5 THE LELANTINE WAR,

c.700 OR c.540 BC
Hans van Wees

Sometime in the seventh or sixth century BC, the two most important cities on the
island of Euboea, Chalcis and Eretria, fought for control of the Lelantine plain, after
which modern scholars have named this conflict the Lelantine War.1 According to
Thucydides (1.15.3), it was the greatest Greek war before the Persian Wars, on account
of the large numbers of allies that joined the two sides. Only a few of these allies are
known: Eretria was joined by Miletus, while Chalcis had the support of Samos (Hdt.
5.99) and Thessaly (Arist. fr. 98 Rose). Since almost all of the agricultural land of Chalcis
was situated on the Lelantine plain, this was no mere border dispute but a war of
aggression waged by Eretria with the aim of taking over the territory of its neighbor.
When and how this occurred is hard to tell from the limited and not particularly
reliable evidence. We have three further pieces of information. The geographer
Strabo reported that an inscription in the temple of Artemis Amarysia recorded
an agreement between Eretria and Chalcis not to use “long-range missiles” (tele-
bola) in battle (1.10.1). Plutarch referred to a grave monument in the agora of Chal-
cis, marked by a tall column, to commemorate Cleomachus of Pharsalus, a
commander of allied Thessalian horsemen, who fell in a daring charge against
the Eretrian cavalry that led to a great victory for Chalcis (Mor. 760e–761a).
Plutarch also claimed that Amphidamas of Chalcis, whose funeral games were
mentioned in Hesiod’s Works and Days (650–652), died “in a naval battle for the
Lelantine plain” (Mor. 153f; fr. 84).
Modern scholars tend to date the war to about 700. One reason is the allusion in
Hesiod, which would point to this rough date, along with a second possible allusion
in a slightly later poem by Archilochus, which refers to war in Euboea (fr. 3 West).
Another reason is that at this time the Eretrians and the Chalcidians were the most
active overseas travelers and settlers in the Greek world, which is thought to imply
that their cities were at the peak of their power and ambition and thus most likely
1
Modern discussions: Donlan (1970); Wheeler (1987); Tausend (1987); Parker (1997); Hall (2007).

The Encyclopedia of Ancient Battles, First Edition. Edited by Michael Whitby and Harry Sidebottom.
© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Published 2017 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
2 Archaic Greece and the Near East

FIGURE 5.1 Chigi vase showing charging hoplites and squires with pairs of horses.
Proto-Corinthian style, mid-seventh century BC. Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia,
Rome, Italy.
Source: Scala/Art Resource, NY.

to be at the center of extensive networks of alliances. But the early poets do not
explicitly mention a war over the Lelantine plain, and their allusions may well
be to other, smaller-scale conflicts between Chalcis and Eretria, or indeed between
other cities on Euboea. Moreover, Chalcis and Eretria remained significant powers
long after 700, until the defeat of Chalcis by Athens in 506 (see discussion of the
early Athenian wars in Chapter 7: Early Greek Wars, 750–450 BC) and the sack
of Eretria by the Persians in 490 (see Chapter 9: The Persian Wars, 492–450 BC).
Indeed, Herodotus tells us that Eretria “was blossoming” around 570 (6.127.4).
He also reports that in 500 Eretria sent military aid to Miletus in return for the
support that the Milesians had “previously” given them throughout their war
against Chalcis (5.99.1). Although this reference is not specific, Herodotus suggests
a sixth- rather than early seventh-century date for the war.
 The Lelantine War, c.700 or c.540 BC 3

This later date is supported by several indications. The type of funerary mon-
ument erected for Cleomachus best fits a period after around 550, and the earliest
surviving inscribed treaties also begin at that time. A poem attributed to Theog-
nis that mentions devastation of the Lelantine plain (891–894) probably dates to
the sixth century. More decisively, the attested alliances are most plausible after
550: the Thessalians were fighting their immediate neighbors in the seventh cen-
tury but began expanding their interests into central Greece in the sixth; they sent
cavalry to their ally Athens in 512 and 510, just as they are said to have done for
Chalcis in the Lelantine War. Samos and Miletus were allies against their com-
mon neighbor Priene in the seventh and early sixth centuries, and they became
rivals only after the destruction of Priene by a Persian army in 545. They may
therefore have been less likely to have taken opposite sides in a conflict between
Chalcis and Eretria until about 540. More generally, alliances with numerous
members are not attested elsewhere until the mid-sixth century, with the emer-
gence of the Peloponnesian League and of extensive coalitions among the Greek
cities of southern Italy (for all of these wars and alliances, see Chapter 7: Early
Greek Wars, 750–450 BC).
If the war was fought around 700, we get a glimpse of how it may have been
fought in Archilochus’ poem, which envisages a conflict dominated by infantry
combat fought hand to hand: “not many bows will be strung, nor will slings fire
frequently … but it will be the heavy-groaning work of swords” (fr. 3 West). By
contrast, in the sixth century, Eretria and Chalcis were ruled by oligarchies called
respectively “Horsemen” (Ps.-Arist. Ath. Pol. 15.2; also Strabo 10.1.10) and “Horse-
Breeders” (Hdt. 5.77.2). Aristotle accordingly described war between Chalcis and
Eretria as dominated by cavalry combat (Pol. 1289b). Cleomachus’ death in a cav-
alry battle fits well in this context. The agreement not to use missiles may have
been designed to confine battle to hoplites armed for close combat, but equally
it may have served to minimize the danger to (unarmored) cavalry horses. Some
scholars dismiss the agreement altogether as a fourth-century invention that idea-
lized earlier warfare, but if it was genuine its most likely date is the late sixth cen-
tury, contemporary with the earliest surviving inscribed treaties in Greece, and its
purpose was probably the protection of cavalry.
Plutarch’s evidence about Amphidamas would indicate that fighting took place
at sea as well as on land. Some modern scholars have emended this reference from
“naval battle” to a “single combat,” but this is without justification. Naval expedi-
tions between cities that shared a land border are attested in the case of Athens and
Megara as well (see discussion of the early Athenian wars in Chapter 7: Early Greek
Wars, 750–450 BC), and in any case allied troops from Samos and Miletus, which
were major naval powers, could only have come to Euboea by ship.
Details of particular actions are lacking, but it is clear that Eretria lost the war: in
506, the Lelantine plain was still under the control of Chalcis, until an Athenian
invasion succeeded where Eretria had failed (Hdt. 5.77).
4 Archaic Greece and the Near East

References

Donlan, W. (1970), “Archilochus, Strabo and the Lelantine War,” TAPhA 101: 131–142.
Hall, J. M. (2007), A History of the Archaic Greek World, ca. 1200–479 BCE. Malden.
Parker, V. (1997), Untersuchungen zum Lelantischen Krieg und verwandten Problemen der früh-
griechischen Geschichte. Stuttgart.
Tausend, K. (1987), “Der Lelantische Krieg—ein Mythos?” Klio 69: 499–514.
Wheeler, E. L. (1987), “Ephorus and the prohibition of missiles,” TAPhA 117: 157–182.