Amyntas III (r.c.393-370 BC) came to the Macedonian throne after the six years of confusion that followed the death of Archelaus-I. In 393 BC he was driven out of his realm by the Illyrians, but with the aid of the Thessalians he recovered it the following year. To shore up his defences against the Illyrians he negotiated an alliance with the Chalcidian League, led by Olynthus. In 383 BC in spite of this treaty Olynthus took advantage of the weakness of Macedonia to extend its power over the Chalcidice Peninsula and parts of Macedonia itself; two of the threatened Chalcidic cities, Acanthus and Apollonia, joined Amyntas in an appeal to Sparta.
The Spartans sent Eudamidas (d.381 BC) to the north with a vanguard of two thousand men. He garrisoned some cities and brought Potidaea over to his side, but he was killed while advancing on Olynthus. In 382 BC a force of ten thousand men under Teleutias, assisted by Amyntas of Macedonia and Derdas (2) of Elimea, besieged Olynthus. In the spring, however, the Peloponnesians made the mistake of approaching too close to the walls and were disrupted by the missiles of the defenders. In a sudden attack by Olynthian infantry and cavalry, Teleutias was killed and his army suffered severe losses.
In spring 380 BC Agesipolis with a powerful reinforcement invaded Olynthian territory and took Torone by storm. However, in 380 BC during his siege of Olynthus he died of fever. In 379 BC after a long siege by Agesipolis’ replacement Polybiades, Olynthus finally capitulated and the cities of the league became autonomous and subject allies of Sparta.
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