At a common-peace conference at Sparta, a dispute over whether Thebes could sign on behalf of Boeotia (i.e., recognition of a Boeotian League) led to Thebes’ exclusion, setting the stage for renewed war.
At Leuctra, Theban forces under Epaminondas routed a Spartan army and killed King Cleombrotus, delivering a decisive blow to Spartan prestige and effectively ending Spartan hegemony in Greece.
Sparta intervened in northern Greece and compelled Olynthus to surrender, dissolving the Chalcidian League—showing Spartan willingness to project power beyond the Peloponnese.
Led by Pelopidas and allies, Thebans overthrew the pro-Spartan leadership and forced the Spartan garrison to surrender, reestablishing Theban independence and accelerating the breakdown of Spartan authority in central Greece.
Spartan general Phoebidas occupied Thebes’ citadel (the Cadmea), installing a pro-Spartan regime and triggering intense Theban opposition that would soon unravel Spartan control in Boeotia.
Invoking the autonomy principle, Sparta dismantled Mantinea’s urban polis by forcing it to disperse into its constituent villages—an intervention aimed at weakening Mantinean democracy and cohesion.
The King’s Peace (Peace of Antalcidas) ended the Corinthian War under Persian auspices, proclaiming autonomy for Greek cities while leaving Sparta positioned to enforce the settlement in its own interests.
The Battle of Lechaeum highlighted changing tactics: Athenian light troops (peltasts) under Iphicrates defeated a Spartan hoplite detachment, signaling vulnerabilities in traditional Spartan methods.
In 394 BCE Sparta won major hoplite battles at Nemea and Coronea, regaining momentum on land even as the wider war continued across multiple theaters.
At the naval Battle of Cnidus, a fleet under Pharnabazus and the Athenian Conon destroyed the Spartan fleet, ending Sparta’s brief bid for naval supremacy and shifting the war’s strategic balance.
A coalition including Athens, Thebes (Boeotia), Corinth, and Argos went to war with Sparta, driven by backlash against Spartan post-404 policies and interventions; the fighting spanned mainland Greece and the Aegean.
Early in the Corinthian War, Spartan commander Lysander was killed at Haliartus in Boeotia, a significant Spartan setback that underscored the intensity of anti-Spartan resistance in central Greece.
After Athens’ surrender at the end of the Peloponnesian War, Sparta emerged as the dominant Greek power and backed an oligarchic regime (the Thirty) at Athens—an early hallmark of the new Spartan-led order.
Spartan Hegemony and the Peloponnesian League (c. 480–371 BCE)
