Disclaimer: I am merely playing in Rick Riordan's sandbox.
The End of an Era
He mutely sat upon my horse as it trudged along the small road. The only thing Perseus could hear was the rhythmic steps of the thousands of men marching beside him all in perfect unison. His father would be proud of him from his place in Elysium.
Many doubted his polis would survive when his father and uncle in all but name died in rapid succession, believing them to be the only thing holding together the newly formed regional power which had usurped Sparta's position as the mightiest city-state. And they were partially correct, Thebes could no longer claim to be a hegemony over Greece but they still retained their power to a degree with their alliance with Athens. And of course the pride of the Theban military: the Sacred Band of Thebes.
300 top-trained hoplites being the first in battle and last to leave. In their now forty years of service, they had never lost a battle. And instead did the unthinkable under his father Pelopidas and 'uncle' Epaminondas and beat the Spartan pigs so decisively that they hadn't really shown their noses since. And now was their time to prove themselves again. A 30 thousand men strong army was currently making its way down from Macedon led by their king Philip and his son and heir Alexander, both rumored to be very competent tacticians.
Those northern barbarians had gotten brave after having mediated peace for a devastating war that had ravaged the Greek city-states and now believed that they could just take the whole of the peninsula for themselves. But Perseus, the Thebans under his command, and the Athenians were going to show them how wrong they really were. Seeing that Apollo was soon setting on the horizon Perseus ordered a halt and the gigantic army made camp on the side of the road.
Perseus walked around the developing encampment where fires were lit and tents set up. He nodded in appreciation at the beautiful discipline of his forces. Even the Athenians were beginning to shape up and learn. In contrast to the Theban elite force, the entire army of Athens and to be fair Thebes were levies. Or in other words, farmers were called up from their farms and given a basic hoplite uniform.
Which consisted of a leather linothorax armor, a spear, and an aspis which is a big shield. On the front of the shield, the club of Heracles was depicted because of his importance in Thebes, in comparison to the Athenians' owls, and the Spartans' lambda Λ. The symbols were a good way to show uniformity against foes. Intimidation tactics were one of Sparta's greatest strengths. Only a couple of decades ago most armies would flee at just the sight of the Spartans and their uniforms marching showing their discipline. It had obviously made them soft and had let his father topple them off their pedestal.
Perseus is distracted from his thoughts when he sees one of the Athenian strategoi wave him over towards a tent. Perseus quickly makes his way over there and greets the man with a nod. "Boeotarch Perseus, my colleague Chares has called in a meeting for all the senior officers, the others are already waiting"
"Thank you Lysicles" Perseus says as he walks in past the man who has to follow him into the tent. Standing around the table are the assembled officers of this great army. Of course, the Athenian Strategos Chares a legendary general who has campaigned a lot in Thrace, Macedon's eastern neighbor at the northern shore of the Aegean Sea, scattered around were irrelevant Polemarchoi from either Athenian or Theban allied poleis who were only there for show, and last but not least was Polemarchos Theagenes.
Who was the actual leader of the Theban contingent, the army itself wasn't actually under Perseus' command. Instead, the Archon of Thebes had given his brother Polemarchos Theagenes command. And Perseus was only in command of the Sacred Band being a Boeotarch or war leader like Theagenes was a general. But given his father's and 'uncle's' great prominence in the polis he was seen as the de facto leader of the Theban contingent.
Perseus goes up to Theagenes' right side while Lysicles goes to Chares' side. The meeting is started immediately and after halfheartedly listening to the 'minor' Polemarchoi bickering with each other about minor disagreements the actual important stuff is discussed.
Chares eventually manages to calm down the tent and takes the lead role because of his seniority. "Alright enough small talk, my scouts have found Philips host and it's only a day's march away, it seems like they have more cavalry than previously anticipated which is unfortunate but not much we can do about now." The room erupts in hushed conversation. The older man raises his hand and the gathered officers quiet down again. "I have consulted the priest of Athena and he says that Athena has given us her favor in this battle to come"
Sounds of relief escape from the officers as they are thankful for the knowledge that the gods will help them in this upcoming battle. "I have also been informed that the scouts have found an adequate position for us to make our stand tomorrow, I trust that your men will be ready at dawn? We can't allow those barbarians to manage to pass Chaeronea before us" The officers make nods of agreement and then file out sensing the end of the war council.
"Perseus you stay, I need your opinion on something" Perseus isn't surprised that the wizened commander wants to discuss something with him, they do it frequently discussing either tactics or logistics there was always something that needed to be discussed.
Two chairs are brought forward on either side of the table and an amphora with wine is put on the table beside them along with two cups. Perseus sits down as Chares does the same on the other side.
Perseus observes the older man as he takes the amphora and fills their cups with the wine. Chares had a fair few grey hairs and he seemed to slump down a little in the chair as he finally lets loose for the first time this day. The elder officer picks up his cup with a grateful nod.
"Ahh, this would make Dionysus proud" Chares said in appreciation after taking a sip. "Iacchos, my friend" Perseus says a little tersely. "Of course, I apologize, I forgot that you call him that" Chares apologizes absentmindedly. Perseus clenches his hand but lets it slide, they couldn't get divided now with the Macedonians on the horizon. That was how this whole situation had started.
There were only three or four mountain passes that allowed an army to travel into Boeotia and these had been garrisoned with the Hellenic league's men the year before and had managed to guard their lands against the Macedonian army when it first made its way down here.
But with a feigned retreat, King Philip had managed to lull the men guarding the passes into a false sense of security and they began to grow restless and the various forces began to bicker between each and allowed the Macedonians to catch them off guard and take several important cities in the borderlands.
The only natural barrier that now guarded Thebes and Athens along the land route was the mountain pass at Chaeronea a small fortified town located in the middle of the valley. And that was where they would make their stand.
"Alright here's the situation Perseus, we will deploy beside Chaeronea with the mountain to our left and a rapid river on our right protecting our flanks." Perseus nods and is thankful that they at least aren't in danger of getting flanked. "We have about the same amount of men but they have the experience, other than your sacred band all of our men are levies so they are going to have to make the difference in this battle. You are of course going to be put on the uttermost right flank with the main Theban contingent under Theagenes beside you."
"Are you then going to be on the center or left my friend?" Perseus asks understanding that this won't be an experimental army deployment of any kind. In these pitched battles the best troops are always put on the right on either side of the battle, meaning that they would be opposite of the enemy's weakest. So the real key in every battle was having your weak troops holding long enough for your elite troops to take care of the enemy's weakest and then swing around on the enemy elite troops.
"I will take the left and Lysicles, the center. Letting him take care of that peasant rabble" Chares said with a laugh, and Perseus grants him a small smile even though he doesn't understand the humor in the sentence. "Anyway, let your men eat well today and be ready at dawn" Perseus nods and makes his way out of the tent.
Making his way to the camp of the Sacred Band he talks a little with his lieutenants before sitting down and enjoying the company of his men. What made the Sacred Band so special was not its training or equipment but rather its men themselves. The unit was composed of 150 pairs of male lovers who would never retreat from battle. The idea wasn't so revolutionary and had been thought of before by those Athenian philosophers but it had always been a thought experiment, before Gorgidas the founder of the band and his father's predecessor made it happen in response to the Spartans' imperialism about four decades ago.
His second in command Ajax sat down beside him and they began chatting. It was these moments Perseus loved just being with his men and getting to know them outside of his position as their leader. It had been hard to gain their respect because familial prestige wasn't anything if you didn't do anything to become worthy of that.
Ajax suddenly speaks up making the men surrounding them quiet down "So Boeotarch, do we have the gods on our side?" Perseus looks over to the priest they brought from the Cult of Iacchos in Thebes. The priest finds the heart of a pig they had slaughtered a day and throws it into the fire they are sitting around. There is a second of absolute silence before the flame surges up and a grape falls to the ground beside it.
There is stunned silence before the men start cheering wildly as the priest picks up the grape reverently and shows it to everyone. Perseus is as shocked as his men but is elated when the priest shows them the grape and prays a silent thanks to Iacchos and Apollo for their favor. Perseus felt hope bloom in his heart and he really began to believe that they could win this upcoming battle.
As Artemis was nearing the top of her nightly round Perseus went to get a good night's sleep before the battle tomorrow.
When Perseus woke up he could see Apollo just about beginning to show himself over a distant mountain top. The scene was idyllic except for the blood-red shine that seemingly washed over the sky above. He could see men staring and pointing and he knew he needed to do something. "Look! The gods have shown us the future spilled blood of our enemies" There is a little hesitation before the men begin to cheer as they look down from the sky and continue to get ready for the battle.
Perseus looks around and sees Chares standing outside his own tent. Chares catches his gaze and gives him a nod of acknowledgment. While Thebes and Athens had only very recently been at war against each other he had gained respect for this Athenian commander, Lysicles wasn't a bad commander by any stretch of the imagination but he didn't have the charisma of his older colleague.
Now Chares wasn't a good friend of Perseus even if he could appreciate the man's ability to lead men. He was still an ignorant Athenian that was blinded by his pride for Athens to give over command, he did delegate but often with little autonomy for the subordinate. Like Perseus' own role in this battle to come, The Thebans and by extension the Band would be put on the left flank in a staggered battle line where they would be the last to engage the enemy while Chares' Athenians were the first ones to fight.
Perseus did not agree with the tactic but he refused to disobey the order, even though he had advised that they should use the oblique order created by Epaminondas and used to create effect to throw back the Spartans at the Battle of Leuctra. But Chares was stubborn and insisted on using the traditional hoplite battle line.
Perseus stepped back into his tent and got into his armor. I strapped on my muscled bronze cuirass onto my chest, I put my greaves and vambraces on, the hoplite skirt, my Attic helmet with its red plume to show my significance instead of the regular hoplite's rounded Pylos helmet or the Boeotian helmet of the Theban hoplites. I took my sword a xiphos and sheathed it on my hip beside my father's favored bronze dagger which was always on Perseus's person at all times. It was rumored that it was given to Cadmus as a gift from Apollo before the legendary king abdicated and went mad.
Perseus heard men marching outside his tent and then Ajax suddenly stuck his head into the tent "Boeotarch, your horse is ready and the men are ready" The man reports before disappearing again. Perseus steels himself and sends a prayer to Apollo and Iacchos before picking up his spear and an Aspis both identical to the equipment of his men in the Band. Before he walks out into the gentle shine of Apollo.
He quickly mounts his white stallion and begins to ride up beside the line of marching men making their way out of the camp having left every nonessential item here. As well as servants and other non-combatants.
The men cheer as he rides by and he has his horse speed up to reach up to his fellow officers at the head of the snaking column. He reaches Chares, Lysicles, and Theagenes soon enough and lets his mount slow down beside them. The officers prepare quietly for the battle to come some are stone-faced and preparing silently while others talk quietly amongst each other.
Perseus is once again captivated by the rhythmic thump-thump of the thousands of men marching behind them. Oh, how he hated this quiet before the storm.
He watches in frustration as the Athenians have engaged in the battle against the king himself and his units. The Macedonians were deployed in much the same fashion as the Greeks and obviously tried to lure the Athenians out of position because the rest of the Macedonians were still standing hundreds of meters behind watching quietly most certainly ready to strike if the Greeks made the slightest mistake and were caught out of formation.
He couldn't even go over there and help because then the right flank would be vulnerable and they had now committed to Chares' strategy and any sudden change in the tactic would only confuse their own men.
So he was left first seeing the Macedonian skirmishes send probing attacks for almost two whole hours trying to get the Athenians to charge. After they failed Philip's elite infantry took their place while the skirmishers continued to lob projectiles at the Athenians who stood firm most certainly because of Chares' iron hand, otherwise they would have surged forward long ago at the 'exposed' skirmishers.
Perseus could read the situation like a book. The Macedonians had put their famed Hetairoi cavalry on the side opposite Perseus definitely ready to charge in and crush any out of formation unit. So the important part of this battle was holding the line and maintaining discipline, always discipline. The battle rages for an hour or two and Chares is doing a good job holding the line even if everyone could see it was taking a toll on the inexperienced Athenians having to fight the famed Macedonian chosen men all handpicked by King Philip himself.
Perseus' horse moves restlessly under him and he pats it a little before rearing up and beginning to make his way between the hoplite ranks. They are in the rest position with their spears pointed up and shields rested on their knee so it's a bit nerve-racking to make his way past them, but eventually, he makes it out and he rides to and from in front of the Theban troops to gain their attention.
"Thebans! Get ready to blood your spears and fight these damned barbarians daring to influence our affairs, make us their puppets so they can move us around like pieces in a game!" The Sacred band bangs their spears creating a great thump. "We have Phoebus Apollo on our side! Ready to guide our arrows and blades. And when we get back after having dealt with these dogs we will take a bottle of wine each and thank Iacchos for granting us such a godly drink to us mortals" There is a thump of spears as the Theban hoplites join in, and Perseus can see the various Greeks in the center looking over at them.
"But!… but first we have to deserve a rest, and as long as those gods damned Macedonian dogs litter our countryside we'll not rest!" The Theban shout in affirmation and Perseus nods back.
Perseus rides back to the front of the regular Theban hoplites and jumps off his horse letting one of the men lead it to the back as Perseus takes his place in the line. The men beside him nod to him in greeting, he returns it before giving his spear to the one on his right and taking out his sword.
"Alright men we will not let these dogs steal any more of our air, let's put them down!" Perseus shouts and then he points his sword forward towards the enemy before beginning to walk. The men beside him follow and soon the whole Theban contingent starts marching forward. They soon pass the combined Greek force in the center of the army and then begin to pass Chares and the Macedonians there.
Philip's men are definitely not your average hoplites because they immediately disengage from the Athenians and rush back to their own lines while who he assumes is Prince Alexander leads the rest of the Macedonian army to meet their exposed unit.
Perseus orders a halt and his formation stops silently observing the shifting tactical situation. It seems like his maneuver has worked to perfection. By pushing forwards and threatening to flank and encircle Philip and his men which he never would allow meaning that he would have to disengage and allow the Athenians to gain a bit of breathing room. Or it would have if the tired Athenians unaware of his maneuver assumed that the enemy is retreating.
He can only watch in horror as they surge forwards to meet the Macedonian lines and be met by Philip's new Sarissa phalanx. The first line is almost skewered to a man and the second line doesn't fare much better. Philip's choice of equipment was ingenious, simple but effective. He had lengthened the spears of his men from six-foot spears to something around 18 feet meaning that anyone meeting head-on couldn't get close before getting skewered long before their own spears could reach the Sarissa equipped lines.
It looked like a gigantic hedgehog with the deeper lines having the spears pointed out while the front two had their spears pointed at the charging Athenians. The Athenians never got any closer and were soon routed, fleeing the battlefield. It seemed like not even Chares could hold them back from retreating.
The mixed Greek center had split in two, one part had begun to make its way to the Athenians, but when they saw them retreating they got panicked and followed along. Meaning that about a quarter of their army had just been routed in little under ten minutes. The second half made their way up to his level and it seemed that Lysicles at least managed to hold half of those useless cowards here.
The Macedonians meanwhile were not inactive and they immediately began to move up to meet his lines. Prince Alexander and his cavalry took it a step further and charged the fleeing Greeks and Athenians just a hundred meters in front of Perseus and his men unable to do anything but watch as their comrades were slaughtered in front of them. The majority of the men thankfully made their way to their lines, but they didn't stop and were soon well on their way to the walls of Chaeronea. Perseus was frustrated but there wasn't much he could do now, he just had to hold, it seemed that this would be their last stand.
The Macedonian cavalry circled around his lines and he quickly ordered the back two lines to turn around and face the cavalry. Meanwhile, the Macedonian infantry crushed into their front, and Perseus grit his teeth as he in unison with the men around the thrust their spears at the Macedonians. This went on for hours, thrust and block, thrust and block, thrust and block. He eventually changed places with one of the men in the middle of the hoplite formation. He looked around and could just see the greeks on the left flank finally giving away their arms while the left part of the Thebans followed soon after. He was now surrounded on three sides with Alexander in the back, Philip from the side, and the main Macedonian force on the front.
The only light in this darkness was the unrelenting force of the Sacred Band who held the right flank. The rest of the hoplites then finally wavered and routed laying down their arms and surrendering. Perseus looks on in pain but steels himself and draws his sword. Unfortunately, before he could do anything something smashed into the back of his head and the muddy trodden up ground suddenly got a lot closer.
End of Chapter
That was the first chapter of this new story, I hope you like the story. Please read and review
A little translation for the greek.
Strategos/Strategoi - General/Generals self-explanatory I think
Polemarchos/Polemarchoi - Warlord/Warlords are often not only military men but also archons or leaders of city-states.
Boeotarch - A unique title for Thebes during this period meaning war leader, and the title for the man leading the Sacred Band.
Polis/Poleis - City state/s
Thank you for reading
