Pydna, Battle of

(June 22, 168 BC) Decisive confrontation in the Roman victory over Perseus and Macedonia in the Third Macedonian War. It took place on a plain near Pydna (present-day Kítros, Greece). The Roman general Lucius Paullus (b. c. 229–d. 160 BC) adroitly outmaneuvered the Macedonians; their phalanx was penetrated by the Roman legions, whose short swords were more effective than the Macedonian pikes. When defeat was imminent, Perseus fled. The Romans ended the Macedonian monarchy and divided the country into four republics.

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