The early philosopher Heraclitus sees in war one of the natural forces that produces contrast and never-ending transformation.
The Athenian sage and lawgiver Solon recognizes in civil strife and war and the deaths of young men the inevitable consequence of elite abuse of power. Tyrtaeus, the mid-seventh-century elegist, composed songs that became “hits,” celebrating the hero’s beautiful death and urging the Spartans to fight bravely to protect their families and community. 1 Homer’s Iliad is an epic about war and how it affects those who fight it. Historians, eagerly wishing commissions and patronage would have skewed the history to make Thebes the grandest Classical city, live on that way, not those merchant-nazi Athenians, or the ant-men of Sparta.Almost all Greek authors, from Homer to Plato and beyond, deal with war and its impact, some more intensely and directly than others, but war seems an ever-present reality.
The Theban hegemony may have grown powerful enough to control Thessaly to Corcyra and Illyria, then turned west instead of east . Maybe Alexander dies on the spear points of the Sacred Band, and Macedon is crushed by one of Pelopidas' sons. Theban Medizing may have been written as a neccessary expense of survival after the Pelopponesians cowardly abandoned them to man their futile wall across the isthmus, and the cowardly Athneians fled to their island. If Sparta have been rubbed out and Thebes had beaten back Macedon and lived on for centuries and become a hub of learning and scholarship then maybe the histories would have been written differently. Sparta, despite defeat survived the Macedonian conquests (barely), and at a lower form of existance survived until they were annexed by Rome. After being sacked the population dispersed. The answer is so simple Thebes was wiped out by Alexander. I can't remember is Spartans had also started shaving by this time? We know that red had become a very popular tunic colour by then. Maybe by the time of Leuctra the Thebans and Spartans looked very similar. All surviving Theban steles show them wearing Pilos helmets. To add to the puzzle, no one knows for certain which helmet the Boeotian style is. I seem to remember the cavalry also painted their helmets white? We know the Thebans had the club emblem on their shields at Leuctra, I believe their allies did too. Ive read an interesting argument that initially this may only have been on state issued shields, to show the bearer did not own it and the state did. We know the Spartans introduced the uniform shield emblem at some point, but no one can agree when. During the siege of Plataea they smeared their bodies and faces with oil so they could distinguish themselves from the Plataeans. We know the Athenians did not use uniform shield designs. Uniform shield designs were only used in battles where Greeks were fighting other Greeks, to stop them from killing each other in the confusion of battle (which is recorded many times). The best Wargames coverage of them is probably in Charles Grant's old "Ancient Wargaming" book. Spartans had rigid manly discipline, the Thebans had the Sacred Band.Įpaminondas and the Theban army perhaps should have a greater presence in the Wargames psyche, after all Frederick the Great seemed to have learned a thing or two from them but does it matter? Wargamers reflect the wider world and I bet if you asked around many non-historians or gamers would have a cursory knowledge of the Spartans but how many would have heard of the Thebans? So I don't think its surprising. On the other hand Thebans allied with the Persians (therefore any threat from the east since then- Persians, Ottomans, Islam or god-less Communism. Perhaps many see the Spartans as some sort of heroic freedom loving embodiment of the west. Spartans are credited with the saving of western civilisation- at least by Hollywood. Maybe its because everyone likes a bunch of baddies, the Spartans fit the bill with their child friendly policies and suspicious red and black colour schemes. Also Spartans with their fancy cloaks, uniform shield designs (allegedly) and frequent appearances in miniature raanges are familiar whilst the Thebans who bested them are largely invisible. I think the issue is how come Spartans are a common army to see on the table whilst Thebans are scarce. I appreciate the original posters sentiments to some degree.