Chalcidian League. History

The northern region of Greece included the Chalcidice peninsula. The Cholomontas Mountains lie in the north-central part, with the peninsula pushing three fingers into the Aegean Sea. It was colonized by settlers from Euboea, particularly Chalcis and Eretria, in the eighth century. Several colonies were established, and the area received more settlers in additional waves.

The region’s three peninsulas, Pallene, Sithonia, and Acte, run west to east. Several cities in the region formed the Chalcidian League in 432, when they broke away from Athens and the Delian League. These cities moved their populations to Olynthus and created a single state. The Spartans, led by Brasidas, supported the league, while the Athenians, under Cleon, attempted to bring the region back under their control.

Both Brasidas and Cleon died in the Battle of Amphipolis in 422 and Sparta was victorious, and according to the Peace of Nicias in 421, the league would be disbanded and the states restored to Athens. It appears that Athens did not or could not act upon this provision, and the league remained intact.

After the Peace of Nicias, other states joined the league, and it continued to expand. The region increased in power, and the Macedonian king, Amyntas III, appealed to Sparta for help. After a long war, the Spartans broke the league into autonomous cities that would be subject to Sparta.

It is possible that this action may have allowed Amyntas’s son, Philip II, the ability to take over the region because the league was now less powerful. Although the Chalcidian League reestablished itself and joined Athens, it could not stop Philip. The league was a federal state, in which the citizens of all of the smaller states enjoyed common laws, citizenship, military, and foreign policy.

Some of the cities in the league had a long history. Mende, named after the minthe plant common in the area, had Eretrian colonists and possessed important natural resources, such as gold, silver, and timber, which fueled its growth. Controlling the trade routes on the coast of Thrace, it was incorporated into the Delian League. It rebelled in 423 briefly but was forced to rejoin the league. After the war, it attempted to resist joining the Chalcidian League but ultimately was forced into it.

Another colony, Toroni, lay on the southwest edge of the Sithonia and Pallene peninsulas, which gave its name to the Toroneos Gulf. Named after the wife of Poseidon’s son, Proteus, it was founded in the eighth century, and with its rich resources, it became an important city. Although it joined Persia during the Persian Wars and was rewarded by it, it nevertheless joined the Delian League, paying a high tax indicative of its wealth, and perhaps its former allegiance to Persia. When the Peloponnesian War broke out, the Athenians feared that Toroni might rebel, so they placed a garrison in the city. The Spartan general Brasidas seized it in 423, but it was soon recaptured by Athens. At the end of the war, Toroni became part of the Chalcidian League.

Another important city was Scione, in the Pallene, the westernmost part of Chalcidice. The city was a colony from Achaea that was founded about 700. Local legend had it that the ships with the Achaeans returning from Troy were blown off course and reached the lands there, and they established Scione. Established on a hill sloping toward the sea, the city was well defended and became critical during the Peloponnesian War.

In 423, Brasidas induced it to rebel against Athens, and the Athenians sent a fleet to retake it. After a two-year siege, Scione was captured, and Athens in retribution executed all the males and enslaved the women and children. The destruction pointed to Athens’s ruthlessness and was meant to show its allies what would happen if they rebelled.

Akanthos, on the Athos peninsula, the easternmost of the three peninsulas, was established by colonists from Andros, near the Xerxes Canal. The city was on a ridge composed of three hills, with a good harbor to the south. Akanthos had a wall and a citadel. The city was named for the Acanthus mollis, a plant found in the region. Like other cities in the region, Akanthos supported the Persians and even helped to dig the Xerxes Canal.

After the Persian Wars, the city became part of the Athenian Empire and paid a smaller tribute level, about one-quarter of Scione’s assessment. Brasidas attacked the city and successfully took it in 424. After the Peloponnesian War, Akanthos did not join the Chalcidian League. Its avoidance of the league probably saved it when Philip of Macedon conquered the region.

Stagira, founded by Andros in 655, also joined the Persians, and then later joined the Delian League. Like the other cities, it rebelled against the Athenians in 424 when the Spartan leader Brasidas arrived. The Athenians attempted to retake the city under Cleon in 422, but it failed. The city’s later claim to fame was as the birthplace of Aristotle, the tutor of Alexander the Great. Philip II destroyed Stag- ira in 348, although he later rebuilt it.

Other cities existed as well, such as Acrothoum on the Athos peninsula, which also sided with Brasidas, meaning that it probably had an association with the Delian League, but it was not mentioned in the tribute list, probably due to insignificant resources. Also, on the Acte peninsula was the city of Cleonae, on the western coast of the peninsula. It had a population of Greeks and barbarians who seemingly intermixed. It was a member of the Delian League and appeared on its tribute list. Similarly, Olophyxus was located here; it also supported Brasidas and broke away from the Delian League. The town of Thyssus, also on Acte, had a mixed population as well and was a member of the Delian League until Brasidas arrived; later, it was retaken by Athens.

Aege, on the Pallene peninsula, supported Xerxes, and troops were recruited from here. It was a member of the Delian League and was mentioned in the tribute list. Also on the Pallene was the city of Alapta, although its location is unknown. Another entity on the Pallene was Aphytis, which was colonized from Euboea in the mid-eighth century. A wealthy city from viticulture and farming, it was a member of the Delian League before it became part of the Chalcidian League.

A crucial town was Apollonia, just north of Olynthus, which was a member of the Chalcidian League before it was destroyed by Philip in 348. Nearby was the town of Spartolus, also a member of the Delian League and paying a small amount of tribute. It rebelled against Athens, and the Chalcidians succeeded in routing an Athenian force in the Battle of Spartolos in 429, in which the lightly armed infantry of allies defeated the heavily armed Athenian hoplites.

The city of Olynthus, established during the seventh century, paid a small tribute to Athens, only about 20 percent of Scione’s amount. Originally insignificant, the city grew so that in 432, the Macedonian king Perdiccas II encouraged neighboring towns to relocate to the site to increase the population and provide greater protection, a concept known as synoecism.

Olynthus became head of the formal Chalcidonian League and supported Brasidas and other cities that were rebelling against Athens. The port of Olynthus was the city of Mecyberna, also a member of the Delian League, which was seized by the Thracians in 420 during the Peloponnesian War and surrendered to Philip before the siege of Olynthus in 349.

The Chalcidian League ultimately had thirty-two cities, and it engaged in negotiations with Macedon and was able to expand even into Macedon, seizing Pella, the chief city. The league was favorable to Philip at first, but with his growth in power, they feared him and joined Athens. In 349, the city of Olynthus was besieged and captured and then destroyed, with all its residents killed or sold into slavery. The league then fell from power.