Megalopolis was founded through a synodical of twenty to forty neighbouring communities between 371 and 368 BC by the Arcadian League in an attempt to form a political counterweight to Sparta.
It was a member of the Arcadian League after its foundation until the dissolution of the federation in 362 BC. In 331 BC, Megalopolis was invaded by the Spartans and there was a battle with the Macedonians that came to Megalopolis' help.
In the 270s BC, Aristodamos the Good, managed to take control over the city as a tyrant backed by Macedon. In 235 BC, the second tyrant of the city, Lydiades, gave up control over the polis and the city became a member of the Achaean League. In 222 BC, the Spartan king Cleomenes III burnt down the city but it was rebuilt in the years after the destruction.
As a member of the Achaean League, Megalopolis had a profound influence on the federal politics and it was the hometown of several notable Achaean statesmen and figures such as Philopoemen, Lykortas and Polybius himself. The city remained populated under the Romans but by the 6th century it was almost completely abandoned.
It was a member of the Arcadian League after its foundation until the dissolution of the federation in 362 BC. In 331 BC, Megalopolis was invaded by the Spartans and there was a battle with the Macedonians that came to Megalopolis' help.
In the 270s BC, Aristodamos the Good, managed to take control over the city as a tyrant backed by Macedon. In 235 BC, the second tyrant of the city, Lydiades, gave up control over the polis and the city became a member of the Achaean League. In 222 BC, the Spartan king Cleomenes III burnt down the city but it was rebuilt in the years after the destruction.
As a member of the Achaean League, Megalopolis had a profound influence on the federal politics and it was the hometown of several notable Achaean statesmen and figures such as Philopoemen, Lykortas and Polybius himself. The city remained populated under the Romans but by the 6th century it was almost completely abandoned.
Modern location: Megalopoli, Greece
(1)
Achaean League
An
AR
Hemidrachm
struck 160-146 BC
in
Megalopolis
Obverse: laureate head of Zeus right
Reverse: (AX) monogram, thunderbolt below, all within wreath; ΞB / K_A / M
Diameter:
15.5 mm
Die Orientation: -
Weight: 2.4 g
Die Orientation: -
Weight: 2.4 g
No notes for this coin
Benner 17; BCD Peloponnesos 1551.1; HGC 5, 953