The ephors called Cleomenes back to Sparta, probably seeking to avoid all-out war. It was too late. With Cleomenes absent, Aratus took Caphyae. Cleomenes was dispatched once more and took a small Arcadian settlement. In 227 BC, the Achaean army marched out with 20,000 infantry, accompanied by another 1,000 infantry under Aristomachus, to defeat Cleomenes in a pitched battle. The Spartans had only 5,000 men, but their reputation still inspired fear in other Greeks. Aratus persuaded Aristomachus to pull back, which displeased Lydiades, the former tyrant of Megalopolis. Tensions were evident within the expanded Achaean League.