The Chalcidian League (, ''

Koinon ''Koinon'' (, pl. Κοινά, ''Koina''), meaning "common thing", in the sense of "public", had many applications, some societal, some governmental. An abstract noun formed from the neuter of the adjective, koinos, "common", the koinon could mean ...

tōn Chalkideōn'', "League of the Chalcidians"), also referred to as the Olynthians or the Chalcidians in

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

(, ''Chalkideis epi Thrakēs'') to distinguish them from the Chalcidians in

Euboea Euboea ( ; , ), also known by its modern spelling Evia ( ; , ), is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete, and the sixth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by ...

, was a

federal state A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the c ...

that existed on the

Chalcidice Chalkidiki (; , alternatively Halkidiki), also known as Chalcidice, is a peninsula and regional units of Greece, regional unit of Greece, part of the region of Central Macedonia, in the Geographic regions of Greece, geographic region of Macedon ...

peninsula, on the shores of the northwest

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

, from around 430 BCE until it was destroyed by

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon (; 382 BC – October 336 BC) was the king (''basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

in 348 BCE.

Origins

There are two theories on the origins of the Chalcidians: * as argued by E. Harrison (1912), the Chalcidians were a northern Greek tribe. * as argued by Donald W. Bradeen (1952), the Chalcidians were Corinthian colonists from

southern Greece Southern Greece () is a loosely defined geographical term, usually encompassing the Peloponnese peninsula and varying parts of Continental Greece (Attica is usually included), as well as the islands of the Cyclades, the Dodecanese, and Crete. I ...

. Harrison's theory has been rejected by some historians such as Bradeen (1952) but has been adopted by other historians, such as U. Kahrsted (1953) and M. Zahrnt (1971). N. G. L. Hammond (1992) notes the uncertainty about the tribe's origins but concludes that, at least, "The discovery that there was Submycenaean, Protogeometric, and Geometric pottery in Chalcidice like that of southern Greece, and sometimes having connections with

Lefkandi Lefkandi () is a coastal village on the island of Euboea, Greece. Archaeological finds attest to a settlement on the promontory locally known as Xeropolis, while several associated cemeteries have been identified nearby. The settlement site is loc ...

, makes it certain that Chalcidice and southern Greece were in contact with one another".

History

In the spring of 432 BCE, during the first phase of the

Peloponnesian War The Second Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), often called simply the Peloponnesian War (), was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek war fought between Classical Athens, Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Ancien ...

, several cities of

broke away from the

Athenian Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

-dominated

Delian League The Delian League was a confederacy of Polis, Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, founded in 478 BC under the leadership (hegemony) of Classical Athens, Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Achaemenid Empire, Persian ...

. The inhabitants of these cities abandoned them and moved to

Olynthos Olynthus ( ''Olynthos'') is an ancient city in present-day Chalcidice, Greece. It was built mostly on two flat-topped hills 30–40m in height, in a fertile plain at the head of the Gulf of Torone, near the neck of the peninsula of Pallene, a ...

in an act of

synoecism Synoecism or synecism ( ; , ''sunoikismos'', ), also spelled synoikism ( ), was originally the amalgamation of villages in Ancient Greece into ''poleis'', or city-states. Etymologically, the word means "dwelling together (''syn'') in the same h ...

, forming a single state and adopting the demonym "Chalcidians". Exactly what form it took is a matter of academic dispute. By the terms of the

Peace of Nicias The Peace of Nicias was a peace treaty signed between the Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta in March 421 BC that ended the first half of the Peloponnesian War. Background In 425 BC, the Spartans had lost the battles of Pylos and Sphacteri ...

of 421 BCE, Athens and

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

agreed that it should be broken up, but it seems clear that Athens failed to enforce this. Luckily for the Chalcidians, the attention of the two great powers was soon diverted away from them—indeed for this reason nothing is heard of Olynthos and the Chalcidians until 393/2 BCE — and the Spartan governors installed by

Brasidas Brasidas (, died 422 BC) was the most distinguished Spartan officer during the first decade of the Peloponnesian War. He died during the Second Battle of Amphipolis while winning one of his most spectacular victories. Biography Brasidas was ...

were soon withdrawn. In the aftermath of the Peace of Nicias, the city-states of Argilus, Akanthos, and

Stageira Stagira (), Stagirus (), or Stageira ( or ) was an ancient Greek city located near the eastern coast of the peninsula of Chalkidice, which is now part of the Greek province of Central Macedonia. It is chiefly known for being the birthplace of ...

, as well as other unnamed ones, joined. The League continued to expand in the early 4th century BCE. In 393/2 BCE, Amyntas III of Macedon temporarily transferred some territory to Olynthos, during a period when he was driven out of Macedon by the

Illyrians The Illyrians (, ; ) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan populations, alon ...

. It was restored when Amyntas regained power. Eight years later, Amyntas, who was again in trouble, handed over territory, this time to the entire League. The League were not so ready to return what they held, which now included

Pella Pella () is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It served as the capital of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. Currently, it is located 1 km outside the modern town of Pella ...

, the Macedonian capital. In 383 BCE, Amyntas appealed to Sparta and at the same time a similar appeal came from Akanthos and Apollonia, two League members who claimed that membership of the League was not voluntary but had been forced upon them at the point of the sword. Sparta was keen to respond to the request. Among Sparta's allies there was no animosity against the Chalcidian League. Nevertheless, when the question was put, fear of annoying Sparta ensured that the proposal was carried, and a force of 10,000 was authorized to be sent. An advance force of 2,000 was sent under Eudamidas which succeeded in separating Potidaea from the League. The fighting was long and arduous.

Teleutias Teleutias () was the brother of the Spartan king Agesilaus II, and a Spartan naval commander in the Corinthian War. He first saw action in the campaign to regain control of the Corinthian Gulf after the Spartan naval disaster at Cnidus in 394 BC, ...

, the half-brother of the Spartan king,

Agesilaus II Agesilaus II (; ; 445/4 – 360/59 BC) was king of Sparta from 400 to 360 BC. Generally considered the most important king in the history of Sparta, Agesilaus was the main actor during the period of Spartan hegemony that followed the Peloponn ...

, was killed and King Agesipolis suffered heavy losses before dying of fever. However, in 379 BCE the cities of the former League became "autonomous" and subject allies of Sparta.

Freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

regards the Spartan dissolution of the League as one of the most "calamitous events" in Hellenic history for, in his view, the League uniting the northern Greek cities with the most Hellenised cities of Macedonia would have prevented the rise of

.History of federal government, Edward Augustus Freeman, p. 191 Already in 375 BCE the Chalcidians threw off Spartan control and re-established the League, joining the

Second Athenian League The Second Athenian League was a maritime confederation of Polis, Greek city-states that existed from 378 to 355 BC under the leadership (hegemony) of Classical Athens, Athens. The alliance represented a partial revival of the Delian League, which ...

. They soon fell out with Athens over control of

Amphipolis Amphipolis (; ) was an important ancient Greek polis (city), and later a Roman city, whose large remains can still be seen. It gave its name to the modern municipality of Amphipoli, in the Serres regional unit of northern Greece. Amphipol ...

, and in the subsequent war lost a number of cities, including

Torone Toroni (, ''Toróne'', modern pronunciation ''Toróni'') is an ancient Greek city and a former municipality in the southwest edge of Sithonia peninsula in Chalkidiki, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipalit ...

and

Potidaea __NOTOC__ Potidaea (; , ''Potidaia'', also Ποτείδαια, ''Poteidaia'') was a colony founded by the Corinthians around 600 BC in the narrowest point of the peninsula of Pallene, Chalcidice, Pallene, the westernmost of three peninsulas at t ...

. As a result the Chalcidians allied themselves with

, and the League once again expanded to include 34 cities, but in 348 BCE Philip captured and destroyed Olynthos, putting an end to the League.

Internal organization

The actual form of the League is uncertain. It seems it was a genuinely federal state ('' sympoliteia''), although Olynthos played the dominant role. The League had a federal citizenship, common laws, foreign policy, coinage, and military. There was a citizen assembly that also had judicial functions. The League was apparently headed by an

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

official, possibly a ''

strategos ''Strategos'' (), also known by its Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized form ''strategus'', is a Greek language, Greek term to mean 'military General officer, general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also use ...

''. Its constitution was probably based on the

Boeotian League Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia (; modern: ; ancient: ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its largest city is Thebes. Boeotia was also a ...

. Political rights are likely to have been reserved to a group of 8000 designated by a property qualification. It included most but not all the Euboean colonies of Chalcidice. The symbol of the Chalcidians was the

lyre The lyre () (from Greek λύρα and Latin ''lyra)'' is a string instrument, stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the History of lute-family instruments, lute family of instruments. In organology, a ...

, struck upon the coins the League.

Notes

Sources

* * *

External links