The Shattered Legacy of Alexander

When Alexander the Great died unexpectedly in 323 BCE, his vast empire fractured into competing fragments ruled by his former generals—the Diadochi, or “Successors.” What followed was four decades of brutal civil war as ambitious warlords like Antigonus the One-Eyed, Ptolemy, and Seleucus carved out their own kingdoms. By 281 BCE, three major Hellenistic dynasties had emerged: the Antigonids in Macedonia, the Ptolemies in Egypt, and the Seleucids in Asia.

Yet Greece itself became a battleground for these rival powers. The proud city-states that had once dominated the Mediterranean now found themselves pawns in the games of kings. Athens, Sparta, and Thebes still clung to dreams of independence, but the era of classical Greek autonomy had ended. The Antigonid dynasty, ruling from Pella, sought to control Greece through strategic garrisons while allowing nominal self-rule—a delicate balancing act that would define the turbulent third century.

The “Fetters of Greece” and Indirect Rule

Antigonus II Gonatas, grandson of Alexander’s general Antigonus, secured the Macedonian throne after defeating Pyrrhus of Epirus in 272 BCE. His reign marked a shift in Macedonian policy toward Greece. Unlike his predecessors, who sought direct domination, Antigonus II adopted a subtler approach:

– Strategic Strongholds: He maintained only three key garrisons—Demetrias in Thessaly, Chalcis on Euboea, and the Acrocorinth fortress—dubbed the “Fetters of Greece” for their stranglehold on regional mobility.
– Puppet Tyrants: Rather than outright conquest, Antigonus installed pro-Macedonian tyrants in cities like Argos and Sicyon, ensuring compliance through local intermediaries.
– Economic Leverage: Macedonian control of trade routes and grain supplies kept rebellious cities in check without costly military occupations.

This system worked—until it didn’t. In 268 BCE, the Chremonidean War erupted as Athens and Sparta, backed by Ptolemaic Egypt, challenged Macedonian dominance. Though Antigonus eventually prevailed at the Battle of Cos in 261 BCE, the conflict exposed cracks in his indirect rule.

The Rise of the Achaean League

As Macedonian influence waned, new power structures emerged. Most formidable was the Achaean League, a federation of Peloponnesian cities that grew from four members in 280 BCE to over a dozen by 251 BCE. Under statesman Aratus of Sicyon, the League became a vehicle for anti-Macedonian resistance:

– Democratic Ideals: The League positioned itself as a defender of Greek democracy against Macedonian-backed tyrants.
– Military Innovation: Adopting Macedonian-style phalanx tactics, Achaean forces proved capable against Sparta and other rivals.
– Ptolemaic Support: Egyptian gold and naval backing allowed the League to defy Antigonid authority.

The League’s expansion reached a turning point in 243 BCE when Aratus staged a daring night assault to capture Acrocorinth—the most symbolic of Macedonia’s “Fetters.” This victory temporarily made the Achaeans masters of the Peloponnese.

The Spartan Rebirth and Cleomenean War

Sparta, long in decline, experienced a dramatic resurgence under King Cleomenes III (r. 235–222 BCE). Facing a citizenship crisis (only 700 full Spartiates remained), Cleomenes enacted radical reforms:

– Land Redistribution: Breaking up large estates to create 4,500 new citizen plots.
– Debt Cancellation: Relieving economic pressures on the lower classes.
– Military Revival: Retraining Spartans in Macedonian phalanx warfare.

These changes alarmed the Achaean League, sparking the Cleomenean War (229–222 BCE). Initially triumphant, Cleomenes won victories at Mount Lycaeum and Megalopolis. But his success forced an unlikely alliance between the Achaeans and their old enemy, Macedonia.

The Battle of Sellasia: End of an Era

In 222 BCE, the decisive clash came at Sellasia, north of Sparta. Antigonus III Doson (r. 229–221 BCE) led a combined Macedonian-Achaean force of 30,000 against Cleomenes’ 20,000 Spartans. The battle unfolded in three sectors:

1. The Macedonian Right: Crushed Sparta’s left flank through coordinated assaults.
2. The Center: Achaean cavalry under Philopoemen broke Spartan momentum.
3. The Macedonian Left: Engaged Cleomenes’ elite troops in a brutal phalanx duel.

Sparta’s defeat was total. Cleomenes fled to Egypt, where he later died by suicide. The battle marked the end of Sparta as a major power and cemented Macedonian hegemony—but at a cost.

Legacy: The Road to Roman Domination

The third century BCE reshaped Greece’s political landscape:

– Macedonian Fatigue: Constant wars drained Antigonid resources, leaving them vulnerable to Rome.
– Federalism’s Rise: Leagues like the Achaean and Aetolian foreshadowed later Roman provincial systems.
– Cultural Shifts: Hellenistic rulers patronized arts and sciences, but civic militarism faded.

When Rome turned its gaze eastward in the 2nd century BCE, it found a divided Greece—one whose city-states had spent themselves fighting each other rather than uniting against a new imperial power. The era of the Successors thus set the stage for Greece’s eventual absorption into the Roman world, a process completed by 146 BCE with the destruction of Corinth.

Yet the third century’s lessons endured: the fragility of empire, the resilience of federalism, and the tragic irony that Greece’s golden age of independence ended not with a bang, but through decades of internecine strife.