It's time once again to delve deep into the Ancient World and in continuing our theme of important Ancient Greek polis' (cities) we move on to the legendary Thebes, the birthplace of legends such as the Goddess Dionysus and King Oedipus. Archaeological excavations have found that first signs of civilization in Thebes date back to the Bronze Age with Mycenean language tablets which is the same era of the legendary Battle of Troy. This means that Thebes is one of the oldest cities in Greece and though it did not grow to the same prominence as Athens it was nonetheless a mighty civilization and defeated Sparta in a long war, crippling their army for years to come. Situated in the middle of mainland Greece Thebes is an ideal location for a united Greece but unfortunately the neighbouring cities could never properly unite and instead often warred amongst each other. Even the Achean League which united several Greek cities in an alliance did not last long; the Greeks only really united against a common enemy such as the Persian Empire but even then Thebes allied with the Persians against Athens and Sparta, seeking to rise above their rivals. If the Greeks had united who knows what great empire they might have built!
Thebes, though surprisingly unknown, was a major force in Anceint Greece. Rivalling Athens in trade and commerce and defeating Sparta on the batttlefield the Thebians were truly a force to be reckoned with. They were actually the strongest Greek state at the time of the Macedonian invasion by Phillip II, father to Alexander the Great. Thebes stood and fought against the Macedonians at 'The Battle of Chaeronea' in 338 BC and were the only Greek state able to do so. They were defeated and an elite military unit named the 'Sacred Band of Thebes' was slaughtered but until this point the unit had been hugely successful and was key to defeating the Spartans. The Sacred Band consisted of 150 pairs of male lovers and because they were lovers they would fight ruthlessly to protect their partner. Homosexuality was a taboo topic in the Ancient World but Thebian commander Gorgidas decided to use their love to his advantage, theorising that their passion for one another would cause them to fight passionately as well as rejoice just as passionately with victory thus inspiring the rest of the army. Though this may seem very morally wrong to send couples into war so that they will fight more fiercely to protect one another, it was ingenious and worked very effectively for a long time.
After the defeat of Sparta Thebes was booming but unfortunately ther dominance did not last long because shortly after losing the battle to the Macedonians they organised military actions against Alexander's forces whilst he was campaigning in the North. Alexander was furious and responded by destroying the city of Thebes, sparing only the Temples and priests. Alexander's destruction of Thebes is often looked upon as unneccessary and his father Phillip was displeased as he was raised in Thebes (as a hostage but nonetheless he owed them a lot). After Alexander's death the city was re-founded but never grew to regain its former glory, twice being beseiged and sacked. It was a leading manufacturer of silk during the Byzantine period and though Thebes never grew to become a great civilization again it flourished in economy and in modern day the city of Thebes is a bustling market town and popular tourist location due to its closeness to many ancient battle fields and legends.
The first image is of some ancient ruins in modern day Thebes and the second is a depiction of a couple in the Sacred Band military unit.
IMAGE 1: http://www.greece-private.com/Delphi/IMG_4798.jpg
IMAGE2: http://sequelced.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/greeks.jpg
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