Evening star., 1934-11-24
THEBES WAS ONCE
A CITY OF POWER
WarIike Capital of Boeotia,
in Greece, Destroyed
by Alexander.
BY JAMES WALDO FAWCETT.

toned nowadays, the average Ameri-
can probably thinks of ThebeS- in
Egypt; but in ancient times the case
would have been quite otherwise-it
was Thebes, capital of Boeotia in
Greece, that was surprisingly impor-
tant and famous.
To gauge the pre-eminence of the
territory of which it was the chief
city, 1t is necessary merely to cite
the battlefields within its boundaries;
Platatea, where PauSanias and AriS-
tides established the liberty of Greece
by their victory over Mardonius and
his 100000 Persians; Leuctra, where
Epaminondas checked the ambitious
SpartanS; Coronea, where Agesilaus
retrieved that defeat, and Chaero-
nea, where Philip of Macedon founded
the greatness of his empire on the
ruins OF Greek liberty.
The neighborhood was settled by
Pelasgian tribes in an age long before
written records first were kept. Re-
cent excavations have revealed a no.
tably high civilization in the so-called
Early and Middle Hellenic periods A
cultural link with Crete has been
demonstrated.
Legends Hide Founding.
Numerous legends surround the
founding of Thebes proper. According
to some, it owed its origin to Cadmus
the Phoenician, builder of famous
citadel named the Cadmea in his
honor. Others grant the major credit
10 Amphlon. constructor of a seven
gated wall. All authorities agree that
the capital was one of the earliest
fortified cities of the Greek peninsula.
The military security of the city,
says modern writer to the Encyclo-
paedla Britannica, tended to raise
II TO commanding position, and its
inhabitants endeavored to establish a
complete supremacy over the outlying
towns"
Herodotus tells of the struggle be-
tween Thebes and Athens and holds
the people of the former responsible
1or the difficulties which led to The
oan support for the Persian invaders
IN 479 B. c. The victors punished
the city by depriving it of the presi-
oency OF the Boeotian League, but it
was restored to leadership by the
Spartans IN 457. An alliance, more
or less binding, prevailed between the
tWc powers and against Athens until
tIe close OF the Peloponnesian War,
"hen the winners in the strife fell
out over the division of the spoils.
Sparta Gets Revenge.
A secret arrangement with Athens
against Sparta then inevitably brought
on the Corlnthian War which. closing
In 387, left Thebes robbed of her de-
penoencles. Sparta had revenge in
ooz When military force treacher-
ouSly gained possession of the citadel
dominating the town and reduced the
Thebans to the status of serfs. But
again the shifting of p0litical forces
brought the city freedom and power
and the Theban armies under Epa-
mlnondaS and Pelopidas for a period
were considered the best in Greece
they permanently crippled Sparta in
a savage campaign which ended at
Leuctra, 371.
Inc predomlnance of the Boeotian
capital, however, was short-lived.
The states which she had protected
were 1ndisposed to commit themselves
permanently to her tutelage, and the
renewed rivalry of Athens prevented
the formation of a Theban empire 4"
Epaminondas died in 1862, and "the
city sank again to the position of a
secondary power"
Destruction Ends Power.
A generation later the gifted orator
Demosthenes persuaded Thebes to join
Athens in final effort to save Attica
from Philip of Macedon, but the allied
cause was crushed at Chaeroneia
Alexander the Great, Philips son and
successor, ordered the complete de-
Struction Of the town, and "Thebes
never again played prominent part
in history"
In ITO A. D., according to Pausanias,
only the fortress was inhabited. The
modern town, with population of ap-
proximately 5000, occupies the site of
the ancient Cadmea. Its outstanding
monument is church in which the
body of st. Luke is supposed to have
been entombed.
OF the classic capital, nine miles in
circumference and peopled by at least
10000 souls, practically nothing re-
mains. With the exception of a few
scattered fragments of architecture
and sculpture, and some traces of the
ancient walls, there Is nothing but
the site to indicate where the ancient
city stood"
But it is known that Thebes was
a town of four parts, two belonging to
the Acropolis and two the lower city
On the former were the Cadmea and
the Agora. A hill called the Ismenius
70
with temple dedicated to that deity.
Other features of the skyline were a
temple to Hercules, gymnasium, a
stadium, an altar to Athena or Onga,
the house of Cadmus, a temple to
Ammon, temple of fortune, a Diony-
sian shrine, and monumental mound
Of earth raised to Amphion and his
brother Zethus.
Thebans Insolent.
The Thebans were not a highly
cultured people during the eras of
which reliable history is extant. On
the contrary, they were proud and
insolent, and always ready to settle
disputes by fighting rather than by the
ordinary course of justice" The
government was by turns monarchial,
oligarchial and democratic, but GER
tain belligerency of temperament ap-
p pears to have distinguished the popu-
lation regardless of the type of rule
under which it lived.
Yet Hesiod, Pindar and Plutarch
were Boeotians, and there were no
nobler Greeks anywhere nor at any
time than they. Moreover, it is re-
membered that the Thebans were
particularly fond Of music and ex-
celled in it," Surely, then, the city
, deserved better fate than that which,
in point of fact, was its lot.
Possibly, the explanation Of the
tragedy is to be found in the climate.
1t was mild and cool in Summer, but
bitterly cold in Winter. An earlier
invention of modern methods of heat
ing residential properties might have
preserved Thebes among the great
capitals Of the world.