Thebes Political Prominence
Title of Assessed Work: Why did Thebes come to political prominence in the fourth century?
‘’The victory of the Thebans was the most famous of all those won by Greeks over Greeks’’1
This essay will look at the rise of Thebes to political prominence in Greece in the fourth century BC in a an analytical rather than chronological fashion, by considering both the decline of the major city states around Thebes as well as Theban advantages. It will draw on the format used by John Buckler2 by dividing the reasons for Thebes’ short hegemony (371-362 BC) into external factors including the weakening of Athens after the Peloponnesian war and the growing irrelevance of Sparta as a result of population decline and the inconclusive Corinthian …show more content…
From these developments we can deduce that the Athenians had come to see Thebes as the one of the most powerful states in Greece. They had, together with Sparta, singled out Thebes as the enemy. Clearly, Thebes and its Boeotian League had now come to be a political and military force to be dealt with. Theban hegemony had begun.
This essay has shown that the rise of Theban political power owes as much to external circumstances as internal factors. The decline of Spartan and Athenian power created a power vacuum that allowed the Thebans to reorganize the Boeotian League as an even more Thebes-centered federation than before. The Thebans established their political primacy through a series of military expansions and a major victory against Sparta at Leuctra. In this, the leadership of Epaminondas and Pelopidas proved crucial to Theban success. For these many reasons, Thebes came to political prominence in the fourth …show more content…
Pausanius, Description of Greece
2. J. Buckler, The Theban Hegemony 371-362 BC, Harvard University Press, First Edition (1980)
3. S. Hornblower, The Greek World 479-323 BC, ed. Fergus Millar, Methuen & Co. Ltd. (1983)
4. Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War
5. Lysias, xx
6. Xenophon, Memorabilia
7. P. Cartledge, Ancient Greece, Oxford University Press (2009)
8. Bret Mulligan, Athens 403: Social and Economic effects of the Peloponnesian war, Haverford College, URL= http://iris.haverford.edu/athens/2009/11/01/athens-403-social-and-economic-effects-of-the-peloponnesian-war/, accessed on 28-Nov-2013
9. Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica
10. Plutarch, Pelopidas
11. R. Sealey, A history of the Greek States 700-338 BC, University of California Press (1997)
12. T. Buckley, Aspects of Greek History 750-323 BC A source based approach, Routledge (1996)
13. K. Atkinson, Ancient Sparta: A Re-examination of the Evidence. Manchester University Press (1952)
14. Herodotus, The Histories
15. Aristotle, Politics
16. Cawkwell, G.L. Notes on the Peace of 375/4, Historia 12 (1963)
17. Martijn Moerbeek, Theban Hegemony, http://monolith.dnsalias.org/~marsares/history/classic4/thebes.html, accessed on 28-Nov-13
18. Plutarch, Agesilaos,
‘’The victory of the Thebans was the most famous of all those won by Greeks over Greeks’’1
This essay will look at the rise of Thebes to political prominence in Greece in the fourth century BC in a an analytical rather than chronological fashion, by considering both the decline of the major city states around Thebes as well as Theban advantages. It will draw on the format used by John Buckler2 by dividing the reasons for Thebes’ short hegemony (371-362 BC) into external factors including the weakening of Athens after the Peloponnesian war and the growing irrelevance of Sparta as a result of population decline and the inconclusive Corinthian …show more content…
From these developments we can deduce that the Athenians had come to see Thebes as the one of the most powerful states in Greece. They had, together with Sparta, singled out Thebes as the enemy. Clearly, Thebes and its Boeotian League had now come to be a political and military force to be dealt with. Theban hegemony had begun.
This essay has shown that the rise of Theban political power owes as much to external circumstances as internal factors. The decline of Spartan and Athenian power created a power vacuum that allowed the Thebans to reorganize the Boeotian League as an even more Thebes-centered federation than before. The Thebans established their political primacy through a series of military expansions and a major victory against Sparta at Leuctra. In this, the leadership of Epaminondas and Pelopidas proved crucial to Theban success. For these many reasons, Thebes came to political prominence in the fourth …show more content…
Pausanius, Description of Greece
2. J. Buckler, The Theban Hegemony 371-362 BC, Harvard University Press, First Edition (1980)
3. S. Hornblower, The Greek World 479-323 BC, ed. Fergus Millar, Methuen & Co. Ltd. (1983)
4. Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War
5. Lysias, xx
6. Xenophon, Memorabilia
7. P. Cartledge, Ancient Greece, Oxford University Press (2009)
8. Bret Mulligan, Athens 403: Social and Economic effects of the Peloponnesian war, Haverford College, URL= http://iris.haverford.edu/athens/2009/11/01/athens-403-social-and-economic-effects-of-the-peloponnesian-war/, accessed on 28-Nov-2013
9. Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica
10. Plutarch, Pelopidas
11. R. Sealey, A history of the Greek States 700-338 BC, University of California Press (1997)
12. T. Buckley, Aspects of Greek History 750-323 BC A source based approach, Routledge (1996)
13. K. Atkinson, Ancient Sparta: A Re-examination of the Evidence. Manchester University Press (1952)
14. Herodotus, The Histories
15. Aristotle, Politics
16. Cawkwell, G.L. Notes on the Peace of 375/4, Historia 12 (1963)
17. Martijn Moerbeek, Theban Hegemony, http://monolith.dnsalias.org/~marsares/history/classic4/thebes.html, accessed on 28-Nov-13
18. Plutarch, Agesilaos,