Scion of Alexandros First Installment
Note: for convenience I will be using the BC/AD dating system.
From Theodotus' Biographia:
It was fifty-one years after the death of Megas Alexandros that I first met Alkyoneus Argeades, then eldest son of the Basileus of Makedon. He was a proud and sharp man with a penchant for beautiful women, wine, and song. I met him in the training grounds of Pella and at first assumed him to be just another boisterous soldier trying to get me to buy him another flagon of wine. Ah, if only I knew then what I know now. He took a liking to me at our first meeting and, recognizing my skill with papyrus, promptly hired me to be his chronicler.
It was in that first year of our acquaintance that Makedon was in her darkest hour. The great Basileus Antigonus took it upon himself to subdue the Hellenes of Attike and the Peloponnesus and to that effect raised as large an army as he could. With the assistance of his elder brother Krateros and nephew Alexandros, he launched his assault on the Hellenes from Korinthos, leaving Alkyoneus in Pella. In the Spring of the year 272 Alexandros, leading a diversionary army, laid siege to Sparte while Antigonos laid siege to Athenai. The Spartan army, seeing its beloved poleis beseiged, chose to attack Alexandros before turning to the aid of their Athenai allies. Alexandros was badly outnumbered by the Hellenes and withdrew to the field before the arrival of the Spartan relief force, led by king Eudamidas himself. As his men retreated, the Spartan army caught up with them and a fierce battle ensued.
Alexandros, fool that he is, failed to organize his men in any way and the battle began with Alexandros' army in a forest in complete disarray. I am told that a captain of his, Alcibiades called the men to order and arranged the battle lines along a clearing by the road with his phalanx at the center with hoplitai on the sides and Akontistai before them. Alexandros, military genius that he is, charged the Hoplitai Spartiate head on and lost nearly half of his bodyguard. He learned from his first mistake and repeatedly charged their rear while the Akontistai flanked the enemy hoplitai. Although badly outclassed by the Spartiate and in spite of Alexandros' incompetent leadership, the Spartan king fled the field as his men skewered themselves on our men's sarissas.
Alexandros, faithless coward that he is, ran the Spartan king down like the dog he was and snatched victory from what were surely the jaws of defeat.
The next season, Antigonos assaulted Athenai.
His Galatian mercenaries, being expendable barbarians, were ordered forth with the siege tower. They quickly seized the walls and opened the gates for his phlangitai and hoplitai while his slingers picked off the Hellenic Toxotai on the walls. The battle was hard fought in the streets, but ultimately the Basileus emerged victorious. As retribution for their insurrection, he sold the adult male population into slavery and allowed his men free run of the remaining women.
Allowing his men no respite, the Basileus sent the greater part of his army west into the Peloponnesus to assist Alexandros.
Meanwhile, Pyrrhos himself began his march upon Pella. He marched through the countryside, slaughtering our flocks and killing all he found there. Alkyoneus was not afraid of him, but neither was he stupid. Pyrrhos of Epeiros is the greatest general since Alexandros. Only a fool would face him in the open field. Yet that is what he attempted to do, draw Alkyoneus out into the field, where his Elephants could trample his men and his superior phalanx could crush our poor levies. Alkyoneus resisted and stood his ground, building defensive fortifications and training more levies.
In 271, Alexandros laid siege to Sparte and later that year assaulted the city.
His men outnumbered those of the Spartan king Akrotatos and easily defeated them.
For this "great victory" Alexandros was given the epithet "the Lion of Lacedemon" as though he had defeated the Spartiate at their zenith rather than in their waning days. It appars as though Antigonos has decided that this Lion of Lacedemon is to be his heir after his elder brother passes, cutting my patron Alkyoneus out entirely.
As the simpering kitten was assaulting Sparte, Pyrrhos laid siege to Pella from two directions. The eastern gate was blockaded by one of his captains while Pyrrhos himself taunted us from the western gate. Alkyoneus sent word to his father via a runner, but Antigonos appeared content to let his son die a hero's death at the hands of the bloodthirsty tyrannos Pyrrhos. Our darkest hour was upon us and we waited for death with steeled hearts and clear minds.
Our force was small, consisting only of two units of phlangitai, two of hoplitai, one of akontistai, slingers, Thessaloniki, and Alkyoneus' own bodyguard, of which I had been made a member in our dire circumstances.
During the siege, Alkyoneus took to drink to steel his nerves. With no help in sight, Pyrrhos' men assaulted once mighty Pella expecting to march triumphantly into the streets and slaughter us like wolves slaughter sheep. While Alkyoneus has little battle experience, he has studied the skill of Megas Alexandros and was not so much a fool as to meet Pyrrhos at the walls, instead opting to defend the citadel, leaving only his Akontistai at the gates to perhaps slow down Pyrrhos' western assault. Pyrrhos' captain had siege equipment while Pyrrhos himself charges his elephants at our gates. Our Akontistai performed brilliantly and slew two of Pyrrhos' elephants while scaring the third so much that it turned back into the phalanx.
This setback bought our garrison time to deal with the eastern force which was much smaller and to allow our wall defenders to inflict casualties upon Pyrrhos' western army as they attempted to reach our eastern gates which had been knocked down by his captain's battering rams. The battle was bloody beyond belief. Our brave general called upon us to charge, charge, and charge again at the advancing Epirotes. We broke the first wave of Akontistai. We broke the second wave of peltastai. We inflicted severe casualties on the third wave of Agema, but took heavy losses ourselves. Our phlangitai were arrayed in a line across the citadel square and fought valiantly as our horse charged the enemies' rear again and again, each time inflicting more casualties.
Our situation had become dire. We had less than fifty men and only Alkyoneus, myself, and his spear carrier were left of the Hetaroi. The phlangitai were surrounded and Pyrrhos himself sat in the citadel square mocking us with his bodyguard of seven. Alkyoneus flew into a rage and ordered us to charge. On impact, we slew two of his Hetaroi, but we were exhausted. Our swords were like lead weights and our blood burned in our veins. He blew his horn and the slingers began to pelt the Epirotes with bullets as we watched three of them fall. The spear carrier was wounded in the thigh and his horse fell on top of his prostrate body, he moved no more. I slew one of Pyrrhos' Hetaroi and was in turn cut down by Pyrrhos himself as he swung at my head and inflicted a glancing wound that missed my neck only by the grace of the gods. I was stunned and nearly senseless, but watched as Alkyoneus bravely fought on. He slew the last of Pyrrhos' Hetaroi and stood face to face with the greatest general alive, Pyrrhos Aiakides.
Despite his fatigue, Alkyoneus fought with the strength of an Aurochs and the precision of a wolf. He slew the Epirote dog in single combat. The death of their Basileus did not seem to phase the Epirotes who fought on like lions against our men. Our phalangitai had been reduced to half a dozen men and our slingers numbered only nine against the Epirote phlangitai units of twenty three and seven. Our men fought bravely, but were overwhelmed. All but one of our phlangitai and three of our slingers were slain while Alkyoneus charged the enemy phlangitai from the rear, the flanks, and even head on in a desperate attempt to break their morale. When all seemed loss and any lesser man would have given up, the Epirotes broke and Alkyoneus, ran them down like the cowards they were.
The lone phlangitai who survived the battle, Philippos, was made a member of Alkyoneus' Hetaroi as a decorated hero for fighting on when all others had either been slain or fled the field. Alkyoneus, exhausted from his exertions fell off his horse, and lay prostrate in the streets of Pella. As I regained my senses, I called for a medicus and ordered our workers to repair the walls and tended the wounded. When word reached Antigonos, he flew into a rage and cursed his son as a coward. His messenger said that the Basileus was furious that Alkyoneus had let the Epirotes devastate Makedon so and that he was a coward for not facing Pyrrhos in the field. What's more, the Basileus called his son a poor strategos for not facing Pyrrhos at the walls. The old fool. All those who were in Pella at the time think Alkyoneus a hero worthy of Achilles himself.
Alkyoneus now plans his vengeance against the upstart Epirotes and has begun training an army to strike deep into the heart of Epeiros itself. Meanwhile, Alexandros has decided to one up his cousin and is recruiting an army of pederast Hellenes to assault Epeiros first. The winner of this race may well be the next Basileus of Makedon, I only hope the gods favor Alkyoneus . . .
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Always good to see other Makedonian and generally Diadochoi-based AARs, it fuels my determination to keep writing my own.
Originally Posted by Yyrkoon
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