city state · Greece and the Aegean
Thebes
Origins
Thebes grew from the Mycenaean palace town on the Kadmeia, surviving the collapse c. 1200 BCE. In the Archaic period it became the chief city of Boeotia and, from the late 6th century BCE, the head of the Boeotian League, competing with Orchomenus and Plataea for leadership.
Rule and society
Thebes was ruled mostly by landowning oligarchies. It sided with Persia in 480 BCE and was punished after Plataea, then backed Sparta in the Peloponnesian War. Sparta seized the Kadmeia in 382 BCE, but Pelopidas liberated it in 379 BCE. With the Sacred Band and Epaminondas's deep phalanx, Thebes won at Leuctra, freed Messenia and founded Megalopolis.
Decline and legacy
After Epaminondas died at Mantinea in 362 BCE, Theban power faded. Defeated with Athens at Chaeronea in 338 BCE, Thebes revolted and was razed by Alexander in 335 BCE. Cassander rebuilt it in 316 BCE, and it passed under Rome in 146 BCE.
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (6)
- Thebes was part of Boeotian League550 BCE – 171 BCE
- Boeotian League was part of Thebes550 BCE – 335 BCE
- Arcadian League was a vassal of Thebes370 BCE – 362 BCE
- Orchomenus (Boeotia) was conquered by Thebes364 BCE
- Thebes was conquered by Macedonian Empire335 BCE
- Thebes was part of Roman Republic146 BCE
More states of Greece and the Aegean →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Thebes. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/thebes
- MLA
- “Thebes.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/thebes. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Thebes.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/thebes.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Thebes’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/thebes (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻