Ancient Greece in the Era of the Attempt to Impose Theban Hegemony (371–362 BC)

Authors:

Pages: 9-36
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/JOAB7133

Abstract:

The era of Theban hegemony lasted no more than ten years, but to a large extent it paved the way for the gradual imposition of Macedonian hegemony over Greece in the following decades. The analysis of the historical processes that took place during this period and of the causal relations between them is possible only after their chronological tracking. Thebes’s attempt to impose its hegemony over Greece led to the degradation of Sparta after the separation of Messenia from it. The Persian influence in the Hellenic poleis increased due to the friendly relations between the Thebans and the Persians. The era of Theban hegemony in Greece, which can also be defined as an attempt at hegemony, and not a real one, is a period of continuous wars that covered the whole of Greece. These wars exhausted the Hellenic poleis and largely led to the imposition of Macedonian rule, because it turned out that there was no real contender among the powerful Hellenic poleis who could unite Greece around him and lead the resistance against the extremely aggressive policy of Philip II. Thebes’s attempt to become the hegemon of Greece is indicative of the main problem facing any such endeavour. It encountered fierce resistance from the other Hellenic poleis because it contradicted the basic functional principle of the polis as a state and political structure, namely the principle of autonomy.

Keywords:

Thebes; hegemony; Sparta; Greece; poleis; autonomy.

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