The Battle of Corinth of 146 BC, also known as the Battle of Leucapetra or the Battle of Lefkopetra, was a decisive engagement fought between the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

and the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government refor ...

and its allies in the

Achaean League The Achaean League ( Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern P ...

. The battle marked the end of the

Achaean War The Achaean War of 146 BC was fought between the Roman Republic and the Greek Achaean League, an alliance of Achaean and other Peloponnesian states in ancient Greece. It was the final stage of Rome's conquest of mainland Greece, taking place jus ...

and the beginning of the period of Roman domination in Greek history, and is also notable for the complete and total destruction of Corinth by the Romans in its aftermath. The Romans had moved swiftly since the war's beginning a few weeks earlier; they had destroyed the main Achaean force at

Scarpheia Scarphe ( grc, Σκάρφη) or Scarpheia (Σκάρφεια) was a town of the Epicnemidian Locrians, mentioned by Homer in the Catalogue of Ships in the ''Iliad''. According to Strabo it was 10 stadia from the sea, 30 stadia from Thronium, and ...

, conquered Boeotia and then proceeded to Corinth itself. Despite the Roman successes, the Achaeans refused to surrender and gathered a final army for the defense of the League's capital of Corinth, where they engaged the Romans in battle. In a few hours of fighting, the Achaeans were soundly routed, with their troops killed, captured, or put to flight. After a few day's waiting, the Romans entered the city, and, on the orders of Mummius, set it on fire, killed all the men and enslaved all the women and children, after which the rest of Greece was subjugated by Rome.

Background

Tensions between Rome and Achaea had been building up for a few decades prior to the conflict that is now known as the Achaean War, but tensions came to a head in 148-146 BC, over Achaean desires to assimilate the ''

poleis ''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...

'' of

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

into the League. Relations broke down between the League and Rome over this issue;

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

reported that it was the Achaeans (Greeks) who began the quarrel, but Roman expansionism, Achaean demagoguery or even a simple failure of diplomacy have been suggested as reasons. The Roman Senate ordered

Lucius Mummius Lucius Mummius (2nd century BC), was a Roman statesman and general. He was consul in the year 146 BC along with Scipio Aemilianus. Mummius was the first of his family to rise to the rank of consul thereby making him a novus homo. He received the ...

, one of the consuls for the year, to sail from Achaea to Greece to put down the revolt, but in the interim, they authorized

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus (c. 188 BC – 116 BC/115 BC) was a statesman and general of the Roman Republic during the second century BC. He was praetor in 148 BC, consul in 143 BC, the Proconsul of Hispania Citerior in 142 BC an ...

, who had recently been victorious in the

Fourth Macedonian War The Fourth Macedonian War (150–148 BC) was fought between Macedon, led by the pretender Andriscus, and the Roman Republic. It was the last of the Macedonian Wars, and was the last war to seriously threaten Roman control of Greece until the Fi ...

and had a battle-hardened army in Macedon, to take initial action.

Prelude

Marching from Macedonia, which had just been turned into a Roman province, the Romans defeated an Achaean army under

Critolaos of Megalopolis Critolaos of Megalopolis ( grc, Κριτόλαος) was a general (''strategos'') of the Achaean League in ancient Greece. He served for less than one year, from 147 to 146 BC. Following his death at the Battle of Scarpheia The Battle of Sc ...

at the Battle of Scarpheia. This defeat caused great confusion and panic in the Greek world, with a number of cities now surrendering to the Romans. However, much of the League, especially

, rallied around Diaeus, electing him as ''strategos'' to replace Critolaos and resolving to continue the war, with harsh levies and confiscations of property and wealth. After the battle, the Roman commander advanced through

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...

, defeating Achaean allies in the region or receiving the surrender of multiple towns and showing them clemency. He made an offer of peace to the League, but was rebuffed by Diaeus, who also had pro-peace and pro-Roman politicians arrested or killed. In 146 BC, Lucius Mummius arrived, sent Metellus back to Macedonia and gathered all Roman forces in the region, amounting to 23,000 infantry and 3,500 cavalry (probably two legions plus Italian allies), as well as

Cretans Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

and Pergamese allies. With this force, he proceeded to the League's capital of Corinth, where the Achaean general Diaeus was encamped with 14,000 infantry and 600 cavalry, possibly including the survivors of the rout at Scarpheia.

Battle

The Romans had posted some Italian auxiliaries as lookouts, but they were careless in their watch, possibly on account of hubris at the comparatively smaller Achaean army. This allowed the Achaeans to make a successful night attack on the camp of the Roman advance guard, inflicting significant casualties and bolstering Achaean morale. Mummius then sallied out himself, routing the pursuers and driving them back to the Achaean camp. Encouraged by their early successes, the Achaeans offered battle the next day. In the ensuing battle, the infantry stood the charge of the legions, but the Achaean cavalry, heavily outnumbered, did not wait to receive the Roman cavalry charge and instead rapidly dispersed. The Achaean infantry, however, held the legions despite being outnumbered, until a picked force of 1,000 Roman infantry charged their flank and broke their lines completely, at which the routed Achaeans retreated in disorder within the city walls. Some Achaeans took refuge in Corinth but no defense was organized because Diaeus fled to Arcadia, where he committed suicide.

Sack of Corinth

Demoralized at their leader's flight, the surviving Achaean troops and most Corinthians fled the city, but the Romans, fearing an ambush, did not enter Corinth until three days after the battle. Once in Corinth, the Romans killed all men and enslaved the women and the children, after which the city was sacked and utterly destroyed by the victorious Roman army and saw all of her treasures and art plundered. According to Polybius, Mummius was unable to resist the pressure of those around him.

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

writes that Mummius did not appropriate any of the spoils for himself, and praises him for his integrity. The annihilation of Corinth, the same fate met by Carthage the same year, marked a severe departure from previous Roman policy in Greece. Polybius mentions the carelessness of Roman soldiers, who destroyed works of art or treated them like objects of entertainment. However, they did show respect to the statues of

Philopoemen Philopoemen ( el, Φιλοποίμην ''Philopoímēn''; 253 BC, Megalopolis – 183 BC, Messene) was a skilled Greek general and statesman, who was Achaean strategos on eight occasions. From the time he was appointed as strategos in 209 BC, ...

, both for his fame and as he was the first ally of Rome in Greece. Mummius was extremely ignorant in matters of art—when transporting priceless statues and paintings to Italy, he gave orders that the contractors should be warned that if they lost them, they would have to replace them by new ones. As in the Sack of Syracuse, the sack of Corinth saw the inflow of many Greek works of art into the Roman world, exposing it further to Greek culture and paving the way for the development of the Greco-Roman world.

Aftermath

The battle marked the end of Achaean resistance; Greece would not see fighting again until the

First Mithridatic War The First Mithridatic War (89–85 BC) was a war challenging the Roman Republic's expanding empire and rule over the Greek world. In this conflict, the Kingdom of Pontus and many Greek cities rebelling against Roman rule were led by Mithridates ...

sixty years later. The League was dissolved, Greece was annexed to the newly-created province of Macedonia (though some autonomy was given to certain cities) and direct Roman control over mainland Greece was established. The city of Corinth did not recover for over a century. While there is archaeological evidence of some minimal habitation in the years afterwards, it was only when

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

re-established the city as ''Colonia Laus Iulia Corinthiensis'' in 44 BC, shortly before his assassination, that the city began to experience some of its old prosperity once again.Dio, XXI.72

Gallery

File:The Sack of Corinth by Thomas Allom.jpg, ''The Sack of Corinth'', by Thomas Allom File:Jockey of Artemision (5987129920).jpg, The ''

Jockey of Artemision The Jockey of Artemision is a large Hellenistic bronze statue of a young boy riding a horse, dated to around 150–140 BC. It is a rare surviving original bronze statue from Ancient Greece and a rare example in Greek sculpture of a racehorse. Mos ...

'', which may have been taken from Corinth in the looting of the city by Mummius File:Lucius Mummius Achaicus in The Sack of Corinth, by Thomas Allom.jpg, Roman general

Lucius Mummius Achaicus Lucius Mummius (2nd century BC), was a Roman statesman and general. He was consul in the year 146 BC along with Scipio Aemilianus. Mummius was the first of his family to rise to the rank of consul thereby making him a novus homo. He received the ...

in ''The Sack of Corinth'', by

Thomas Allom Thomas Allom (13 March 1804 – 21 October 1872) was an English architect, artist, and topographical illustrator. He was a founding member of what became the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). He designed many buildings in London, i ...

(detail) File:The Destruction of Corinth by Thomas Allom.jpg, ''The Destruction of Corinth'', by

File:Netuno19b.jpg, The ''

Artemision Bronze The Artemision Bronze (often called the God from the Sea) is an ancient Greek sculpture that was recovered from the sea off Cape Artemision, in northern Euboea, Greece. According to most scholars, the bronze represents Zeus, the thunder-god and k ...

'', another bronze which may have been taken from Corinth

In popular culture

* The Battle of Corinth was the central event in the 1961 film '' The Centurion''.

References

Sources

Primary sources

, ''Roman History'',
Book 21
' *

Velleius Paterculus Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; c. 19 BC – c. AD 31) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the per ...

, ''Roman history''
Book I
*

, ''

Ab Urbe Condita Libri The work called ( en, From the Founding of the City), sometimes referred to as (''Books from the Founding of the City''), is a monumental history of ancient Rome, written in Latin between 27 and 9 BC by Livy, a Roman historian. The wor ...

''
Book XLV
an
Periochae 46-50
* Polybius, '' The Histories''
Books 38 and 39
*

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

, ''Description of Greece''
Book 7

Secondary sources

* * *

Attribution

*{{EB1911 , wstitle=Mummius, Lucius , volume=18 , pages=966–967 146 BC Corinth (146 BC) 2nd century BC in Greece Ancient Corinth

Corinth 146 BC Greece in the Roman era Massacres of men Violence against men in Europe Razed_cities