Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece - Chapter 635
“Oh, that shrewd Phoebidas!”
Apart from Cheirisophus, who came to Thurii many times to negotiate, the Spartan that the officials of the Ministry of Military were most familiar with was Phoebidas. But in the hearts of the Theonians, his image can be said to be infamous as apart from participating and leading the army of Syracuse to invade Theonia in the battle of South Italia, he also planned the massacre of Dionysius’ family. So even though the Theonians hated Dionysius, Phoebidas’ betrayal and deceit made them more disgusted.
“Your majesty, what is Phoebidas doing?” Tolmides asked curiously.
“The Gerousia appointed him as the supreme commander against the Chalkidiki League,” Davos said.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Currently, Phoebidas, who several military officials of Theonia were talking about, is leading a large group through the Isthmus of Corinth. His mission was to lead Sparta’s main force to the Chalkidiki Peninsula to help Macedonia take back their lost land, defeat Olynthus and break up the Chalkidiki League.
Initially, Phoebidas wasn’t the one tasked to carry out this extremely important mission because even though the Gerousia was the one who ordered the ambush of Dionysius, some Spartan elders were disgusted with Phoebidas’ implementation. Thus they opposed letting him lead the army. It was only through Agesilaus’ insistence that he finally got this appointment.
As their army was about to enter the Boeotia region, Phoebidas repeatedly reminded the various officers to be vigilant and cautious. That was because, after the end of the Corinthian War, Thebes was the last city-state to accept the King’s Peace treaty. Naturally, the Theban was thoroughly dissatisfied with Sparta after getting forced to break the Boeotian League that they had worked hard for. And even though Thebes didn’t provoke any actions against Sparta recently, Phoebidas didn’t dare to relax his vigilance so as not to betray Agesilaus’ trust.
After passing through the ruins of Plataea, the Spartan troops were almost near Thebes’ territory.
As it was already getting late, Phoebidas ordered the troops to camp on the spot.
Just as they were busy setting up camp, a mysterious man came from Thebes and insisted on meeting Phoebidas.
After getting led into the main tent, the man greeted Phoebidas respectfully and said, “Esteemed strategos Phoebidas, I am a servant of Leontiades.”
Phoebidas naturally knew who Leontiades was.
Although Thebes hated Sparta, not everyone did. Just like how the citizens of Athens and Corinth had pro-Spartans, so did Thebes. Because of their internal propaganda, Thebes finally accepted the King’s Peace treaty. And because of Sparta’s increasing might, Thebes has to re-instate the pro-Spartans they had suppressed to not provoke the Spartans and show them that Thebes is friendly to Sparta. And Leontiades was the head of the pro-Spartan faction, and he was also one of the archons of Thebes this year(Thebes also uses dual archonship.)
After Phoebidas confirmed the Persian silver mask that Agesilaus gifted to Leontiades six months ago, Phoebidas’ stern expression softened as he asked, “Why did Leontiades send you?”
The slave, however, didn’t speak. Instead, he glanced at the guards on both sides.
Phoebidas immediately understood it but said loudly, “They are the brave warriors of Sparta and are my comrades; there is nothing I keep secret from them!”
After hearing that, the servant said, “Strategos, my master wants to invite you to lead your troops to attack Thebes’ citadel.”
Even though Leontiades was elected as archon, the anti-Spartan faction accounted for the vast majority of the Council and the ecclesia, resulting in his authority being significantly constrained. After feeling humiliated, the proud man was determined to change this embarrassing political situation.
So when he saw that a Spartan army was close by, and it just so happened that the Day of the Mother Earth of Thebes (Celebration of Demeter) where the citadel would be left unguarded and given to the women to celebrate the festival, Leontiades took a risk by deciding to unite with the Spartans, capture Thebes’ citadel, capture the anti-Spartans, and ultimately take control of Thebes. (On the day of Thebes’ Mother Earth’s Day, the women of the city who had been working hard at home can celebrate in the citadel. But because they are forced to stay home all year round, they would become unrestrained on this day of freedom, so the city’s men would avoid them. This celebration is similar to that of Dionysia.)
Phoebidas was shocked after listening to the servant’s detailed narration.
As he pondered, the Spartan adjutant interjected, “Phoebidas, the task given to us by the Gerousia is to head to Chalkidiki and attack Olynthus, not to go and rashly attack Thebes and start a new war without the Gerousia’s permission.”
Hearing this, the servant looked anxiously at the commander of the Spartan army.
If Phoebidas was just an ordinary Spartan strategos, he might strictly follow the Gerousia’s order without cutting corners. But Phoebidas is different. He was already daring enough before, but in the days he spent with Dionysius in the South-Italian War, he learned more about the cunning and viciousness of achieving his goals at any cost. Hence he said in a low tone, “Tharex, after the Peloponnesian War, the Spartan army could freely enter and leave central Greece. But after the last war, we needed to obtain consent from several important city-states in central Greece before we could lead our armies to pass through them. Otherwise, we had to take a boat to northern Greece. Do you know why that was the case?”
The adjutant named Tharex said without thinking, “It is because Athens, Thebes…these Greek city-states who opposed us.”
“So you can see that it was the blockade of Athens and Thebes on us that had restricted Sparta’s action on the Peloponnesian Peninsula. Thus we need to make Thebes an ally of Sparta again, which is far more important than attacking Chalkidiki, which was a thousand kilometres away! Now that we are close to Thebes’ territory, yet the Thebans are still going to hold the celebration, it is clear they think we will lead an army to northern Greece hence why there are completely lax. So if we miss this great opportunity, it will become our regret!” When Phoebidas spoke this, he clenched his fist, and a greedy glint appeared in his eyes.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Thebes is on the plain south of lake Yliki, and its city is stuck on the main road to western central Greece and Northern Greece, with mountains stretching 300 to 400 metres above sea level on both the east and west. Thebes also relied on the fertility of the plains south of the lake and the trade that resulted from its convenient transportation, making it one of the major city-state of Greece itself.
Thebes’ citadel, called Cadmea, was built atop a goose-egg-shaped plateau and was one of the largest citadels among the city-states in central Greece. Due to its topography, Thebes was rectangular in shape, long from north to south and narrow from east to west, with the citadel almost immediately adjacent to the city’s eastern wall near the mountain range.
On Mother Earth’s Day.
Phoebidas led some troops to hide covertly in the mountains on the east side of Thebes. After Leontiades used his authority to remove the guards at the eastern gates, Phoebidas led his troops into the city and quickly captured the citadel, which was in a precarious but undefended position.
On the other hand, the Theban council, composed of nobles, was threatened and held by the vagabonds and scoundrels employed by Leontiades, so they couldn’t summon the citizens to resist in time.
Afterwards, the pro-Spartans formed an armed force to attack the southern city gate of Thebes, opened the gate, let the rest of the Spartan troops in, and led them to hunt and kill all the anti-Spartans wantonly into the city, plunging the city with cries and chaos.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
During the Spartans’ attack on Thebes, Pelopidas was attending a banquet hosted by Charon at his home.
Charon is a famous, wealthy merchant in Thebes that has many friends due to his straightforward personality. For the reason that ‘If women can revel in the citadel on Mother Earth’s Day, then we men must not treat ourselves unfairly.’ he invited them to his home.
Epaminondas, however, wasn’t included in the list as even though he was already thirty-seven years old, he remained obsessed with learning and would rarely take the initiative to participate in political matters and didn’t like making friends. Hence, he wasn’t famous in Thebes. However, since he was Pelopidas’ close friend, Pelopidas forced him to come to the banquet.
At the banquet, Epaminondas had sat explicitly in the corner, quietly tasting the food and listening to the other guest’s discussion.
Pelopidas, on the other hand, was energetic, articulate well, quick-thinker and knowledgeable, so he was the most eye-catching among the rest. In addition, since he actively participated in politics when he became an adult, he was still young yet already held an important position in the city-state and was the most active person among the anti-Spartans. Thus many people gathered around him.
Halfway through the banquet, a friend of theirs burst inside. He then told them that Spartans had entered the city and begun their massacre together with the members of the pro-Spartan faction.
This alarming news naturally caused great confusion at the banquet.
Pelopidas was the first to respond and cried out, “We must quickly gather the citizens to expel the Spartans! Who will come with me?!”
But no one responded.
Disappointed at their inaction, Pelopidas turned around and walked out, only to be stopped by Epaminondas, “My friend, calm yourself! Just now, Phileadas clearly stated that Leontiades had conspired with the Spartans, making it easier for the Spartan army to enter the city. This was a carefully conspired plan, and with the Spartans already occupying the citadel and with the assistance of the traitors, it was impossible for the frightened citizens to fight against those vicious Spartan warriors without preparation. So if you go out now, you will just become food for the hungry wolves!”
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