33.14
At this
very time, and according to some accounts on the very day on which the
battle of Cynoscephalae was fought, the Achaeans routed Androsthenes, one
of Philip's generals, in a pitched battle at Corinth. Philip intended to hold that
city as a menace to the States of Greece, and after inviting the leading
citizens to a conference on the pretext of settling what force of cavalry the
Corinthians could furnish for the war, he had detained them all as hostages.
The force in occupation consisted of 500 Macedonians and 800 auxiliaries of
various nationalities. In addition to these he had sent 1000 Macedonians and
1200 Illyrians and also Thracian and Cretan contingents (these tribes fought
on both sides), amounting to 800 in all. There were in addition 1000
heavy-armed troops, consisting of Boeotians, Thessalians and Acarnanians.
A draft from Corinth itself made up the whole force to 6000 men, and
Androsthenes felt himself strong enough to give battle. The Achaean
captain-general, Nicostratus, was at Sicyon with 2000 infantry and 200
cavalry, but seeing that he was inferior in both the number and the quality of
his troops, he did not venture outside the walls. The king's troops overran
and ravaged the territories of Pellene, Phlius and Cleonae. At last, to show
their contempt for the timidity of their enemy, they invaded the territory of
Sicyon and, sailing along the Achaean seaboard, harried and wasted the land.
Their confidence, as is usually the case, made them careless, and their raids
were conducted with an absence of all precautions. Seeing a possibility of a
successful surprise attack, Nicostratus sent secret information to all the cities
round as to what force each city should contribute and on what day they
should all muster at Apelaurus, a place in Stymphalia. All being in readiness
on the appointed day he made a night march through the district of Phlius to
Cleonae, no one knowing what his object was. He had with him 5000
infantry, of which . . . were light-armed troops, and also 300 cavalry. With
this force he waited for the return of the scouting patrols whom he had sent
out to ascertain in what direction the enemy had dispersed themselves.
