Aetolians | The unruly Greek tribe that defeated the army of Alexander the Great, Athenians, Spartans, Macedonians, Thebans. They usually come to mind when we hear something about Ancient Greece. However, there is a Greek tribe that has remained in obscurity for thousands of years.
It is about the Aetolians, a wild people who, however, managed to score a huge military success against all the predictions of the time.
How, after all, can one justify the fact that the Aetoli, a people of a few thousand shepherds (they could call about 10,000 warriors into battle) managed to intercept and finally prevail against the mighty army of Alexander the Great? This is the story of one of the most unexpected military victories ever recorded in Ancient Greece.
Aetolians, the wild people who defeated the Macedonians
We are in 322 BC. Alexander the Great may be dead, however, the Macedonians have dominated all of Greece, subduing Athens and Sparta among others. There was, however, a small area that still remained independent. It was the area where the ancient Aetolians lived.
So, then, in the summer of 321 BC. an army of over 30,000 Macedonians headed to the area to subdue them. The campaign was led by Crateros, a veteran general who had stood by Alexander the Great on his march into Asia. But what followed was unexpected.
Despite the fact that the Aetolians were much less, they managed to face them evenly. The main way they succeed: guerrilla warfare. Knowing the area very well, they set up ambushes and defenses at key points and trapped the Macedonians. The Aetolians, in this way, managed to inflict great losses on the enemy’s camp.
The Crateros plan that didn’t catch on
Crateros then decided to implement a plan that he believed would bring victory. Thus, during the winter, he prevented the Aetolians from going down to the plains, which were an ideal place for foraging. Hunger and the terrible cold brought them to their knees, yet they refused to give way. And the resistance finally paid off.
After several months of incessant fighting, the Macedonians decided to retreat, end the campaign and make efforts to bring about peace. This story, which remains unknown to the general public to this day, is truly fascinating. A race of shepherds managed to face a war superpower head on. At the same time, Athens and Sparta had been defeated.
