The chief errors into which they fell, leading to many minor ones, were the following.
After the defeat I mentioned they at once abandoned the Achaeans and attached their own League to that of the Aetolians.
Shortly afterwards, when the Aetolians undertook a war against Demetrius, the father of Philip, the Boeotians again deserted them and on the arrival of Demetrius with his army in Boeotia would not face any danger whatever but completely submitted to <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Macedonia&groupId=723&placeId=428">Macedonia</a>.
But as there were some slight sparks left of their ancestral glory, there were some who were by no means pleased with the present situation and this implicit obedience to the Macedonians.
There was in consequence a violent opposition on the part of these to Ascondas and Neon, the grandfather and father of Brachylles, who were then the warmest partisans of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Macedonia&groupId=723&placeId=428">Macedonia</a>.
However, in the end, Ascondas and Neon got the upper hand owing to the following accident.
Antigonus, who after the death of Demetrius had become Philip\'s guardian, was sailing on some business to <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Larymna&groupId=671&placeId=1228">Larymna</a> at the extremity of Boeotia, when owing to an extraordinary low ebb tide his vessels settled on the land.
It had just been reported that Antigonus was about to raid the country, and Neon, who was then hipparch and was on the move with the whole of the Boeotian cavalry with the object of protecting the country, lighted upon Antigonus, who was in a state of dismay and in a difficult position owing to the accident;
and though it was in his power to inflict much damage on the Macedonians, decided, contrary to their expectation, to spare them.
The other Boeotians approved of his conduct, but the Thebans were not entirely pleased with it.
Antigonus, when the flood tide very shortly came in and his ships having been lightened, was very thankful to Neon for not having availed himself of the accident to attack him, and now continued the voyage to Asia, upon which he had set out.
In consequence of this, when, at a later period, he had conquered Cleomenes of <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Sparta&groupId=660&placeId=1208">Sparta</a> and become master of Lacedaemon, he left Brachylles in that town as his commissioner, bestowing this post on him out of gratitude for the kind of service that Neon, the father of Brachylles had rendered him. This contributed no little to the fortunes of Brachylles and his house;
and not only did Antigonus show him this mark of his regard, but ever afterwards both he and Philip continued to furnish him with money and strengthen his position, and thus they soon crushed those opposed to them at Thebes and compelled all, with quite a few exceptions, to take the part of Macedon.
It was thus that the attachment of the house of Neon to <a class="linkToPlace" target="_blank" href="/place?placename=Macedonia&groupId=723&placeId=428">Macedonia</a> and the increase in its fortunes originated.
Walbank Commentary