Do you know the strangest thing that happened in ancient Greece that most people do not know about?
From 378 BC - 371 BC, the Greek city-states of Sparta and Thebes were at war over influence over the rest of Greece. Eventually, in 371 BC, Athens organised a peace conference between the two warring factions.
As the peace conference was nearing finalisation, Sparta signed the treaty for itself and its allies, while Thebes signed it alone.
The night before the treaty was finalised, the Theban delegation decided that they should’ve signed in the names of their allies just like Sparta did to look somewhat stronger.
When they asked the Spartan delegation whether they could change their signature and swear for their allies, Sparta refused. In a fit of rage, Thebes walked out of the peace talks and decided to declare war on Sparta... AGAIN!!!
Most of Greece expected Thebes to be crushed because Sparta was seen as invincible.
However, the Theban General Epaminondas had a plan.
For centuries, Phalanxes were organised so that the strongest warriors would stand on the right, where they would receive the least amount of cover of their shields. It was how warfare was done for centuries at that point.
But Epaminondas decided to do this the other way around and have his strongest men on the Left side of the Phalanx so that they could attack Sparta’s strongest fighters. His gamble was that the rest of the line would fall if Sparta’s best fighters would fall.
Epaminondas’ strategy was put to the test in the Battle of Leuctra, and it worked.
With the collapse of the seemingly invincible Spartan Army, Thebes became the most powerful city in Ancient Greece for a decade—just because the inhabitants threw a tantrum over a technicality...
The article first appeared on Daily Journey.
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