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Phoebidas
Phoebidas ( el, Φοιβίδας) was a Spartan general who, in 382 BC, seized the Theban acropolis, thus giving Sparta control over Thebes. To punish his unauthorized action, Phoebidas was relieved of command. Nevertheless, the Spartans continued to hold Thebes. The Spartan king Agesilaus argued against punishing Phoebidas, on the grounds that his actions had benefitted Sparta, arguing that that was the only standard by which he should be judged.Fine, John V.A. ''The Ancient Greeks: A critical history'' (Harvard University Press, 1983) In 378 BC, Phoebidas was killed by Theban cavalry under the command of the Theban general Gorgidas, while serving as the harmost of Thespiae. Several years later, Phoebidas's actions appear to have been the model for a similar action by another general, Sphodrias, who attempted to seize Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region ...
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Agesilaus II
Agesilaus II (; grc-gre, Ἀγησίλαος ; c. 442 – 358 BC) was king of Sparta from c. 399 to 358 BC. Generally considered the most important king in the history of Sparta, Agesilaus was the main actor during the period of Spartan hegemony that followed the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC). Although brave in combat, Agesilaus lacked the diplomatic skills to preserve Sparta's position, especially against the rising power of Thebes, which reduced Sparta to a secondary power after its victory at Leuctra in 371 BC. Despite the traditional secrecy fostered by the Spartiates, the reign of Agesilaus is particularly well-known thanks to the works of his friend Xenophon, who wrote a large history of Greece (the '' Hellenica'') covering the years 411 to 362 BC, therefore extensively dealing with Agesilaus' rule. Xenophon furthermore composed a panegyric biography of his friend, perhaps to clean his memory from the criticisms voiced against him. Another historical tradition—much ...
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Sphodrias
Sphodrias ( el, Σφοδρίας) (d. 371 BC) was a Spartan general during the Spartan Hegemony over Greece. As governor of Thespiai in 378 BC, he made an unsuccessful attack against Athens without any order from Sparta. He was put on trial for this act, but unexpectedly acquitted, thanks to the support of the two Spartan kings, Cleombrotus I and Agesilaus II. This acquittal greatly upset Athens which rapidly concluded an alliance with Thebes against Sparta as a result. Sphodrias later died at the battle of Leuctra against Thebes in 371 BC. Life Sphodrias was a Spartan officer from the circle of the Agiad king Cleombrotus I (r. 380–371), who likely used his influence to appoint him harmost (military governor) of Thespiai in Boeotia, in central Greece.Cartledge, ''Agesilaos'', p. 136. In a night of March 378, Sphodrias attempted to take control of Piraeus—the harbour of Athens—during a surprise night attack, while a Spartan delegation was precisely in Athens to conduct neg ...
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Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement on the banks of the Eurotas River in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. Around 650 BC, it rose to become the dominant military land-power in ancient Greece. Given its military pre-eminence, Sparta was recognized as the leading force of the unified Greek military during the Greco-Persian Wars, in rivalry with the rising naval power of Athens. Sparta was the principal enemy of Athens during the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), from which it emerged victorious after the Battle of Aegospotami. The decisive Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC ended the Spartan hegemony, although the city-state maintained its political independence until its forced integration into the Achaean League in 192 BC. The city nevertheless ...
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Thebes (Greece)
Thebes or Thebae may refer to one of the following places: *Thebes, Egypt, capital of Egypt under the 11th, early 12th, 17th and early 18th Dynasties *Thebes, Greece, a city in Boeotia *Phthiotic Thebes or Thessalian Thebes, an ancient city at Nea Anchialos *Thebae (Cilicia), a town of ancient Cilicia, now in Turkey *Thebes (Ionia), in Asia Minor *Cilician Thebe, a.k.a. Thebe Hypoplakia, a mythological city in the Trojan Cilicia, near the Troad *Thebes, Illinois, a village in the United States See also *Thebe (other) Thebe may refer to: * Any of several female characters in Greek mythology - see List of mythological figures named Thebe * Thebe (moon), a moon of Jupiter * Thebe (currency), 1/100 of a Botswana pula * Thebe, an Amazon * Thebe, alternate name for ...
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Gorgidas
Gorgidas (Ancient Greek: Γοργίδας) was the first known Theban military leader of the Sacred Band of Thebes around 378 BC. Plutarch in his ''Life of Pelopidas'' mentions Gorgidas for the first time when the pro-Spartan polemarch Leontidas took over with a Spartan army and forced the pro-Athens aristocrats and supporters to leave Thebes for good in 382 BC. They later came back in 379–378 BC to take back their city and kill the tyrants. Also in ''Life of Pelopidas'', Plutarch credits Gorgidas with the creation of the Sacred Band, which he dispersed at first throughout the front ranks of the regular infantry, with the idea that they would inspire valour. However, they were later arrayed by Pelopidas as a unit in order to make their gallantry more conspicuous.Plutarch, ''Life of Pelopidas'', 18.1 and 19.3 Cultural references * In the Videssos Cycle by Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in t ...
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Harmost
Harmost ( el, , "joiner" or "adaptor") was a Spartan term for a military governor. The Spartan general Lysander instituted several harmosts during the period of Spartan hegemony after the end of the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC. They were sent into their subject or conquered towns, partly to keep them in submission, and partly to abolish the democratic form of government, and establish oligarchy, oligarchies instead. Although in many cases they were ostensibly sent for the purpose of abolishing the tyrannical government of a town and restoring freedom, they were accused of acting like kings or tyrants themselves, such that the first century AD grammarian Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Dionysius thought that harmost was merely another word for "king". In the peace of Antalcidas the Lacedaemonians pledged to reestablish free governments in their subject towns, but they nevertheless continued to install harmosts in them. Even Xenophon, generally pro-Spartan, censured the Spartans for th ...
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Thespiae
Thespiae ( ; grc, Θεσπιαί, Thespiaí) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek city (''polis'') in Boeotia. It stood on level ground commanded by the low range of hills which run eastward from the foot of Mount Helicon to Thebes, Greece, Thebes, near modern Thespies. History In the ancient Greece#History, history of ancient Greece, Thespiae was one of the cities of the federal league known as Boeotia, the Boeotian League. Several traditions agree that the Boeotians were a people expelled from Ancient Thessaly, Thessaly some time after the mythical Trojan War, and who colonised the Boeotian plain over a series of generations, of which the occupation of Thespiae formed a later stage. Other traditions suggest that they were of Mycenaeans, Mycenean origin. Archaic period In the Archaic period the Thespian nobility was heavily dependent on Thebes. This possibly reflected that land ownership was concentrated in the hands of a small number of nobles, and therefore there was difficul ...
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Polyaenus
Polyaenus or Polyenus ( ; see ae (æ) vs. e; grc-gre, Πoλύαινoς, Polyainos, "much-praised") was a 2nd-century CE Greek author, known best for his ''Stratagems in War'' ( grc-gre, Στρατηγήματα, Strategemata), which has been preserved. He was born in Bithynia. The ''Suda'' calls him a rhetorician, and Polyaenus himself writes that he was accustomed to plead causes before the Roman emperor. Polyaenus dedicated ''Stratagems in War'' to the two emperors Marcus Aurelius () and Lucius Verus (), while they were engaged in the Roman–Parthian War of 161–166, about 163, at which time he was too old to accompany them in their campaigns. Stratagems This work is divided into eight books: the first six contain accounts of the stratagems of the most celebrated Greek generals, the seventh book contains stratagems of non Greeks and Romans, and the eighth book those of the Romans and of illustrious women. Parts, however, of the sixth and seventh books are lost, so that of t ...
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Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf. The municipality of Piraeus and four other suburban municipalities form the regional unit of Piraeus, sometimes called the Greater Piraeus area, with a total population of 448,997. At the 2011 census, Piraeus had a population of 163,688 people, making it the fifth largest municipality in Greece2011 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS, HELLENIC STATISTICAL AUTHORITY, http://www.statistics.gr/documents/20181/1215267/A1602_SAM01_DT_DC_00_2011_03_F_EN.pdf/cb10bb9f-6413-4129-b847-f1def334e05e and the second largest (after the municipality of Athens) within the Athens urban area. Piraeus has a long recorded history, dating back to ancient Greece. The city was founded in the early 5th century BC, when plans to make it the new port of Athens ...
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Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenary armies of the Achaemenid Empire, the Ten Thousand, that marched on and came close to capturing Babylon in 401 BC. As the military historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge wrote, "the centuries since have devised nothing to surpass the genius of this warrior". Xenophon established precedents for many logistical operations, and was among the first to describe strategic flanking maneuvers and feints in combat. Xenophon's ''Anabasis (Xenophon), Anabasis'' recounts his adventures with the Ten Thousand while in the service of Cyrus the Younger, Cyrus's failed campaign to claim the Persian throne from Artaxerxes II of Persia, and the return of Greek mercenaries after Cyrus's death in the Battle of Cunaxa. ''Anabasis ...
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Henry Graham Dakyns
Henry Graham Dakyns, often H. G. Dakyns (1838–1911), was a British translator of Ancient Greek, best known for his translations of Xenophon: the ''Cyropaedia'' and ''Hellenica'', ''The Economist'', '' Hiero'' and ''On Horsemanship''. Life Henry Graham Dakyns was born on Saint Vincent in the West Indies, the second son of Thomas Henry Dakyns of Rugby, Warwickshire. His mother Harriet Dasent was the sister of George Webbe Dasent, translator of the Icelandic sagas. He was educated at Rugby School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated BA in 1860. Dakyns was a tutor for Lord Alfred Tennyson's children, and subsequently House Master and Assistant Master at Clifton College from 1862 to 1889. Though he never played himself, he started the Rugby Football Club at Clifton College. Graham had numerous correspondences with Tennyson and his wife, Henry Sidgwick, John Addington Symonds and T.E. Brown and other nineteenth century literary figures. Translations *Agesilaus, Projec ...
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378 BC Deaths
__NOTOC__ Year 378 ( CCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valens and Augustus (or, less frequently, year 1131 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 378 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Spring – Emperor Valens returns to Constantinople and mobilises an army (40,000 men). He appoints Sebastianus, newly arrived from Italy, as ''magister militum'' to reorganize the Roman armies in Thrace. * February – The Lentienses (part of the Alemanni) cross the frozen Rhine and raid the countryside. They are driven back by Roman ''auxilia palatina'' (Celtae and Petulantes), who defend the western frontier. * May – Battle of Argentovaria: Emperor Gratian is forced to recall the army he has se ...
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