the old and women joining the fight. Realising that the Gallic sword was dangerous only at close quarters, the Aetolians resorted to skirmishing tactics. The Gauls destroyed Kallion, on the border between Eurytania and Aetolia, but the resistance of the entire Aetolian population at the site of Kokkalia dealt a decisive blow to the Galatian threat. According to Pausanias, only half the number who had set out for Aetolia returned. Eventually Brennus found a way around the pass at Thermopylae, but the Greeks escaped by sea. Aftermath Brennus pushed on to Delphi where he was defeated and forced to retreat, after which he died of wounds sustained in the battle. His army fell back to the river Spercheios where it was routed by the Thessalians and Malians. Some of the survivors of the Greek campaign, led by Comontoris (one of Brennus' generals) settled in Thrace, founding a short-lived city-state named Tyle. Another group of Gauls, who split off from Brennus' army in 281 BC, were transported over to Asia Minor by Nicomedes I to help him defeat his brother and secure the throne of Bithynia. They eventually settled in the region that came to be named after them as Galatia. They were defeated by Antiochus I, and as a result, they were confined to barren highlands in the centre of Anatolia. In contrast, the Aetolian League strengthened its position in mainland Greece and for about a century the League controlled Delphi. The Aetolians set up an honorary stele on a base which presumably depicted pieces of armour from the Gauls. They also erected the so-called “Portico of the Aetolians” or Western Portico, one of the largest buildings close to the sanctuary of Apollo. As a token of gratitude, the Aetolians were accorded the right to participate at the amphictyonic convention. The Amphictyonic Soteria, were organised, and in 246 BC were renamed “Aetolian Soteria” and evolved into Panhellenic Games which took place every five years. Notes Bibliography Ellis, P.B. (1997). Celt and Greek: Celts in the Hellenic World. Constable. Grainger, D. (1999). The League of the Aetolians. Koln: Brill. Green, P. (1993). Alexander to Actium. California: University of California Press. Παπαχατζής, Ν. (1981). «Φωκικά». Παυσανία Ελλάδος Περιήγησις. Αθήνα: Εκδοτική Αθηνών. Scholten, J.B. (2000). The Politics of Plunder: Aitolians and Their Koinon in the Early Hellenistic Era. 279 BC Thermopylae Thermopylae History of Phthiotis Thermopylae Thermopyae 279 Thermopylae (279 BC)