The Ancient Greek Power Thebes

Greek Hoplite

The City of Thebes: Ancient History of Greece

              I wanted to do a piece of research on the city of Thebes- it was a favorite middle and high school topic of mine – it was great! The city of Thebes was the third great power of Greece- until Macedon conquered all of Greece and created its empire.

              The ancient city of Thebes was a third power in Greece that was mainly dominated by Sparta and Athens. It had great geography, defensively, offensively, and economically. They also Broke the Persians in the Persian War gaining great power over Greece. At one point they were occupied by Athens. The ancient city of Thebes was geographically advantages, fought in the Greek Persian War and broke the Sparta- Theban axis.

              The geography of Thebes included being surrounded by mountains, rivers and fertile plains for farming. Nearby they add the Boeotians, Plataea and the coast. The mountains gave them protection from Enemies- and more easily defendable passages for their hoplites to crush invading armies. The rivers gave them access to water and trade routes. The fertile land allowed them to build stable communities, towns and cities as well as create amazingly productive farms. The land was created for creating a thriving community and defending it- they were a major contributor to the Persian- Greek War. [1]

              The city of Thebes was faced with issues related to the Persian Greek War – and local interdynamics. The story of Thebes started in the 5th century BC during the Persian- Greek war. Persia invaded Greece due to Athens support of the Persian rebels in Western Asia. Athens and Platea worked together to fight off the Persians. Afterward- during the Athenian versus Spartan Alliance war- 430-450BCE Thebes was occupied – which was a major humiliation for Thebes- considering it was one of the bigger powers in the region. The city of Thebes was very strong; however, it was temporarily occupied by Athens. [2]

              The city of Thebes broke the Greece Versus Sparta axis. The city of Thebes eventually broke Greece’s Sparta versus Athenians rivalry axis- Becoming the dominant power over Greece- for a period of 16 years. Compared to Athenians Oligarchy, and Sparta’s Monarchy- Thebes was a rare democracy in the Greek world. Thebes fought of Sparta- after they had beaten Athens in a mutually destructive war- controlling all of Greece for 16 years before Alexander the Great invaded Greece and started his legendary campaigns against Persia, and India.[3]

              The ancient city of Thebes was a rare democracy in Greece- however its kings had many issues- including patricide. The geography of Thebes was legendary and highly advantageous for the city to gain power from its nearby territories. It fought in the Greek Persian War- afterward it was occupied by Athens in ~ 450 BCE. The city was the third and final power in Greece- breaking the Athens – Sparta axis in Greece after their long war – before shortly being conquered by the Macedonians. Thebes was a rare and different power in Greece that eventually reached the pinnacle controlling all of Greece- before shortly becoming a victim of Alexander the Great’s conquests.  

Citations:

Cartledge, Paul. Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece. 1st ed. New York, NY: Abrams, Inc, 2020.

Symeonoglou, Sarantis. The Topography of Thebes from the Bronze Age to Modern Times. 1st ed. Vol. 415. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400857678.

“Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece” Review: Mythic Roots. Dow Jones Institutional News. New York: Dow Jones & Company Inc, 2020.

“THEBES: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece.” Kirkus Reviews (New York, N.Y.: 1991). Austin: Kirkus Media LLC, 2020.

Torrance, Isabelle. Aeschylus: Seven Against Thebes. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781472539618.

1.       [1] “THEBES: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece.” Kirkus Reviews (Austin: Kirkus Media LLC, 1991).

1.       [2] Paul Cartledge, Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece, 1st ed. (New York: Abrams, Inc., 2020).

1.       [3] A. E. Stallings, “‘Thebes: The Forgotten City of Ancient Greece’ Review: Mythic Roots; Spartans and Athenians Thought of Thebans as Uncivilized, but under Epaminondas They Became Beacons of Greek Culture,” Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition, 2020.

Greek Hoplite