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Pelopidas
Pelopidas (; ; died 364 BC) was an important Theban statesman and general in Greece, instrumental in establishing the mid-fourth century Theban hegemony. Biography Athlete and warrior Pelopidas was a member of a distinguished family and possessed great wealth, which he expended on his friends and on public service while he himself was content to lead the rough life of an athlete.T Duff ed., ''Plutarch: The Age Of Alexander'' (Penguin 2011) p. 48-9 In 384 BC, he served in a Theban contingent sent to the support of the Spartans during the Siege of Mantinea, where he was dangerously wounded by the Arcadians, but was saved by Epaminondas and Agesipolis. ::Pelopidas, after receiving seven wounds in front, sank down upon a great heap of friends and enemies who lay dead together; but Epaminondas, although he thought him lifeless, stood forth to defend his body and his arms, and fought desperately, single-handed against many, determined to die rather than leave Pelopidas lying ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sacred Band Of Thebes
The Sacred Band of Thebes (Ancient Greek: , ) was an elite heavy infantry of select soldiers, allegedly consisting of 150 pairs of Homosexuality in ancient Greece, male couples which formed the elite force of the Ancient Thebes (Boeotia), Theban army in the 4th century BC, ending Spartan domination. Its predominance began with its crucial role in the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC. It was annihilated by Philip II of Macedon in the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC), Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. Formation The earliest surviving record of the Sacred Band by name was in 324 BC, in the Attic orators, oration ''Against Demosthenes'' by the Athenian logographer Dinarchus. He mentions the Sacred Band as being led by the general Pelopidas and, alongside Epaminondas who commanded the army of Thebes (Boeotia), were responsible for the defeat of the Spartans at the decisive Battle of Leuctra (371 BC). Plutarch (46–120 AD), a native of the village of Chaeronea, is the source of the most s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epaminondas
Epaminondas (; ; 419/411–362 BC) was a Greeks, Greek general and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek polis, city-state of Thebes, Greece, Thebes, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a pre-eminent position in Greek politics called the Theban Hegemony. In the process, he broke Spartan military power with his victory at Battle of Leuctra, Leuctra and liberated the Messenian helots, a group of Peloponnesian Greeks who had been enslaved under Spartan rule for some 230 years following their defeat in the Third Messenian War ending in 600 BC. Epaminondas reshaped the political map of Greece, fragmented old alliances, created new ones, and supervised the construction of entire cities. He was also militarily influential and invented and implemented several important battlefield tactics. Xenophon, the historian and contemporary, is the main source for Epaminondas's military prowess, and Xenophon describes his admiration for him in h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epaminondas Defending Pelopidas
Epaminondas (; ; 419/411–362 BC) was a Greek general and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek city-state of Thebes, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a pre-eminent position in Greek politics called the Theban Hegemony. In the process, he broke Spartan military power with his victory at Leuctra and liberated the Messenian helots, a group of Peloponnesian Greeks who had been enslaved under Spartan rule for some 230 years following their defeat in the Third Messenian War ending in 600 BC. Epaminondas reshaped the political map of Greece, fragmented old alliances, created new ones, and supervised the construction of entire cities. He was also militarily influential and invented and implemented several important battlefield tactics. Xenophon, the historian and contemporary, is the main source for Epaminondas's military prowess, and Xenophon describes his admiration for him in his major work ''Hellenica'' (book VII, chap. 5, 19). Accordingly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Tegyra
{{Campaignbox Greek wars of the 4th century BC The Battle of Tegyra (375 BC) (also known as the Battle of Tegyrae)Plutarch, ' was an ancient Greek battle between Theban and Spartan hoplite forces. In the battle, a Theban army under Pelopidas was challenged by a substantially larger Spartan force while retreating from an abortive attack on Orchomenus, but successfully attacked and routed the Spartans. The battle marked the first occasion in the historical record in which a Spartan force had been defeated by a numerically inferior enemy in a set battle (as opposed to irregular warfare, employed by Iphicrates). Prelude After an insurrection in 379/8 BC removed Spartan control over Thebes, the city set about reestablishing its control over the Boeotian League. Over several years of campaigning, the Thebans succeeded in driving Spartan garrisons out of every city in Boeotia but Orchomenus. In 376 BC, Pelopidas, learning that the Spartan garrison of Orchomenus had gone on an exped ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Of Pherae
Alexander () was Tyrant or Despot of Pherae in Thessaly, ruling from 369 to 356 BC. Following the assassination of Jason, the tyrant of Pherae and Tagus of Thessaly, in 370 BC, his brother Polyphron ruled for a year, but he was then poisoned by Alexander who assumed power himself. Alexander governed tyrannically and was constantly seeking to control Thessaly and the kingdom of Macedonia. He also engaged in piratical raids on Attica. Alexander was murdered by Tisiphonus, Lycophron and Peitholaus, the brothers of his wife, Thebe, as it was said that she lived in fear of her husband and hated Alexander's cruel and brutal character. Reign The accounts of how Alexander came to power vary somewhat in minor points. Diodorus Siculus tells us that upon the assassination of the tyrant Jason of Pherae, in 370 BC, his brother Polydorus ruled for a year, but he was then poisoned by Alexander, another brother.Diodorus Siculus, xv. 60-61 However, according to Xenophon, Polydorus was murde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Leuctra
The Battle of Leuctra (, ) was fought on 6 July 371 BC between the Boeotians led by the Thebes (Greece), Thebans, and the History of Sparta, Spartans along with their allies amidst the post–Corinthian War conflict. The battle took place in the vicinity of Leuctra, a village in Boeotia in the territory of Thespiae. The Theban victory shattered Sparta's immense influence over the Greek peninsula, which Sparta had gained with its victory in the Peloponnesian War a generation earlier. Prelude In 371 BC, the newly established democracy of Thebes had elected four Boeotarchs, the traditional title of the generals of the Boeotia, Boeotian League, and so proclaimed their intention of reconstituting the aforementioned league that Sparta had disbanded.Tritle 1987, p. 80 During this period, Thebes had an ally in Athens, but Athens was far from happy with the treatment Plataea had received. When it came to swearing an oath to respect the treaty, Sparta swore on behalf of itself and its al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siege Of Mantinea
The siege of Mantinea occurred in 385 BC, and resulted in a victory of the Spartans over the city of Mantinea, which was defeated and dismembered. Spartans wanted to ensure that Mantinea could not be a threat, and forced them to take down their walls but they refused. With that excuse, the spartans diverted the river onto the walls by breaking dams and digging canals to make them crumble, since mantineans wouldn't come out and were able to resist a siege for many months ahead. Once trapped in the flooded city they had to fight, and the spartans pushed the theban forces on the forefront only to attack with their cavalry at the end and finish the enemy. On this occasion, Epaminondas, then fighting on the side of the Spartans, famously rescued his fellow Theban Pelopidas. Mantinea had been opposed to the Spartans in the Peloponesian War. As a result, Mantinea first fell in 417 BC, and it was then destroyed in the siege of 385 BC. However, the Arcadians were able to recover and re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parallel Lives
* Culture of ancient Greece Culture of ancient Rome Ancient Greek biographical works Ethics literature History books about ancient Rome Cultural depictions of Gaius Marius Cultural depictions of Mark Antony Cultural depictions of Cicero Depictions of Julius Caesar in literature Cultural depictions of Pompey Cultural depictions of Marcus Junius Brutus Cultural depictions of Marcus Licinius Crassus Cultural depictions of Theseus Cultural depictions of Romulus and Remus Cultural depictions of Cato the Younger Cultural depictions of Sulla Cultural depictions of Alexander the Great The ''Parallel Lives'' (, ''Bíoi Parállēloi''; ) is a series of 48 biographies of famous men written in Greek by the Greco-Roman philosopher, historian, and Apollonian priest Plutarch, probably at the beginning of the second century. The lives are arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings. While any historically valuable similarities are often forced, these ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thebes, Greece
Thebes ( ; , ''Thíva'' ; , ''Thêbai'' .) is a city in Boeotia, Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece, and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is the largest city in Boeotia and a major center for the area along with Livadeia and Tanagra. It played an important role in Greek myths, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus, Heracles and others. One myth had the city founded by Agenor, which gave rise to the (now somewhat obscure) name "Agenorids" to denote Thebans. Archaeological excavations in and around Thebes have revealed a Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaean settlement and clay tablets written in the Linear B script, indicating the importance of the site in the Bronze Age. Thebes was the largest city of the ancient region of Boeotia and was the leader of the Boeotian confederacy. It was a major rival of Classical Athens, ancient Athens, and sided with the Achaemenid Empire, Persians during the Second Persian invasi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oblique Order
The oblique order (also known as the 'declined flank') is a military tactic whereby an attacking army focuses its forces to attack a single enemy flank. The force commander concentrates the majority of their strength on one flank and uses the remainder to fix the enemy line. This allows a commander with weaker or equal forces to achieve a local superiority in numbers. The commander can then try to defeat the enemy in detail. It has been used by numerous successful generals. Oblique order requires disciplined troops able to execute complex maneuvers in varied circumstances. Detail In the oblique order attack, the commander of the army would intentionally weaken one portion of the line to concentrate their troops elsewhere. They would then create an angled or oblique formation, refuse the weakened flank and attack the strongest flank of the enemy with a concentration of force. Once the critical flank was secure, the commander would wheel the troops 90 degrees to roll up the enemy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
