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Epaminondas

File:Epaminondas_-_Temple_of_Ancient_Virtue,_Stowe_-_Buckinghamshire,_England_-_DSC07376_(cropped).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Epaminondas

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Also known as Epameinondas

thumb|Stater of the Boeotian League minted 364–362 BC by Epaminondas, whose name EΠ-AMI is inscribed on the reverse 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

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Epaminondas (418–362 BCE) was a male politician, military leader, and statesperson from Thebes during classical antiquity. He held the positions of strategos and Boeotarch in his city of citizenship. His field of work was military affairs, and he participated in the conflicts known as the Battle of Leuctra and the Battle of Mantinea. He died in Mantineia.

He spoke Ancient Greek and adhered to Ancient Greek religion. His name in the native language is Ἐπαμεινώνδας. He is described in sources including the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, the Granat Encyclopedic Dictionary, The Nuttall Encyclopædia, and Pauly–Wissowa.

Synthesized by Vinony from 27 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, Last.fm, Crossref, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Works
10

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Music · MusicBrainz

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Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
1
Total plays
5

<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Epaminondas">Read more on Last.fm</a>

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Quotes

  • You deceive your countrymen with words, in dissuading them from war, since under the name of peace you are bringing upon them slavery; for peace is procured by war, and they, accordingly, who would enjoy it long, ought to be trained to war. If therefore, my countrymen, you wish to be leaders of Greece, you must devote yourselves to the camp, not to the .
  • As to supposing that I am emulous of , you are mistaken; for he, with the support of all Greece, hardly took one city in ten years; I, on the contrary with the force of this one city of ours, and in one day, delivered all Greece by defeating the Lacedaemonians.
  • It was his habit to appear at all times with a well-groomed body and a cheerful countenance, but on the day after that battle he went forth unwashed and with a look of dejection. When his friends asked if anything distressing had befallen him, he said, "Nothing ; but yesterday I found myself feeling a pride greater than is well. Therefore to-day I am chastising my immoderate indulgence in rejoicing."
  • When the Spartans accused the Thebans of a long list of serious offences, he retorted, "These Thebans, however, have put a stop to your brevity of speech!"
  • When somebody reported that the Athenians had sent an army, decked out with novel equipment, into the Pelopennese, he said, "Why should Antigenidas cry if Tellen has a new flute or two?" (Tellen was the worst of flute-players, and Antigenidas the best.)
  • Learning that his shield-bearer had received a great deal of money from a man who had been taken captive in the war, he said to him, "Give me back my shield, and buy yourself a tavern in which to spend the rest of your days; for you will no longer be willing to face danger as before, now that you have become one of the rich and prosperous."

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

Key facts

Military person.name
Epaminondas
Military person.native_name
Ἐπαμεινώνδας
Military person.image
Epaminondas - Temple of Ancient Virtue, Stowe - Buckinghamshire, England - DSC07376 (cropped).jpg
Military person.caption
Epaminondas, depicted as an idealized figure on the grounds of Stowe House
Military person.birth_date
419 or 411&nbsp;BC
Military person.death_date
4 July 362&nbsp;BC (age about 53)
Military person.death_place
Near Mantineia, Peloponnese
Military person.allegiance
385 BC: Thebes
Military person.serviceyears
385 and 371–362 BC
Military person.rank
Boeotarch
Military person.battles
Siege of MantineaBattle of Leuctra

via Wikipedia infobox

~43 min read

Encyclopedic overview

29 sections
Contents
  • Historical sources
  • Early life
  • Political and military career
  • Background
  • Early career
  • Theban coup of 378 BC
  • Aftermath, 378–371 BC
  • Peace conference of 371 BC
  • Battle of Leuctra (371 BC)
  • Theban hegemony
  • First Invasion of the Peloponnese (370&nbsp;BC)
  • Trial
  • Second invasion of the Peloponnesus (369 BC)
  • Thessaly (368 BC)
  • Third invasion of the Peloponnesus (367&nbsp;BC)
  • Resistance to Thebes
  • Fourth invasion of the Peloponnesus (362&nbsp;BC)
  • Death
  • Assessments
  • Character
  • Military record
  • Legacy
  • Notes
  • References
  • Bibliography
  • Ancient sources
  • Modern sources
  • Further reading
  • External links

thumb|Stater of the Boeotian League minted 364–362 BC by Epaminondas, whose name EΠ-AMI is inscribed on the reverse 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 Second 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, such as the oblique order.

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, in later centuries the Roman orator Cicero called him "the first man of Greece", and in more recent times Michel de Montaigne judged him one of the three "worthiest and most excellent men" who had ever lived. The changes Epaminondas wrought on the Greek political order did not long outlive him, as the cycle of shifting hegemonies and alliances continued unabated. A mere twenty-seven years after his death, a recalcitrant Thebes was obliterated by Alexander the Great. Thus Epaminondas—who had been praised in his time as an idealist and liberator—is today largely remembered for a decade (371&nbsp;BC to 362&nbsp;BC) of campaigning that established a decade long Theban hegemony but also sapped the strength of the great city-states and paved the way for Macedonian hegemony.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Epaminondas” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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