The Battle of Idomene inflicted the single greatest proportional loss on any Greek city-state in equal days during the entire Peloponnesian War.
Key Facts
- Date
- 426 BC
- War
- Peloponnesian War
- Ambracian casualties (two battles)
- ~1,000 men
- Athenian commander
- Demosthenes
- Tactical advantage
- Athenians occupied higher of two hills
- Attack timing
- Before dawn, while Ambracians slept
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Ambracians, allies of Sparta, dispatched a relief force to aid their army that had invaded Amphilochia. They were unaware that this first army had already been defeated and scattered the previous day by a combined force of Athenians, Amphilochians, and Acarnanians under the Athenian general Demosthenes.
The unsuspecting Ambracian relief force camped on the lower of two steep hills near Idomene. Demosthenes seized the higher hill overnight, gaining a commanding position. Before dawn, while the Ambracians were still asleep, the Athenian-led force launched a surprise attack and routed them almost entirely.
Combined with their earlier defeat, the Ambracians suffered roughly 1,000 dead across the two engagements. Thucydides judged this the greatest proportional disaster to befall any single Greek city in equal days during the war, noting that the actual death toll was so large relative to Ambracia's size that he declined to record it as incredible.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Demosthenes.
Side B
1 belligerent