Historical Era |
It would appear that in Kefalonia, as in
the rest of Greece, when monarchy went into decline, oligarchies came into being. Around
the 8th century BC the oligarchies had evolved into tyrannies and by the end of the 7th
century BC they had become democracies. After the decline of tyranny, Kefalonia
split into four city-states, which Thucydides tells us were autonomous. Their relations
with each other were not always friendly, as the existence of city walls and different
coinage would indicate. The first city-state to appear on the
political scene was Pale. In his Histories, Herodotus tell us that in 479 BC the Paleans
sent 200 hoplites to fight the Persians in the battle at Plataea. Pale was the first port
of call for the Corinthians on their way to Sicily; thus the two cities had a strong
bond of friendship. In 435 BC the Paleans again appeared on the scene, sending 4 ships to
help the Corinthians fight the Corcyraeans. During the Peloponnesian War (431404 BC)
all four cities were free allies of the Athenians. The Athenians, however, do not seem to
have trusted them completely, because before a year had passed 150 Athenian triremes
sailed out to attack the Peloponnese and Acarnania. In the end they took Kefalonia
without resistance and made the island their base of operations against Corinth. The
following year, 40 Corinthian triremes and 1500 hoplites landed in Crane. The Cranians
pretended to be ready to negotiate and then in a surprise attack routed the invaders.
Later, we will see on countless occasions how the Kefalonians used
diplomacy in a similar way to deal with such threats and thus ensure their independence.
This was just the beginning of a long train of conquerors of many races, who left their
mark on the island's bloodstained history, but never managed to change its
identity. At the end of the first Peloponnesian War
in 404 BC the Ionian islands found themselves on the side of Sparta. But when Athens had
shaken off her tyrants, her fleet took Kefalonia and imposed heavy taxation. In 378 BC
Athens set up the Second Athenian Confederacy, more liberal than the first. This situation
did not last long, however, because in the following year the Athenians sank the Spartan
fleet and subjugated the Ionian islands without bloodshed. In 337 BC, when Philip conquered Greece and
sent out invitations to the assembly of the Greeks in Corinth, Kefalonia sent
representatives. The island remained loyal to the Macedonians during the battle of Lamia
between the Greeks and the Macedonians in 323-322 BC, and remained independent
throughout this period. After the death of Alexander the Great, Kefalonia entered into an alliance with the Aetolian League. This alliance was advantageous both to the Aetolians, as they were ensured of a safe port from which to sail towards Italy and Sicily, and to the Kefalonians, because it offered them an opportunity to engage in profitable piratical activities. The Aetolians, with the help of their allies including Kefalonia and Zakinthos, caused great havoc in the rich lands of the Achaeans and their allies. The Achaeans finally enlisted the help of Philip V of Macedonia. During the War of the Allies (220-217 BC), the Macedonian king, mindful of Kefalonia's strategic position, decided to concentrate on it first; his fleet put in at Pronnoi in 218 BC. But because that part of the island was deemed hard to conquer, he turned to Pale, the most powerful city, in the most fertile area of the island. The Macedonians failed, however, to conquer it, despite Philip's many stratagems. On the other side, when the Aetolians and their allies learned about the attempt to beseige Pale, they immediately began launching attacks on Achaean territory in an attempt to draw the attention of their opponents away from Kefalonia. |