Battle of Megara

The Battle of Megara was fought in 424 BC between Athens and Megara, an ally of Sparta. Whilst the Athenian forces were initially successful against the Peloponnesian garrison there, a hasty arrival of Spartan forces under Brasidas saw a stalemate and eventual victory of the oligarchic party within the city of Megara and the withdrawal of Athenian forces.

For the 14th-century battle, see Battle of Megara (1359).
Battle of Megara
Part of the Peloponnesian War
Date424 BCE
Location
Megara, Greece
Result Inconclusive, essentially Spartan victory
Belligerents
Athens Megara
Peloponnesian league
Commanders and leaders
Hippocrates
Demosthenes
 Brasidas
Strength
  • 600 Athenian hoplites under Hippocrates
  • unknown number of light-armed Plataeans and Athenian hoplites under Demosthenes
  • 4,000 Athenian hoplites and 600 cavalry in the second wave

Megara

  • unknown number of Megarian militia


Brasidas' taskforce

  • 2,700 Corinthian hoplites
  • 400 hoplites from Phlius
  • 700 hoplites from Sicyon


Boeotian reinforcements

  • 2,200 Boeotian hoplites
  • 600 Boeotian cavalry

Megara was in the country of Megarid, between central Greece and the Peloponnese. Megara, an ally of Sparta, consisted of farming villages, with flat plains and foothills, and hosted two harbors: Pagae (modern Alepochori-Corinthian Gulf) and Nisaia (Saronic Gulf), making it a prime focus of contention1.

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