Person

Philopoemen

c. 253–182 BCE · 3rd century BCE · Also known as Philopoemen of Megalopolis

Philopoemen was a general and statesman of Megalopolis who served eight times as strategos of the Achaean League. He reformed the league's army on the Macedonian model, defeated the Spartan tyrant Machanidas at Mantinea in 207 BCE and brought Sparta into the league in 192 BCE. Captured by the rebellious Messenians in 182 BCE, he was forced to drink poison.

Philopoemen
Image: CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 profiles

SpartaDeclineAchaean LeagueMilitary, Governance, Impact, Decline, Summary

Mentioned in 4 state histories

AegiumMesseneMegalopolisAchaean League

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Philopoemen. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/philopoemen
MLA
“Philopoemen.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/philopoemen. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Philopoemen.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/philopoemen.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Philopoemen’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/philopoemen (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻