Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of Amphipolis

Battle of Amphipolis was a battle fought in 422 BC at Amphipolis, in what is now Greece. It was part of the Archidamian War, which ran from 431 BC to 421 BC. The recorded result: Spartan victory. Recorded strength: About 2,000 against About 2,500.

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THUCYDIDES Thucydides, Maps and Plans illustrative of Thucydides, containing Northern Greece, Southern Greece, Coast of Asia Minor, etc. Oxford: J. Vincent, ca.1825. Map of Battle of Amphipolis Rare B
THUCYDIDES Thucydides, Maps and Plans illustrative of Thucydides, containing Northern Greece, Southern Greece, Coast of Asia Minor, etc. Oxford: J. Vincent, ca.1825. Map of Battle of Amphipolis Rare B. https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/83/0a/d1ba1742571da0c04b11d93ad561.jpg Gallery: https://wellcomeimages.o, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought422 BC
WhereAmphipolis, Greece40.824N, 23.847E
OutcomeSpartan victory
BelligerentsAthensagainstSparta
Casualties and lossesAbout 600and7
Part ofArchidamian War431 BC to 421 BC

Where it sits in the Archidamian War

Spartan invasions of Attica during the Archidamian War, 431 BCBattle of Olpae, 426 BCBattle of Amphipolis, 422 BC431 BC422 BCBattle of Amphipolis, 422 BC
3 placed engagements of the Archidamian War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date422 BC (year precision)
PlaceAmphipolis, Greece
40.824N, 23.847E
KindBattle, ancient
StrengthAbout 2,000About 2,500
Casualties and lossesAbout 6007
Commanders
  • Cleon
  • Thucydides
Battle of AmphipolisBattle of AmphipolisStruma operationBattle of StephanianaBattle of SerresBattle of SerresSiege of PhilippiStruma operationBattle of SerresSiege of PhilippiThessalonikiLarissaKhaskovoKateriniXanthiPolygyros100 km40.824N, 23.847E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.
Map: Battle of Amphipolis
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Amphipolis
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Amphipolis today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-08-30. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 86 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -1 to 384 m, 385 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 39% tree cover, 30% grassland, 18% cropland.

tree cover: 39%grassland: 30%cropland: 18%shrubland: 5%built-up: 4%wetland: 2%tree cover 39%grassland 30%cropland 18%shrubland 5%built-up 4%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 345 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 124 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Battle of Amphipolis is one of 102 engagements of the 5th century BC in the atlas and one of 529 in present-day Greece.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q637544, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Amphipolis, revision 1370106734, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.