Thebes: Forgotten City of Ancient Greece

A Brief Overview of Thebes’ History

Thebes was located in the region of central Greece called Boeotia. Cartledge quotes an anonymous ancient historian who describes the structure of Boeotian politics in the fourth century BC. Seventeen separate Boeotian cities were divided into eleven districts, each sending a representative called a Boeotarch to a council. Thebes sent two and controlled the appointment of a further two from other cities under their direct control. So Thebes was the most prominent and influential city in their territory, but unlike their rival Athens, they did not manage to completely centralize political power in their region for themselves. Other Boeotian cities could and did oppose Theban’s domination. Orchomenus was a long-standing rival for power with Thebes within Boeotia, and Platea was often a strong ally of Athens in opposition to Thebes. Although Thebes did produce historians of its own, none has survived antiquity so we must rely on foreign sources for much of its history. Without the ability to speak for themselves, Thebes usually appears as a secondary actor in major events of its day: backing the Persians in their invasion of 480, egging on the Spartans to destroy Athens at the end of the Peloponnesus war, etc. Cartledge notes with amusement that the Sparta-loving Athenian historian Xenophon doesn’t even mention Epaminondas and Pelopidas, the Theban leaders who orchestrated the destruction of Spartan hegemony in Greece at the battle of Leuctra, until after the battle was over in his narrative.

Thebes’ Mythical Poetry

One area in which other Greeks, especially Athenians, loved to write about Thebes was their mythical past. Founded when Cadmus sowed dragon’s teeth which grew into the fearsome Spartoi, Mythical Thebes boasted stories involving everyone from Dionysus to Hercules. But the most famous stories about Thebes today surround King Oedipus and his family. Cartledge’s discussion of Oedipus Tyrannus, Antigone, and Oedipus at Colonus and the possible political intentions of Sophocles in writing them is speculative but interesting. Written at a time of war between Athens and Thebes, the plague that sets in motion the plot of Oedipus Tyrannus would have been immensely evocative to a population ravaged by the plague themselves in the early years of the war. Similarly, Cartledge explores the impact the story of Antigone, Oedipus‘ daughter who is punished for ritually burying her brother against her uncle’s wishes in the aftermath of a brutal civil war, would have had on The Athenian mind, as well as more modern performances during times of conflict. He even goes so far as to suggest Oedipus as a stand-in for Pericles, the statesman who had led Athens into the destructive Peloponnesian war.

The Thebaid

Thebes would continue to be the setting for writers for many years, right up through the Roman poet Statius’ epic poem The Thebaid, detailing the war of the Seven Against Thebes. This was the civil war that resulted in the deaths of Antigone’s brothers. The highlight of Statius’ poem sees one of its heroes, Tydeus, going mad and eating the brain of his opponent in the middle of the battle, earning the enmity of the gods. For poetry written in Thebes, Cartledge focuses on Pindar, a lyric poet who wrote many odes to victorious Olympic champions, as well as other subjects. The discussion of his life and work in the book is interesting but I must admit that as a non-Geek speaker, Pindar’s poetry in translation has never much appealed to me. Hesiod, a Boeotian but not a Theban has always interested me more and gets his due attention here. The stories of the lives of poets in Ancient Greece always make for good reading both for what is probably true- the constant struggle for recognition, prizes in ceremonial competitions, and pay, and what probably isn’t- Hesiod being warned by an oracle that he would die in Nemea, so he traveled to Locris and died in the temple to Nemean Zeus.

Sacred Band of Thebes

One thing I was very surprised to learn was that the famous Sacred Band of Thebes was not a long-standing, ancient service, but a novel and short-lived innovation in Theban warfare during their brief run as the dominant military power in Greece. This Band, made up of 150 pairs of male lovers, was extremely unusual even in an Ancient Greek context. It was founded sometime in the early fourth century BC, and died out, possibly to a man, alongside Greek political independence at the battle of Chaeronea in 338, defeated by the Macedonians led by Alexander the Great’s father Philip. Three years later, Alexander, now king, ordered the destruction of Thebes as punishment for an attempted rebellion before he set out to conquer Persia.

Conclusion

The story of the spectacular rise and fall of Thebes throughout the fourth-century B.C.E. is as interesting as any other period of Greek history, with famous and charismatic leaders like the aforementioned Epaminondas and Pelopidas, the Spartan Agesilaus, and the Athenian Demosthenes. If you have any interest at all in Ancient Greek history, I would recommend this book.