Aratos de Sicyone

Biography

It is born with Sicyone in 271. His/her father, Cleinias, are an adversary of the tyrant of the city, Abantidas, which the fact of killing in 264 what constrained Aratos to pass its youth in exile. Later in 251 it returns in its fatherland and drives out the tyrant Nicoclès then inserted Sicyone in the Achaean Ligue of which he quickly becomes the strategist (245).

In 243 it seizes at the time of a daring operation of the Acrocorinthe, drives out the garrison Macedonian of it and makes return Corinthe in the league. It tries then during nearly 20 years releasing the Peloponnese foreign yoke. He fights initially against the Étolie NS then is combined with them against Démétrios II of Macedonia (238). He inserts in alliance against Macedonia almost all the central Greece but is beaten in 233 with Phylakia, close to Tégée, by one of the generals of Démétrios. Given up by Étolie he manages to restore the situation diplomatically and in 229 inserts in the league Argos and Hermione.

But it runs up against the revival Spartan incarnated by Cléomène III, which is largely victorious league in 227 in front of Mégalopolis. Of 227 with 225 Aratos succeeds in thwarting the operations of Cléomène which seeks to control the Achaean league. The fight begins again and the king of Sparte seizes Argos and Corinthe (223). Aratos then introduces the wolf into the sheep-fold while being combined with Antigone III Doson, become king de Macédoine, which crushes Cléomène III with Sellasia in 222 and restores the influence of Macedonia in all the Peloponnese.

Aratos is beaten once again by Étoliens in 220 with Caphies and is withdrawn at the court of Philippe V of Macedonia. This one makes it poison in 213, whereas it was turned over in the Peloponnese to Ægion.

Plutarque is the author of its Vie .

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