Cretan War
Encyclopedia
The Cretan War was fought by King Philip V of Macedon
, the Aetolian League
, several Cretan cities (of which Olous
and Hierapytna
were the most important) and Sparta
n pirates against the forces of Rhodes
and later Attalus I
of Pergamum, Byzantium
, Cyzicus
, Athens
and Knossos
.
The Macedonians had just concluded the First Macedonian War
and Philip, seeing his chance to defeat Rhodes, formed an alliance with Aetolian and Spartan pirates who began raiding Rhodian ships. Philip also formed an alliance with several important Cretan cities, such as Hierapynta and Olous. With the Rhodian fleet and economy suffering from the depredations of the pirates, Philip believed his chance to crush Rhodes was at hand. To help achieve his goal, he formed an alliance with the King of the Seleucid Empire
, Antiochus the Great, against Ptolemy V of Egypt
(the Seleucid Empire and Egypt were the other two Diadochi
states). Philip began attacking the lands of Ptolemy and Rhodes's allies in Thrace
and around the Sea of Marmara
.
In 202 BC, Rhodes and her allies Pergamum, Cyzicus, and Byzantium combined their fleets and defeated Philip at the Battle of Chios
. Just a few months later, Philip's fleet defeated the Rhodians at Lade. While Philip was plundering Pergamese territory and attacking cities in Caria, Attalus I of Pergamum went to Athens to try to create a diversion. He succeeded in securing an alliance with the Athenians, who immediately declared war on the Macedonians. The King of Macedon could not remain inactive; he assailed Athens with his navy and with some infantry. The Romans warned him, however, to withdraw or face war with Rome
. After suffering a defeat at the hands of the Rhodian and Pergamese fleets, Philip withdrew, but not before attacking the city of Abydos
on the Hellespont. Abydos fell after a long siege and most of its inhabitants committed suicide. Philip rejected the Roman ultimatum to stop attacking Greek states and the Romans declared war on Macedon. This left the Cretan cities with no major allies, and the largest city of Crete, Knossos, joined the Rhodians. Faced with this combination, both Hierapynta and Olous surrendered and were forced to sign a treaty favourable to Rhodes and Knossos.
came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Phoenice
, under the terms of which the Macedonians were not allowed to expand westwards. Rome, meanwhile, was preoccupied with Carthage
, and Philip hoped to take advantage of this to seize control of the Greek world. He knew that his ambitions would be aided by an alliance with Crete. Having crushed Pergamum (the Greek state in Asia Minor
) and formed an alliance with Aetolia
, Philip was now opposed by no major Greek power other than Rhodes
. Rhodes, an island state that dominated the south-eastern Mediterranean economically and militarily, was formally allied to Philip, but was also allied to his enemy Rome
.
prohibited Philip from expanding westward into Illyria or the Adriatic Sea
, so the king turned his attentions eastwards to the Aegean Sea, where he started to build a large fleet.
Philip saw two ways of shaking Rhodes' dominance of the sea: piracy and war. Deciding to use both methods, he encouraged his allies to begin pirate attacks against Rhodian ships. Philip convinced the Cretans, who had been involved in piracy for a long time, the Aetolians, and the Sparta
ns to take part in the piracy. The lure for these nations was the promise of vast loot from captured Rhodian vessels. He sent the Aetolian freebooter Dicaearchus
on a large razzia through the Aegean, during the course of which he plundered the Cyclades
and Rhodian territories.
By the end of 205 BC, Rhodes had been significantly weakened by these raids, and Philip saw his chance to go forward with the second part of his plan, direct military confrontation. He convinced the cities of Hierapytna and Olous and other cities in Eastern Crete to declare war against Rhodes.
Rhodes' initial response to the declaration of war was diplomatic; they asked the Roman Republic for help against Philip. The Romans, however, were wary of another war, the Second Punic War
having just ended. The Roman Senate attempted to persuade the populace to enter the war, even after Pergamum, Cyzicus
and Byzantium
had joined the war on the Rhodians side, but was unable to sway the city's war-weary population.
At this point Philip further provoked Rhodes by capturing and razing Cius
and Myrleia, Greek cities on the coast of the Sea of Marmara
. Philip then handed these cities over to his brother-in-law, the King of Bithynia, Prusias I who rebuilt and renamed the cities Prusa after himself and Apameia after his wife, respectively. In return for these cities Prusias promised that he would continue on expanding his kingdom at the expense of Pergamum (his latest war with Pergamum had ended in 205). The seizure of these cities also enraged the Aetolians, as both were members of the Aetolian League
. The alliance between Aetolia and Macedon was held together only by the Aetolians' fear of Philip, and this incident worsened the already tenuous relationship. Philip next attacked and conquered the cities of Lysimachia
and Chalcedon
, which were also members of the Aetolian League, forcing them to break off their alliance with Aetolia.
On the way home, Philip's fleet stopped at the island of Thasos
off the coast of Thrace
. Philip's general Metrodorus
, went to the island's eponymous capital to meet emissaries from the city. The envoys said they would surrender the city to the Macedonians on the conditions that they not receive a garrison
, that they not have to pay tribute
or contribute soldiers to the Macedonian army and that they continue to use their own laws. Metrodorus replied that the king accepted the terms, and the Thasians opened their gates to the Macedonians. Once within the walls, however, Philip ordered his soldiers to enslave all the citizens, who were then sold away, and to loot the city.
Philip next concluded a treaty with Antiochus III the Great
, emperor of the Seleucid Empire
, hoping to divide up the land held by Ptolemaic Egypt
under the young pharaoh Ptolemy V. Philip agreed to help Antiochus to seize Egypt
and Cyprus
, while Antiochus promised to help Philip take control of Cyrene
, the Cyclades
and Ionia
.
With this treaty concluded, Philip's army attacked Ptolemy's territories in Thrace. Next, the Macedonian fleet headed south and took the island of Samos
from Ptolemy V, capturing the Egyptian
fleet stationed there. The fleet then turned north and laid siege to the island of Chios
. Philip was planning to use the northern Aegean islands as stepping-stones as he worked his way down to Rhodes. The siege was not going well for Philip, as the combined fleets of Pergamum, Rhodes and their new allies, Cyzicus and Byzantium, had successfully blockaded his fleet. Philip, seeing no other option, decided to risk battle against the allies.
The Macedonian fleet of around 200 ships outnumbered the allied fleet around two to one. The battle began with Attalus, who was commanding the allied left wing, advancing against the Macedonian right wing, while the allied right flank under the command of the Rhodian admiral, Theophiliscus
attack the Macedonian's left wing. The allies gained the upper hand on their left flank and captured Philip's flagship; Philip's admiral, Democrates, was slain in the fighting. Meanwhile, on the allied right flank, the Macedonians were pushing the Rhodians back. Theophiliscus, fighting on his flagship, received three fatal wounds but managed to rally his men and defeat the Macedonian boarders.
On the allied left flank, Attalus saw one of his ships being sunk by the enemy and the one next to it in danger. He decided to sail to the rescue with two quadriremes and his flagship. Philip, however, whose ship had not been involved in the fighting to this point, saw that Attalus had strayed some distance from his fleet and sailed to attack him with four quinqueremes and three hemioliae. Attalus, seeing Philip approaching, fled in terror and was forced to run his ships aground. Upon landing he spread coins, purple robes and other splendid articles on the deck of his ship and fled to the city of Erythrae
. When the Macedonians arrived at the shore, they stopped to collect the plunder. Philip, thinking that Attalus had perished in the chase, started towing away the Pergamese flagship.
The situation on the allies' right flank, meanwhile, had reversed and the Macedonians were forced to disengage and retreat, leaving the Rhodians to tow their damaged ships into the harbor at Chios. The allied left and centre had also gained the advantage earlier and forced the Macedonians to retreat before sailing back to Chios unmolested.
The battle was a costly one for Philip, who lost 92 ships destroyed and 7 captured. On the allied side, the Pergamese had three ships destroyed and two captured, while the Rhodians lost three ships sunk and none captured. During the battle the Macedonians lost 6,000 rowers and 3,000 marines killed and had 2,000 men captured. The casualties for the allies were significantly lower, with the Pergamese losing 70 men the Rhodians 60 killed, the allies as a whole losing 600 captured. Peter Green describes this defeat as "a crippling and costly defeat". This defeat effectively crippled the Macedonian fleet and saved the Aegean islands from another large invasion.
After this battle, the Rhodian admirals decided to leave Chios and sail back home. On the way back to Rhodes, the Rhodian admiral Theophiliscus died of the wounds he received at Chios, but before he died he appointed Cleonaeus
as his successor. As the Rhodian fleet was sailing in the strait between Lade and Miletus
on the shore of Asia Minor, Philip's fleet attacked them. Philip defeated the Rhodian fleet and forced it to retreat back to Rhodes. The Milesians were impressed by the victory and sent Philip and the Heracleides garlands of victory when they entered Milesian territory.
and the sanctuary of Athena
Nicephorus. After the Macedonians captured Thyatira, they advanced to plunder the plain of Thebe, but the booty proved less fruitful than anticipated. Once he arrived at Thebe, he demanded corn from the Seleucid governor of the region, Zeuxis
. Zeuxis, however, never planned to give Philip substantial supplies.
Philip, disappointed by the spoils in Mysia
, proceeded south and plundered the towns and cities of Caria
. He invested Prinassus, which held out bravely at first, but when Philip set up his artillery, he sent an envoy into the city offering to let them leave the city unharmed or they would all be killed. The citizens decided to abandon the city. At this stage in the campaign, Philip's army was running out of food, so he seized the city of Myus
and gave it to the Magnesians
in return for food supplies. Since the Magnesians had no corn, Philip settled for enough figs to feed his whole army. Philip next seized and garrisoned the cities of Iasus, Bargylia, Euromus
, Pedasa in quick succession. He besieged and captured the city of Peraea
which was under Rhodian control.
While Philip's fleet was wintering in Bargylia, the combined Pergamese and Rhodian fleet blockaded the harbour. The situation in the Macedonian camp became so grave that the Macedonians were close to surrendering. Philip, however, managed to get out by trickery. He sent an Egyptian deserter to Attalus and the Rhodians to say that he was preparing to attack the allies the next day. Upon hearing the news, Attalus and the Rhodians started preparing the fleet for the oncoming attack. While the allies were making their preparations, Philip slipped past them by night with his fleet, leaving numerous campfires burning to give the appearance that he remained in his camp.
While Philip was involved in this campaign, his allies the Acarnania
ns became involved in a war against Athens after the Athenians murdered two Acarnanian athletes. The Acarnanians complained to Philip about this provocation, and he decided to send a force under the command of Nicanor the Elephant
to assist them on their attack on Attica. The Macedonians and their allies plundered and looted Attica before attacking Athens. The invaders made it as far as the Academy of Athens
when the Roman ambassadors in the city ordered the Macedonians to retreat or to face war with Rome.
Philip's fleet had just escaped from the allied blockade and Philip ordered that a squadron head to Athens. The Macedonian squadron sailed into Piraeus
and captured four Athenian ships. As the Macedonian squadron was retreating, the Rhodian and Pergamese fleet, which had followed Philip's ships across the Aegean, appeared from the allied base at Aegina
and attacked the Macedonians. The allies defeated the Macedonian fleet and recaptured the Athenian ships, which they returned to the Athenians. The Athenians were so pleased by the rescue that they replaced the recently abolished pro-Macedonian tribes, the Demetrias and Antigonis tribes, with the Attalid tribe in honour of Attalus. Attalus and the Rhodians convinced the Athenian assembly to declare war on the Macedonians.
The Pergamese fleet sailed back to their base at Aegina and the Rhodians set out to conquer all the Macedonian islands from Aegina to Rhodes, successfully assaulting all except Andros
, Paros
and Cythnos. Philip ordered his prefect
on the island of Euboea
, Philoces
, to assault Athens once again with 2,000 infantry and 200 cavalry. Philocles was unable to capture Athens, but ravaged the surrounding countryside.
Meanwhile, Rhodian, Pergamese and Athenian delegations travelled to Rome to appear before the Senate. When they were given audience they informed the Senate about the treaty between Philip and Antiochus and complained of Philip's attacks on their territories. In response to these complaints the Romans sent three ambassadors, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus
, Gaius Claudius Nero
and Publius Sempronius Tuditanus to Egypt with the orders to go to Rhodes after speaking with Ptolemy.
While this was happening, Philip attacked and occupied the cities of Maronea, Cypsela, Doriscos, Serrheum and Aemus, which belonged to Ptolemy. The Macedonians then advanced on the Thracian Chersonese
where they captured the cities of Perinthus, Sestos
, Elaeus, Alopeconnesus, Callipolis and Madytus. Philip then descended to the city of Abydos
, which was held by a combined Pergamese and Rhodian garrison. Philip started the siege by blockading the city by land and sea to stop attempts to reinforce or supply the city. The Abydenians, full of confidence, dislodged some of the siege engines with their own catapult
s while some of Philip's other engines were burnt by the defenders.
With their siege weaponry in tatters, the Macedonians started undermining the city's walls, eventually succeeding in collapsing the outer wall.
The situation was now grave for the defenders and they decided to send two of their most prominent citizens to Philip as negotiators. Appearing before Philip, these men offered to surrender the city to him on the conditions that the Rhodian and the Pergamese garrisons were allowed to leave the city under a truce and that all the citizens were permitted to leave the city with the clothes they were wearing and go wherever they pleased. Philip replied that they should "surrender at discretion or fight like men." The ambassadors, powerless to do more, carried this response back to the city.
Informed of this response, the city's leaders called an assembly to determine their course of action. They decided to liberate all slaves to secure their loyalty, to place all the children and their nurses in the gymnasium and to put all the women in the temple of Artemis
. They also asked for everyone to bring forward their gold and silver and any clothes that were valuable so they could put them in the boats of the Rhodians and the Cyzicenes. Fifty elder and trusted men were elected to carry out these tasks. All the citizens then swore an oath. As Polybius writes:
After reciting the oath, they brought forward the priests and everyone swore that they would defeat the enemy or die trying.
When the interior wall fell, the men, true to their promise, sprang from the ruins and fought with great courage, forcing Philip to send his troops forward in relays to the front line. By nightfall the Macedonians retreated to camp. That night the Abydenians resolved to save the women and children and at daybreak they sent some priests and priestess with a garland across the Macedonians, surrendering the city to Philip.
Meanwhile, Attalus sailed across the Aegean to the island of Tenedos
. The youngest of the Roman ambassadors, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus
, had heard about the siege at Abydos while he was in Rhodes and he arrived at Abydos to find Philip. Meeting the king outside the city, Lepidus informed him of the Senate's wishes. Polybius writes:
While Philip was walking through Abydos, he saw people killing themselves and their families by stabbing, burning, hanging, and jumping down wells and from rooftops. Philip was surprised to see this, and published a proclamation announcing that "he gave three days' grace to those who wished to hang or stab themselves." The Abydenians, who were bent on following the orders of the original decree, thought that it would amount to treason to the people who had already died, and refused to live under these terms. Apart from those in chains or similar restraints, each family individually hurried to their deaths.
Philip then ordered another attack on Athens; his army failed to take either Athens or Eleusis, but subjected Attica to the worst ravaging the Atticans had seen since the Persian Wars. In response, the Romans declared war on Philip and invaded his territories in Illyria
. Philip was forced to abandon his Rhodian and Pergamese campaign in order to deal with the Romans and the situation in Greece. Thus began the Second Macedonian War
.
After Philip's withdrawal from his campaign against Rhodes, the Rhodians were free to attack Olous and Hierapytna and their other Cretan allies. Rhodes' search for allies in Crete bore fruit when the Cretan city of Knossos
saw that the war was going in Rhodes' favour and decided to join Rhodes in an attempt to gain supremacy
over the island. Many other cities in central Crete subsequently joined Rhodes and Knossos against Hierapytna and Olous. Now under attack on two fronts, Hierapytna surrendered.
Under the treaty signed at the conclusion of the war, Hierapytna agreed to break off all relations and alliances with foreign powers and to place all its harbors and bases at Rhodes' disposal. Olous, among the ruins of which the terms of the treaty have been found, had to accept Rhodian domination. As a result, Rhodes was left with control of a significant part of eastern Crete after the war. The conclusion of the war left the Rhodians free to help their allies in the Second Macedonian War.
The war had no particular short-term effect on the rest of Crete. Pirates and mercenaries
there continued in their old occupations after the war's end. In the Battle of Cynoscephalae
during the Second Macedonian War
three years later, Cretan mercenary archers
fought for both the Romans and the Macedonians.
The war was costly for Philip and the Macedonians, losing them a fleet that had taken three years to build as well as the triggering the defection of their Greek allies, the Achean League and the Aetolian League
to the Romans. In the war's immediate aftermath the Dardani
, a barbarian tribe, swarmed across the northern border of Macedon, but Philip was able to repel this attack. In 197, however, Philip was defeated in the Battle of Cynoscephalae by the Romans and was forced to surrender. This defeat cost Philip most of his territory outside Macedon and he had to pay war 1,000 talent of silver to the Romans.
The Rhodians regained control over the Cyclades and reconfirmed their naval supremacy over the Aegean. The Rhodians' possession of Eastern Crete allowed them to largely stamp out piracy in that area, but pirate attacks on Rhodian shipping continued and eventually led to the Second Cretan War. Attalus died in 197 and was succeeded by his son, Eumenes II
, who continued his father's anti-Macedonian policy. The Pergamese, meanwhile, came out of the war having gained several Aegean islands which had been in Philip's possession and went on to become the supreme power in Asia Minor, rivaled only by Antiochus.
Philip V of Macedon
Philip V was King of Macedon from 221 BC to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of Rome. Philip was attractive and charismatic as a young man...
, the Aetolian League
Aetolian League
The Aetolian League was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered on Aetolia in central Greece. It was established, probably during the early Hellenistic era, in opposition to Macedon and the Achaean League. Two annual meetings were held in Thermika and Panaetolika...
, several Cretan cities (of which Olous
Olous
Olous or Olus is an ancient, sunken city situated at the present day town of Elounda, Crete, Greece.-History:After continuing boundary disputes with the hillfort of Lato, the citizens of Olous eventually entered into a treaty with those of Lato...
and Hierapytna
Ierapetra
Ierapetra is a town in the southeast of the Greek island of Crete and a municipality of Crete region.-History:The town of Ierapetra is located on the southeast coast of Crete, along the beach of Ierapetra Bay. It lies south of Agios Nikolaos and southwest of Sitia and is an important regional...
were the most important) and Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
n pirates against the forces of Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
and later Attalus I
Attalus I
Attalus I , surnamed Soter ruled Pergamon, an Ionian Greek polis , first as dynast, later as king, from 241 BC to 197 BC. He was the second cousin and the adoptive son of Eumenes I, whom he succeeded, and was the first of the Attalid dynasty to assume the title of king in 238 BC...
of Pergamum, Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
, Cyzicus
Cyzicus
Cyzicus was an ancient town of Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peninsula , a tombolo which is said to have originally been an island in the Sea of Marmara only to be connected to the mainland in historic...
, Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
and Knossos
Knossos
Knossos , also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square...
.
The Macedonians had just concluded the First Macedonian War
First Macedonian War
The First Macedonian War was fought by Rome, allied with the Aetolian League and Attalus I of Pergamon, against Philip V of Macedon, contemporaneously with the Second Punic War against Carthage...
and Philip, seeing his chance to defeat Rhodes, formed an alliance with Aetolian and Spartan pirates who began raiding Rhodian ships. Philip also formed an alliance with several important Cretan cities, such as Hierapynta and Olous. With the Rhodian fleet and economy suffering from the depredations of the pirates, Philip believed his chance to crush Rhodes was at hand. To help achieve his goal, he formed an alliance with the King of the Seleucid Empire
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
, Antiochus the Great, against Ptolemy V of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
(the Seleucid Empire and Egypt were the other two Diadochi
Diadochi
The Diadochi were the rival generals, family and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for the control of Alexander's empire after his death in 323 BC...
states). Philip began attacking the lands of Ptolemy and Rhodes's allies in Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
and around the Sea of Marmara
Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis , is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black...
.
In 202 BC, Rhodes and her allies Pergamum, Cyzicus, and Byzantium combined their fleets and defeated Philip at the Battle of Chios
Battle of Chios
The Battle of Chios was fought between the fleet of Philip V of Macedon against the combined fleet of Rhodes, Pergamum, Byzantium and Cyzicus....
. Just a few months later, Philip's fleet defeated the Rhodians at Lade. While Philip was plundering Pergamese territory and attacking cities in Caria, Attalus I of Pergamum went to Athens to try to create a diversion. He succeeded in securing an alliance with the Athenians, who immediately declared war on the Macedonians. The King of Macedon could not remain inactive; he assailed Athens with his navy and with some infantry. The Romans warned him, however, to withdraw or face war with Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. After suffering a defeat at the hands of the Rhodian and Pergamese fleets, Philip withdrew, but not before attacking the city of Abydos
Abydos, Hellespont
For other uses, see Abydos Abydos , an ancient city of Mysia, in Asia Minor, situated at Nara Burnu or Nagara Point on the best harbor on the Asiatic shore of the Hellespont. Across Abydos lies Sestus on the European side marking the shortest point in the Dardanelles, scarcely a mile broad...
on the Hellespont. Abydos fell after a long siege and most of its inhabitants committed suicide. Philip rejected the Roman ultimatum to stop attacking Greek states and the Romans declared war on Macedon. This left the Cretan cities with no major allies, and the largest city of Crete, Knossos, joined the Rhodians. Faced with this combination, both Hierapynta and Olous surrendered and were forced to sign a treaty favourable to Rhodes and Knossos.
Prelude
In 205 BC, the First Macedonian WarFirst Macedonian War
The First Macedonian War was fought by Rome, allied with the Aetolian League and Attalus I of Pergamon, against Philip V of Macedon, contemporaneously with the Second Punic War against Carthage...
came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Phoenice
Treaty of Phoenice
The Treaty of Phoenice, also known as the Peace of Phoenice, was a treaty ending the First Macedonian War. It was drawn up at Phoenice in 205 BC....
, under the terms of which the Macedonians were not allowed to expand westwards. Rome, meanwhile, was preoccupied with Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
, and Philip hoped to take advantage of this to seize control of the Greek world. He knew that his ambitions would be aided by an alliance with Crete. Having crushed Pergamum (the Greek state in Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
) and formed an alliance with Aetolia
Aetolia
Aetolia is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania.-Geography:...
, Philip was now opposed by no major Greek power other than Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
. Rhodes, an island state that dominated the south-eastern Mediterranean economically and militarily, was formally allied to Philip, but was also allied to his enemy Rome
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
.
Piracy and war
The Treaty of PhoeniceTreaty of Phoenice
The Treaty of Phoenice, also known as the Peace of Phoenice, was a treaty ending the First Macedonian War. It was drawn up at Phoenice in 205 BC....
prohibited Philip from expanding westward into Illyria or the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
, so the king turned his attentions eastwards to the Aegean Sea, where he started to build a large fleet.
Philip saw two ways of shaking Rhodes' dominance of the sea: piracy and war. Deciding to use both methods, he encouraged his allies to begin pirate attacks against Rhodian ships. Philip convinced the Cretans, who had been involved in piracy for a long time, the Aetolians, and the Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
ns to take part in the piracy. The lure for these nations was the promise of vast loot from captured Rhodian vessels. He sent the Aetolian freebooter Dicaearchus
Dicaearchus
Dicaearchus of Messana was a Greek philosopher, cartographer, geographer, mathematician and author. Dicaearchus was Aristotle's student in the Lyceum. Very little of his work remains extant. He wrote on the history and geography of Greece, of which his most important work was his Life of Greece...
on a large razzia through the Aegean, during the course of which he plundered the Cyclades
Cyclades
The Cyclades is a Greek island group in the Aegean Sea, south-east of the mainland of Greece; and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name refers to the islands around the sacred island of Delos...
and Rhodian territories.
Rhodes' initial response to the declaration of war was diplomatic; they asked the Roman Republic for help against Philip. The Romans, however, were wary of another war, the Second Punic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
having just ended. The Roman Senate attempted to persuade the populace to enter the war, even after Pergamum, Cyzicus
Cyzicus
Cyzicus was an ancient town of Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peninsula , a tombolo which is said to have originally been an island in the Sea of Marmara only to be connected to the mainland in historic...
and Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
had joined the war on the Rhodians side, but was unable to sway the city's war-weary population.
At this point Philip further provoked Rhodes by capturing and razing Cius
Cius
Cius or Kios , later renamed Prusias ad Mare after king Prusias I of Bithynia, was an ancient Greek city bordering the Propontis , in Bithynia , and had a long history, being mentioned by Aristotle, and Strabo. It was colonized by the Milesians and became a place of much commercial importance...
and Myrleia, Greek cities on the coast of the Sea of Marmara
Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis , is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black...
. Philip then handed these cities over to his brother-in-law, the King of Bithynia, Prusias I who rebuilt and renamed the cities Prusa after himself and Apameia after his wife, respectively. In return for these cities Prusias promised that he would continue on expanding his kingdom at the expense of Pergamum (his latest war with Pergamum had ended in 205). The seizure of these cities also enraged the Aetolians, as both were members of the Aetolian League
Aetolian League
The Aetolian League was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered on Aetolia in central Greece. It was established, probably during the early Hellenistic era, in opposition to Macedon and the Achaean League. Two annual meetings were held in Thermika and Panaetolika...
. The alliance between Aetolia and Macedon was held together only by the Aetolians' fear of Philip, and this incident worsened the already tenuous relationship. Philip next attacked and conquered the cities of Lysimachia
Lysimachia (Thrace)
Lysimachia was an important Hellenistic Greek town on the north-western extremity of the Thracian Chersonese in what is now the European part of Turkey, not far from the bay of Melas .- History :...
and Chalcedon
Chalcedon
Chalcedon , sometimes transliterated as Chalkedon) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari . It is now a district of the city of Istanbul named Kadıköy...
, which were also members of the Aetolian League, forcing them to break off their alliance with Aetolia.
On the way home, Philip's fleet stopped at the island of Thasos
Thasos
Thasos or Thassos is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea, close to the coast of Thrace and the plain of the river Nestos but geographically part of Macedonia. It is the northernmost Greek island, and 12th largest by area...
off the coast of Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
. Philip's general Metrodorus
Metrodorus
Metrodorus of Lampsacus was a Greek philosopher of the Epicurean school. Although one of the four major proponents of Epicureanism, only fragments of his works remain.-Life:...
, went to the island's eponymous capital to meet emissaries from the city. The envoys said they would surrender the city to the Macedonians on the conditions that they not receive a garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
, that they not have to pay tribute
Tribute
A tribute is wealth, often in kind, that one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often the case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance. Various ancient states, which could be called suzerains, exacted tribute from areas they had conquered or threatened to conquer...
or contribute soldiers to the Macedonian army and that they continue to use their own laws. Metrodorus replied that the king accepted the terms, and the Thasians opened their gates to the Macedonians. Once within the walls, however, Philip ordered his soldiers to enslave all the citizens, who were then sold away, and to loot the city.
Philip next concluded a treaty with Antiochus III the Great
Antiochus III the Great
Antiochus III the Great Seleucid Greek king who became the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire as a youth of about eighteen in 223 BC. Antiochus was an ambitious ruler who ruled over Greater Syria and western Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC...
, emperor of the Seleucid Empire
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
, hoping to divide up the land held by Ptolemaic Egypt
Ptolemaic Egypt
Ptolemaic Egypt began when Ptolemy I Soter invaded Egypt and declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt in 305 BC and ended with the death of queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and the Roman conquest in 30 BC. The Ptolemaic Kingdom was a powerful Hellenistic state, extending from southern Syria in the east, to...
under the young pharaoh Ptolemy V. Philip agreed to help Antiochus to seize Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, while Antiochus promised to help Philip take control of Cyrene
Cyrene, Libya
Cyrene was an ancient Greek colony and then a Roman city in present-day Shahhat, Libya, the oldest and most important of the five Greek cities in the region. It gave eastern Libya the classical name Cyrenaica that it has retained to modern times.Cyrene lies in a lush valley in the Jebel Akhdar...
, the Cyclades
Cyclades
The Cyclades is a Greek island group in the Aegean Sea, south-east of the mainland of Greece; and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name refers to the islands around the sacred island of Delos...
and Ionia
Ionia
Ionia is an ancient region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey, the region nearest İzmir, which was historically Smyrna. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements...
.
Samos Island
Samos is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of Asia Minor, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate regional unit of the North Aegean region, and the only municipality of the regional...
from Ptolemy V, capturing the Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
fleet stationed there. The fleet then turned north and laid siege to the island of Chios
Battle of Chios
The Battle of Chios was fought between the fleet of Philip V of Macedon against the combined fleet of Rhodes, Pergamum, Byzantium and Cyzicus....
. Philip was planning to use the northern Aegean islands as stepping-stones as he worked his way down to Rhodes. The siege was not going well for Philip, as the combined fleets of Pergamum, Rhodes and their new allies, Cyzicus and Byzantium, had successfully blockaded his fleet. Philip, seeing no other option, decided to risk battle against the allies.
The Macedonian fleet of around 200 ships outnumbered the allied fleet around two to one. The battle began with Attalus, who was commanding the allied left wing, advancing against the Macedonian right wing, while the allied right flank under the command of the Rhodian admiral, Theophiliscus
Theophiliscus
Theophiliscus was the commander of the Rhodian quinquereme fleet at the Battle of Chios. The battle ended in a Rhodian and Pergamese victory but Theophiliscus died of wounds he received in the battle.-References:...
attack the Macedonian's left wing. The allies gained the upper hand on their left flank and captured Philip's flagship; Philip's admiral, Democrates, was slain in the fighting. Meanwhile, on the allied right flank, the Macedonians were pushing the Rhodians back. Theophiliscus, fighting on his flagship, received three fatal wounds but managed to rally his men and defeat the Macedonian boarders.
On the allied left flank, Attalus saw one of his ships being sunk by the enemy and the one next to it in danger. He decided to sail to the rescue with two quadriremes and his flagship. Philip, however, whose ship had not been involved in the fighting to this point, saw that Attalus had strayed some distance from his fleet and sailed to attack him with four quinqueremes and three hemioliae. Attalus, seeing Philip approaching, fled in terror and was forced to run his ships aground. Upon landing he spread coins, purple robes and other splendid articles on the deck of his ship and fled to the city of Erythrae
Erythrae
Erythrae or Erythrai later Litri, was one of the twelve Ionian cities of Asia Minor, situated 22 km north-east of the port of Cyssus , on a small peninsula stretching into the Bay of Erythrae, at an equal distance from the mountains Mimas and Corycus, and directly opposite the island of Chios...
. When the Macedonians arrived at the shore, they stopped to collect the plunder. Philip, thinking that Attalus had perished in the chase, started towing away the Pergamese flagship.
The situation on the allies' right flank, meanwhile, had reversed and the Macedonians were forced to disengage and retreat, leaving the Rhodians to tow their damaged ships into the harbor at Chios. The allied left and centre had also gained the advantage earlier and forced the Macedonians to retreat before sailing back to Chios unmolested.
The battle was a costly one for Philip, who lost 92 ships destroyed and 7 captured. On the allied side, the Pergamese had three ships destroyed and two captured, while the Rhodians lost three ships sunk and none captured. During the battle the Macedonians lost 6,000 rowers and 3,000 marines killed and had 2,000 men captured. The casualties for the allies were significantly lower, with the Pergamese losing 70 men the Rhodians 60 killed, the allies as a whole losing 600 captured. Peter Green describes this defeat as "a crippling and costly defeat". This defeat effectively crippled the Macedonian fleet and saved the Aegean islands from another large invasion.
After this battle, the Rhodian admirals decided to leave Chios and sail back home. On the way back to Rhodes, the Rhodian admiral Theophiliscus died of the wounds he received at Chios, but before he died he appointed Cleonaeus
Cleonaeus
Cleonaeus was a Rhodian admiral. He was second-in-command to Theophiliscus at the Battle of Chios, and he became commander after Theophilscius died from his wounds. As he was sailing back to Rhodes, he was defeated by Philip V of Macedon at the Battle of Lade....
as his successor. As the Rhodian fleet was sailing in the strait between Lade and Miletus
Miletus
Miletus was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia , near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Caria...
on the shore of Asia Minor, Philip's fleet attacked them. Philip defeated the Rhodian fleet and forced it to retreat back to Rhodes. The Milesians were impressed by the victory and sent Philip and the Heracleides garlands of victory when they entered Milesian territory.
Asia Minor Campaign
Before the King of Pergamum, Attalus, had set out campaigning against Philip's navy in the Aegean Sea, he had strengthened the city walls of his capital against assault. By taking this and other precautions, he hoped to prevent Philip from a seizing a large amount of booty from his territory. When Philip, deciding to attack Pergamum, arrived at the city with his army, he saw that the city was undermanned and he sent his skirmishers against it, but they were easily repelled. Philip, seeing that the city walls were too strong, retreated after destroying a few temples, including the temple of AphroditeAphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
and the sanctuary of Athena
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
Nicephorus. After the Macedonians captured Thyatira, they advanced to plunder the plain of Thebe, but the booty proved less fruitful than anticipated. Once he arrived at Thebe, he demanded corn from the Seleucid governor of the region, Zeuxis
Zeuxis (general)
Zeuxis was a general in the service of the Seleucid king Antiochus III the Great at the end of the 3rd century BC. He served in Mesopotamia against the rebel Molon, was a general at the Battle of Magnesia and after that defeat went to Rome to negotiate a peace.- Career :He was engaged in 221 BC in...
. Zeuxis, however, never planned to give Philip substantial supplies.
Philip, disappointed by the spoils in Mysia
Mysia
Mysia was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor or Anatolia . It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the east, Phrygia on the southeast, Lydia on the south, Aeolis on the southwest, Troad on the west and by the Propontis on the north...
, proceeded south and plundered the towns and cities of Caria
Caria
Caria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there...
. He invested Prinassus, which held out bravely at first, but when Philip set up his artillery, he sent an envoy into the city offering to let them leave the city unharmed or they would all be killed. The citizens decided to abandon the city. At this stage in the campaign, Philip's army was running out of food, so he seized the city of Myus
Myus
Myus, Caria was an ancient city-state and was one of twelve major settlements formed in the Ionian Confederation, called the Ionian League. The city was said to have been founded by Cyaretus , a son of Codrus. Myus was a small peninsula, it is now however surrounded by land...
and gave it to the Magnesians
Magnetes
The Magnetes were an ancient Greek tribe living in Thessalian Magnesia who took part in the Trojan War. They later also contributed to the Greek colonisation by founding two prosperous cities in Western Anatolia, Magnesia on the Maeander and Magnesia ad Sipylum.According to Hesiod's "Eoiae" or...
in return for food supplies. Since the Magnesians had no corn, Philip settled for enough figs to feed his whole army. Philip next seized and garrisoned the cities of Iasus, Bargylia, Euromus
Euromus
Euromus – also, Eunomus and Eunomos; earlier Kyromus and Hyromus – was an ancient city in Caria, Anatolia; the ruins are approximately 4 km southeast of Selimiye and 12 km northwest of Milas , Muğla Province, Turkey...
, Pedasa in quick succession. He besieged and captured the city of Peraea
Kaunos
Kaunos was a city of ancient Caria and in Anatolia, a few km west of the modern town of Dalyan, Muğla Province, Turkey....
which was under Rhodian control.
While Philip's fleet was wintering in Bargylia, the combined Pergamese and Rhodian fleet blockaded the harbour. The situation in the Macedonian camp became so grave that the Macedonians were close to surrendering. Philip, however, managed to get out by trickery. He sent an Egyptian deserter to Attalus and the Rhodians to say that he was preparing to attack the allies the next day. Upon hearing the news, Attalus and the Rhodians started preparing the fleet for the oncoming attack. While the allies were making their preparations, Philip slipped past them by night with his fleet, leaving numerous campfires burning to give the appearance that he remained in his camp.
While Philip was involved in this campaign, his allies the Acarnania
Acarnania
Acarnania is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today it forms the western part of the prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania. The capital...
ns became involved in a war against Athens after the Athenians murdered two Acarnanian athletes. The Acarnanians complained to Philip about this provocation, and he decided to send a force under the command of Nicanor the Elephant
Nicanor the Elephant
Nicanor or Nicanor , nicknamed the Elephant, was a general under King Philip V of Macedonia in the 3rd century BCE.He invaded Attica with an army shortly before the breaking out of the Second Macedonian War between Philip and the Romans in 200 BCE...
to assist them on their attack on Attica. The Macedonians and their allies plundered and looted Attica before attacking Athens. The invaders made it as far as the Academy of Athens
Academy of Athens
Academy of Athens may refer to:* Platonic Academy* Academy of Athens...
when the Roman ambassadors in the city ordered the Macedonians to retreat or to face war with Rome.
Philip's fleet had just escaped from the allied blockade and Philip ordered that a squadron head to Athens. The Macedonian squadron sailed into Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
and captured four Athenian ships. As the Macedonian squadron was retreating, the Rhodian and Pergamese fleet, which had followed Philip's ships across the Aegean, appeared from the allied base at Aegina
Aegina
Aegina is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of Aeacus, who was born in and ruled the island. During ancient times, Aegina was a rival to Athens, the great sea power of the era.-Municipality:The municipality...
and attacked the Macedonians. The allies defeated the Macedonian fleet and recaptured the Athenian ships, which they returned to the Athenians. The Athenians were so pleased by the rescue that they replaced the recently abolished pro-Macedonian tribes, the Demetrias and Antigonis tribes, with the Attalid tribe in honour of Attalus. Attalus and the Rhodians convinced the Athenian assembly to declare war on the Macedonians.
The Pergamese fleet sailed back to their base at Aegina and the Rhodians set out to conquer all the Macedonian islands from Aegina to Rhodes, successfully assaulting all except Andros
Andros
Andros, or Andro is the northernmost island of the Greek Cyclades archipelago, approximately south east of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . Its surface is for the most part mountainous, with many fruitful and well-watered valleys. The area is...
, Paros
Paros
Paros is an island of Greece in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of Piraeus. The Municipality of Paros includes numerous uninhabited offshore islets...
and Cythnos. Philip ordered his prefect
Prefect
Prefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
on the island of Euboea
Euboea
Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about long, and varies in breadth from to...
, Philoces
Philoces
Philoces was Philip V of Macedon's prefect and commander on the island of Euboea. In 200 BC he was ordered by Philip to ravage Attica with 2,000 infantry and 200 cavalry. According to Polybius the ravaging that Philoces gave Attica was the worst since the Persian War. In 197 BC he tried to relieve...
, to assault Athens once again with 2,000 infantry and 200 cavalry. Philocles was unable to capture Athens, but ravaged the surrounding countryside.
Roman Intervention
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (187 BC)
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus was a Roman consul, Pontifex Maximus and censor.As a praetor he was governor of Sicily in 191 BC. He was elected consul in 187 BC. He and his colleague, Gaius Flaminius, subdued the Ligurians. From 180 BC onwards he was pontifex maximus and from 179 BC was princeps senatus....
, Gaius Claudius Nero
Gaius Claudius Nero
Gaius Claudius Nero was a Roman consul who fought in the Battle of the Metaurus . He was member of the gens Claudia. He is not to be confused with the Roman Emperor Nero.In 207 BC, the thirteenth year of the war, he was elected consul with Marcus Livius Salinator, and with his colleague he led the...
and Publius Sempronius Tuditanus to Egypt with the orders to go to Rhodes after speaking with Ptolemy.
While this was happening, Philip attacked and occupied the cities of Maronea, Cypsela, Doriscos, Serrheum and Aemus, which belonged to Ptolemy. The Macedonians then advanced on the Thracian Chersonese
Thracian Chersonese
The Thracian Chersonese was the ancient name of the Gallipoli peninsula, in the part of historic Thrace that is now part of modern Turkey.The peninsula runs in a south-westerly direction into the Aegean Sea, between the Hellespont and the bay of Melas . Near Agora it was protected by a wall...
where they captured the cities of Perinthus, Sestos
Sestos
200px|200px|thumb|The Ancient Map of Gallipoli PeninsulaSestos was an ancient Greek town of the Thracian Chersonese, the modern Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey. Situated on the Hellespont opposite Abydos, it was the home of Hero in the legend of Hero and Leander, where according to legend...
, Elaeus, Alopeconnesus, Callipolis and Madytus. Philip then descended to the city of Abydos
Abydos, Hellespont
For other uses, see Abydos Abydos , an ancient city of Mysia, in Asia Minor, situated at Nara Burnu or Nagara Point on the best harbor on the Asiatic shore of the Hellespont. Across Abydos lies Sestus on the European side marking the shortest point in the Dardanelles, scarcely a mile broad...
, which was held by a combined Pergamese and Rhodian garrison. Philip started the siege by blockading the city by land and sea to stop attempts to reinforce or supply the city. The Abydenians, full of confidence, dislodged some of the siege engines with their own catapult
Catapult
A catapult is a device used to throw or hurl a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive devices—particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. Although the catapult has been used since ancient times, it has proven to be one of the most effective mechanisms during...
s while some of Philip's other engines were burnt by the defenders.
With their siege weaponry in tatters, the Macedonians started undermining the city's walls, eventually succeeding in collapsing the outer wall.
The situation was now grave for the defenders and they decided to send two of their most prominent citizens to Philip as negotiators. Appearing before Philip, these men offered to surrender the city to him on the conditions that the Rhodian and the Pergamese garrisons were allowed to leave the city under a truce and that all the citizens were permitted to leave the city with the clothes they were wearing and go wherever they pleased. Philip replied that they should "surrender at discretion or fight like men." The ambassadors, powerless to do more, carried this response back to the city.
Informed of this response, the city's leaders called an assembly to determine their course of action. They decided to liberate all slaves to secure their loyalty, to place all the children and their nurses in the gymnasium and to put all the women in the temple of Artemis
Artemis
Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. Some scholars believe that the name and indeed the goddess herself was originally pre-Greek. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron: "Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals"...
. They also asked for everyone to bring forward their gold and silver and any clothes that were valuable so they could put them in the boats of the Rhodians and the Cyzicenes. Fifty elder and trusted men were elected to carry out these tasks. All the citizens then swore an oath. As Polybius writes:
After reciting the oath, they brought forward the priests and everyone swore that they would defeat the enemy or die trying.
When the interior wall fell, the men, true to their promise, sprang from the ruins and fought with great courage, forcing Philip to send his troops forward in relays to the front line. By nightfall the Macedonians retreated to camp. That night the Abydenians resolved to save the women and children and at daybreak they sent some priests and priestess with a garland across the Macedonians, surrendering the city to Philip.
Meanwhile, Attalus sailed across the Aegean to the island of Tenedos
Tenedos
Tenedos or Bozcaada or Bozdja-Ada is a small island in the Aegean Sea, part of the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale province in Turkey. , Tenedos has a population of about 2,354. The main industries are tourism, wine production and fishing...
. The youngest of the Roman ambassadors, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (187 BC)
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus was a Roman consul, Pontifex Maximus and censor.As a praetor he was governor of Sicily in 191 BC. He was elected consul in 187 BC. He and his colleague, Gaius Flaminius, subdued the Ligurians. From 180 BC onwards he was pontifex maximus and from 179 BC was princeps senatus....
, had heard about the siege at Abydos while he was in Rhodes and he arrived at Abydos to find Philip. Meeting the king outside the city, Lepidus informed him of the Senate's wishes. Polybius writes:
While Philip was walking through Abydos, he saw people killing themselves and their families by stabbing, burning, hanging, and jumping down wells and from rooftops. Philip was surprised to see this, and published a proclamation announcing that "he gave three days' grace to those who wished to hang or stab themselves." The Abydenians, who were bent on following the orders of the original decree, thought that it would amount to treason to the people who had already died, and refused to live under these terms. Apart from those in chains or similar restraints, each family individually hurried to their deaths.
Philip then ordered another attack on Athens; his army failed to take either Athens or Eleusis, but subjected Attica to the worst ravaging the Atticans had seen since the Persian Wars. In response, the Romans declared war on Philip and invaded his territories in Illyria
Illyria
In classical antiquity, Illyria was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the Illyrians....
. Philip was forced to abandon his Rhodian and Pergamese campaign in order to deal with the Romans and the situation in Greece. Thus began the Second Macedonian War
Second Macedonian War
The Second Macedonian War was fought between Macedon, led by Philip V of Macedon, and Rome, allied with Pergamon and Rhodes. The result was the defeat of Philip who was forced to abandon all his possessions in Greece...
.
After Philip's withdrawal from his campaign against Rhodes, the Rhodians were free to attack Olous and Hierapytna and their other Cretan allies. Rhodes' search for allies in Crete bore fruit when the Cretan city of Knossos
Knossos
Knossos , also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square...
saw that the war was going in Rhodes' favour and decided to join Rhodes in an attempt to gain supremacy
Supremacy
Supremacy may refer to:* Supremacism, a philosophy that one is superior to others, so dominate, control or rule those who are not* Acts of Supremacy, 16th century laws in England concerning King Henry VIII and the church...
over the island. Many other cities in central Crete subsequently joined Rhodes and Knossos against Hierapytna and Olous. Now under attack on two fronts, Hierapytna surrendered.
Aftermath
The war had no particular short-term effect on the rest of Crete. Pirates and mercenaries
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
there continued in their old occupations after the war's end. In the Battle of Cynoscephalae
Battle of Cynoscephalae
The Battle of Cynoscephalae was an encounter battle fought in Thessaly in 197 BC between the Roman army, led by Titus Quinctius Flamininus, and the Antigonid dynasty of Macedon, led by Philip V.- Prelude :...
during the Second Macedonian War
Second Macedonian War
The Second Macedonian War was fought between Macedon, led by Philip V of Macedon, and Rome, allied with Pergamon and Rhodes. The result was the defeat of Philip who was forced to abandon all his possessions in Greece...
three years later, Cretan mercenary archers
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
fought for both the Romans and the Macedonians.
The war was costly for Philip and the Macedonians, losing them a fleet that had taken three years to build as well as the triggering the defection of their Greek allies, the Achean League and the Aetolian League
Aetolian League
The Aetolian League was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered on Aetolia in central Greece. It was established, probably during the early Hellenistic era, in opposition to Macedon and the Achaean League. Two annual meetings were held in Thermika and Panaetolika...
to the Romans. In the war's immediate aftermath the Dardani
Dardani
Dardania was the region of the Dardani .Located at the Thraco-Illyrian contact zone, their identification as either an Illyrian or Thracian tribe is uncertain. Their territory itself was not considered part of Illyria by Strabo. The term used for their territory was , while for other tribes had...
, a barbarian tribe, swarmed across the northern border of Macedon, but Philip was able to repel this attack. In 197, however, Philip was defeated in the Battle of Cynoscephalae by the Romans and was forced to surrender. This defeat cost Philip most of his territory outside Macedon and he had to pay war 1,000 talent of silver to the Romans.
The Rhodians regained control over the Cyclades and reconfirmed their naval supremacy over the Aegean. The Rhodians' possession of Eastern Crete allowed them to largely stamp out piracy in that area, but pirate attacks on Rhodian shipping continued and eventually led to the Second Cretan War. Attalus died in 197 and was succeeded by his son, Eumenes II
Eumenes II
Eumenes II of Pergamon was king of Pergamon and a member of the Attalid dynasty. The son of king Attalus I and queen Apollonis, he followed in his father's footsteps and collaborated with the Romans to oppose first Macedonian, then Seleucid expansion towards the Aegean, leading to the defeat of...
, who continued his father's anti-Macedonian policy. The Pergamese, meanwhile, came out of the war having gained several Aegean islands which had been in Philip's possession and went on to become the supreme power in Asia Minor, rivaled only by Antiochus.