The Probert Encyclopaedia of People

EPAMINONDAS

Epaminondas was an ancient Greek hero, who, for a short time, raised his country, Thebea, to the summit of power and prosperity. He was born about 418 BC and killed at the battle of Mantineia, in 362 BC. He took the leading part in the struggle during which Spartan supremacy in Greece was destroyed, and the supremacy of Thebes temporarily secured. Four times he successfully invaded the Peloponnesus at the head of the Thebans, but after his death Thebes soon sank to her former secondary condition. Throughout life he was distinguished for the friendship subsisting between him and Pelopidas, with whom he served in the Spartan campaign 385 BC. His character is one of the finest recorded in Greek history, and his virtues have been praised by both Xenophon and Plutarch.
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