Aratus was elected "strategos" of the Achaean League seventeen times. Under his leadership the Achaean League became a major player in Greece, thanks principally to his military victories rather to any great skill as a tactician. Reportedly, his nerves would get the better of him at critical moments during battle. Plutarch reports that Aratus was a great politician, but that his capacities did not extend to the battlefield, saying: "the general of the Achaeans always had cramps in the bowels when a battle was imminent". But it seems Aratus was a master of the surprise attack, although details of these battles remain obscure.