ABSTRACT
Following the victory of Antigonos Doson and the Akhaians over the Spartans led by Kleomenes at Sellasia in 222 BC, all of the Peloponnese apart from Lakonia, Messenia, Phigaleia and Eleia belonged to an Akhaian League which relied upon Makedonian power to maintain its position, and both the Spartans and Messenians were counted among the allies of the Makedonians and Akhaians. During the Early Iron Age, cattle of various kinds appear to have grazed upon open pastureland across the valleys of the Alpheios and Peneios. While evidence from Xenophon, Polybios and Livy testifies to the enduring significance of pastoralism for the Eleian economy, a passage of Aristotle confirms that by historical times the land had been divided into well-defined holdings. From the outset of the Second Makedonian War the Aitolian League fought alongside the Romans, and in 198 BC most members of the Akhaian League also joined them.
