflict was combined with internal Greek disputes.

In 267 BC A decision was made to go to war in Athens, Sparta and other cities joined them. The year 266 BC BC proceeded without decisive turns. In addition to mainland Greece, the southern Ionian coast was the theater of war, where Ptolemy , a son of the Egyptian king, acted as a general. In addition, Egypt gained an important base for its fleet off the Attic coast. 265 BC BC Antigonus then achieved a first important success at Corinth against the Greeks allied with Ptolemy II, whereby the Spartan king Areus I fell in battle. Athens was thus also in distress: previously kept alive by grain deliveries from Egypt, the city's situation deteriorated because Antigonus was now able to besiege Athens. He repulsed a Ptolemaic relief fleet off the island of Kos . Now Ptolemy II gave up the fight and left his Greek allies to their own devices. In 261 BC. Chr. Therefore had to finally surrender the starving Athens. The city, still a culturally important center and largest city in Greece, thus lost further political importance and had to tolerate an Antigonid garrison in the city.

Years later, the Ptolemies should try again indirectly to bring Greece under their control by taking Cleomenes III. of Sparta against Antigonus III. Doson supported. This attempt also failed.

literature

  • Alexander Arenz: Herakleides criticism "About the cities in Hellas". A Periegese of Greece on the eve of the Chremonideic War , Munich 2006.
  • Boris Dreyer : Studies on the History of Late Classical Athens (322-approx. 230 BC) , Stuttgart 1997.
  • Hans-Joachim Gehrke : History of Hellenism , Munich 2003.
  • Christian Habicht : Studies on the history of Athens in the Hellenistic period , Göttingen 1982.
  • Nicholas GL Hammond, Frank W. Walbank : A History of Macedonia , 3 vols., Oxford 1972–1988.
  • Heinz Heinen : Investigations into the Hellenistic history of the 3rd century BC Chr. , Wiesbaden 1972.