Leontios Acrosymphytaceae

Leontios Peltasta - Peltast commander Philip V, member of the Apellesa conspiracy. For the first time both Leontios and the remaining members of the conspiracy, Polibius mentions at the end of the fourth book of Acts, and the account of the peltast commander in the plot occupies a large part of the book. From his message we learn that the deceased in 221 r. P.n.e. Antygon Doson led a thoughtful internal policy, trying to prevent rivalry at the court, manning individual positions with the right people.

Among 16-year-old Filip's guardians, Appels, Leontios was commander of the peltast, Megaleas - head of the royal chancellery, Alexander - commander of the bodyguard, and Taurion took over Peloponnesian affairs. Polibius points out that Appelles wanted to change Antigonus's system of relations. Polibius leaves no doubt as to the role of Leontios, as well as Megaleasa, in this arrangement of forces, saying that Apelles had (them) completely in his hand. On the other hand, Apolls was undoubtedly Taurion and Alexander, due to the positions in which the caretaker of the young Philip V wanted to devote to his dependents and thus to concentrate as much power in his own hands. Polibius's information as to whether Leontios and Megaleas are very dissatisfied with the military successes of Philip V, which is to testify of their betrayal, is rather an ex post, justifying the elimination of both important dignitaries. Similarly, reports that Leontios deliberately delayed the army's march to prevent the king's plans may have the same genesis.

The conspiracy dispute with the conspirators erupted unexpectedly at a feast held in honor of the Stratos victory, during which Megaleas and Leontios were verbally abusive and then began to throw stones at him (Aratosa). The incident led to unrest in the camp and aroused suspicion of Philip. According to Polibius' testimony, Leontios himself eluded the royal intervention. The king summoned Megeleas and Krinon (the unknown figure), severely punished them, punished them with a fine of twenty talents, and threw them into jail. Due to the apparent bias of Polibius, it is impossible to be sure of the attitude of Arat himself, but it is certain that the Macedonian ruler was keen to maintain good relations with the Achaean politician, and for that purpose he could blame the people of his surroundings. Leontios tried to force the king to release Megaleas, but he met with a determined attitude of the ruler, who did not intend to change once the decision was made.

The king submitted the case to the "friends" council, which upheld the ruling handed down by the ruler and the amount of the fine imposed. It is worth noting here that the allegations were made by Aratos. According to an Ajaan historian's account, the council issued its verdict unanimously, which may indicate its dependence on Philip V. Thanks to Leontios's guarantee of the fine imposed on twenty talents, Megaleas was soon to be freed. Not seeing the possibility of returning to the king's graces, Leontios, Megaleas, and Ptolemayos incited the peltas and agemas, proclaiming that, despite their sacrifices, not only did they not receive the righteous deeds according to the custom, they did not yet receive justice. Undoubtedly, the anxieties raised were directed against the Achaeans. As a result of the incident, Philip had to come to Corinth and congregate in the local amphitheater. He managed to master the situation through the promise of the universal "Amnestai" - amnesty. But this promise did not calm Leontios. He decided to appeal to Apellis, who, however, according to Polibius, no longer had a hearing at Philip, for the abuse he had committed. In spite of a special greeting by the troops, the king reacted very chilly and, as Polibius had said, not being invited by Philip to attend the feasts. Realizing the disgrace of Apellesa, Megaleas decided to seek refuge first in Athens, then in Thebes. Undoubtedly this fact has become a pretext for Philip to imprison Leontios, who was the guarantor of Megaleas. At that time, the decision was made to send the peltast under Taurion to Trent. Despite imprisonment, Leontios was able to report on his fate to the peltast, who turned to the official request that Philip await the investigation into the charges against them, otherwise they would consider themselves very neglected and disgraced. And if Leontios was stopped as a guarantor of twenty talents then they would collect and return the money themselves. Intercession probably only accelerated the execution of the peltast commander.

The so-called. Leontios has become one of the most important arguments in the dispute over the constitutional character of the Macedonian monarchy. Bibliography

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