Battle of Leuctra

Part of the post-Peloponnesian War conflicts

Date	July 6, 371 BC
Location	Boeotia
Result	Decisive Theban victory

Belligerents

Boeotian League (Thebes)

Sparta

Commanders and leaders

Epaminondas

Cleombrotus I †

Strength

6,000–7,000 hoplites
1,500 cavalry

10,000–11,000 hoplites
1,000 cavalry

Casualties and losses

300 according to Diodorus, 47 according to Pausanias

1,000 according to Xenophon, 4,000+ According to Diodorus

Coordinates: 38°25′N 23°5′E / 38.417°N 23.083°E / 38.417; 23.083

The Battle of Leuctra (Greek: Λεῦκτρα, Leûktra) was a battle fought on July 6, 371 BC, between the Boeotians led by Thebans and the Spartans along with their allies amidst the post-Corinthian War conflict. The battle took place in the neighbourhood of Leuctra, a village in Boeotia in the territory of Thespiae. The Theban victory shattered Sparta’s immense influence over the Greek peninsula, which Sparta had gained since its victory in the Peloponnesian War.

In 371 BC, the newly established democracy of Thebes had elected 4 Boeotarchs, the traditional title of the generals of the Boeotian League, and so proclaimed their intention of reconstituting the aforementioned league that Sparta had disbanded. During this period, Thebes had had an ally in Athens, but Athens was far from happy with the treatment Plataea had received. When it came to swearing an oath to respect the treaty, Sparta swore on behalf of herself and her allies. When Epaminondas came forward, asking to swear on behalf of the whole Boeotian League, the Spartans refused, saying he could swear as the representative of Thebes or not at all. This Epaminondas refused. (According to Xenophon, the Thebans signed as "the Thebans", and asked the next day to change their signature to "the Boeotians", but the Spartan king, Agesilaus, would not allow it.) In this, Sparta saw an opportunity to reassert her shaky authority in central Greece. Hence, the Spartan king, Cleombrotus I, marched to war from Phocis.

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