First battle of Mantineia
| date | 418 BC Chr. |
|---|---|
| place | Mantineia |
| output | Victory of Sparta |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
Argos, Mantineia, Athens |
Sparta, Tegea |
| Commander | |
|
Laches † |
|
| Troop strength | |
| 8,000 hoplites , cavalry | 9,000 hoplites, cavalry |
| losses | |
|
1,100 |
300 (estimate) |
The first battle of Mantineia took place in the autumn of 418 BC. Chr. As part of the Peloponnesian War between Sparta on one side and an alliance of poleis Argos , Mantineia and Athens on the other side instead.
prehistory
The first phase of the Peloponnesian War ended in 421 with the Peace of Nicias , a fifty-year armistice. Alkibiades , Athens' new strategist, however, pushed through an alliance between Athens and Argos, Mantineia and Elis . These three states were located in the Peloponnese , Sparta's sphere of influence. Sparta intervened.
procedure
A Spartan army with a few allies under the leadership of the young King Agis advanced to restore the Peloponnesian League that had been broken up by the enemy alliance . On the Argolic-Arcadian border, the troops of Argos and Mantineia gathered, supported by a contingent from Athens. The two armies clashed at Mantineia. It became the largest open field battle in the Peloponnesian War . The Spartans won them superiorly by enclosing the opponent's right with their phalanx , swinging the formation in and rolling up the enemy phalanx from the side.
consequences
Sybota - Potidaia - Spartolus - Stratos - Naupactus - Plataea - Olpai - Tanagra - Pylos - Sphacteria - Corinth - Megara - Delion - Amphipolis - Mantinea - Melos - Syracuse - Miletus - Syme - Eretria - Kynossema - Abydos - Kyzikos - Ephesus - Chalcedon - Byzantium - Andros - Notion - Mytilene - Arginus - Aigospotamoi
Alkibiades' aim to flare up the war against Sparta was not achieved. Even if an Athenian contingent took part in the battle, the Spartans saw it as the restoration of the Peloponnesian League . Consequently, there was no direct fighting between Athens and Sparta in the period that followed. For Athens the outcome of the battle meant a temporary setback in the policy of Alcibiades, which a short time later sparked the even more catastrophic Sicilian expedition . The cities of the Peloponnese turned back to Sparta. Argos abolished democracy, brought back his old government and signed a pact of assistance with Sparta.
source
The most important source for battle is the history of Thucydides (5th book).
literature
- Donald Kagan : The Peloponnesian War . Viking, New York 2003, pp. 228 ff., ISBN 0-670-03211-5 .
- Wolfgang Will : Athens or Sparta. The history of the Peloponnesian War. CH Beck Verlag, Munich 2019, ISBN 9783406740985 .