Battle of Leuctra
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Leuctra was a battle fought on July 6, 371 BC
, between the Boeotia
ns led by Thebans and the Sparta
ns along with their allies amidst the post-Corinthian War
conflict. The battle took place in the neighbourhood of Leuctra
, a village in Boeotia
in the territory of Thespiae
. Theban victory shattered Sparta’s immense influence over the Greek peninsula which Sparta had gained since its victory in the Peloponnesian War
.
s, the traditional title of the generals of the Boeotian League and so proclaimed their intention of reconstituting the League that Sparta had disbanded. During this period Thebes had had an ally in Athens
but Athens was far from happy with the treatment Plataea
had received. When it came to swearing an oath to respect the treaty, Sparta swore on behalf of herself and her allies. When Epaminondas
came forward asking to swear on behalf of the whole Boeotian League, the Spartans refused saying he could swear as the representative of Thebes or not at all. This Epaminondas refused. (According to Xenophon, the Thebans signed as "the Thebans", and asked the next day to change their signature to "the Boeotians", but the Spartan king Agesilaus
would not allow it.) In this Sparta saw an opportunity to reassert their shaky authority in central Greece. Hence, they ordered the Spartan King Cleombrotus I
to march to war from Phocis
.
Rather than take the expected, easy route into Boeotia through the usual defile
, the Spartans marched over the hills via Thisbae and took the fortress of Creusis (along with twelve Theban warships
) before the Thebans were aware of their presence and then proceeded to Leuctra where they were confronted by the Boeotian army. Initially the six Boeotian generals (i.e. the Boeotarch
s) present were divided as to whether to offer battle, with Epaminondas
being the main advocate in favor of battle. Only when a seventh arrived who sided with Epaminondas was the decision made. In spite of inferior numbers and the doubtful loyalty of his Boeotian allies, the Boetians would offer battle on the plain before the town.
The battle opened with the Spartans' mercenary peltasts (slingers, javeliniers, and/or skirmishers) attacking and driving back the Boeotian camp followers and others who were reluctant to fight. According to Xenophon, the Boeotian camp followers were trying to leave the field, as they did not intend to fight; this Spartan action drove them back into the Theban army, inadvertently making the Theban force stronger. There followed a cavalry engagement, in which the Thebans drove their enemies off the field. Initially, the Spartan infantry were sent into disarray when their retreating cavalry hopelessly disrupted Cleombrotus's attempt to outflank the Theban left column. At this point the Theban left hit the Spartan right with the Sacred Band of Thebes
led by Pelopidas
at its head. The decisive issue was then fought out between the Theban and Spartan infantry.
The normal practice of the Spartans (and, indeed, the Greeks generally) was to establish their heavily armed infantry in a solid mass, or phalanx
, some eight to twelve men deep. This was considered to allow for the best balance between depth (the pushing power it provided) and width (i.e., area of coverage of the phalanx's front battle line). The infantry would advance together so that the attack flowed unbroken against their enemy. In order to combat the phalanx's infamous right-hand drift (see article phalanx
for further information), Greek commanders traditionally placed their most experienced, highly regarded and, generally, deadliest troops on the right wing as this was the place of honour. By contrast, the shakiest and/or least influential troops were often placed on the left wing. In the Spartan battleplan therefore, the hippeis
(an elite force numbering 300 men) and the king of Sparta would stand on the right wing of the phalanx.
In a major break with tradition, Epaminondas
massed his cavalry
and a fifty-deep column of Theban infantry
on his left wing, and sent forward this body against the Spartan right. His shallower and weaker center and right wing columns were drawn up so that they were progressively further to the right and rear of the proceeding column, in the so-called Echelon formation
. The footsoldiers engaged, and the Spartans' twelve-deep formation on their right wing could not sustain the heavy impact of their opponents' 50-deep column. Xenophon insists that Spartans initially were able to hold back the gigantic mass of the Thebans, however they were eventually overwhelmed. The Spartan right was hurled back with a loss of about 1,000 men, of whom 400 were Spartan citizens
, including the king Cleombrotus I
.
Rüstow
and Kochly, writing in the 19th Century, believed that Pelopidas led the Sacred Band out from the column to attack the Spartans in the flank. Hans Delbrück
considered this to be a mere misreading of Plutarch
. Plutarch does indeed describe Pelopidas leading the band and catching the Spartans in disorder but there is nothing in his account that conveys anything other than the Sacred Band being the head of the column and the Spartans were disordered not because they were taken in the flank but because they were caught in mid-manoeuvre, extending their line.
Seeing their right wing beaten, the rest of the Peloponnesians, who were essentially unwilling participants, retired and left the enemy in possession of the field.
persuaded a relieving Spartan force under Archidamus
not to heap folly on folly and to withdraw instead, while the Thebans were persuaded not to continue the attack on the surviving Spartans. The Thebans somewhat bent the rules by insisting on conditions under which the Spartans and allies recovered the dead and by erecting a permanent rather than perishable trophy - something that was criticized by later writers.
, affording the first known instance of an oblique infantry deployment and one of the first deliberate concentrations of attack upon the vital point of the enemy's line. The new tactics of the phalanx, introduced by Epaminondas, employed for the first time in the history of war the modern principle of local superiority of force.http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/A/AR/ARMY.htm
The use of these tactics by Epaminondas was, perhaps, a direct result of the use of some similar maneuvers by Pagondas
, his countryman, during the
Battle of Delium
. Further, Philip II of Macedon
, who studied and lived in Thebes, was no doubt heavily influenced by the battle to develop his own, highly effective approach to tactics and armament. In turn, his son Alexander would go on to develop his father's theories to an entirely new level.
Historians Victor Davis Hanson
and Donald Kagan
have argued that Epaminondas's so-called "oblique formation" was not an intentional and preconceived innovation in infantry tactics, but was rather a clever response to circumstances. Because Epaminondas had stacked his left wing to a depth of fifty shields, the rest of his units were naturally left with far fewer troops than normal. This means that their maintenance of a depth of eight to twelve shields had to come at the expense of either number of companies or their width. Because Epaminondas was already outnumbered, he had no choice but to form fewer companies and march them diagonally toward the much longer Spartan line in order to engage as much of it as possible. Hanson and Kagan's argument is therefore that the tactic was more dilatory than anything else. Whatever its motivation, the fact remains that the tactic did represent an innovation and was undoubtedly highly effective.
The battle's political effects were far-reaching: the losses in material strength and prestige (prestige being an inestimably important factor in the Peloponnesian War
) sustained by the Spartans at Leuctra and subsequently at the Battle of Mantinea
were key in depriving them forever of their supremacy in Greece. Therefore, the battle permanently altered the Greek balance of power, as Sparta was deprived of her former prominence and was reduced to a second-rate power among the Greek city-states
.
Theban supremacy in Greece was short-lived as it was subsequently lost to the Macedonians led by Philip II
.
's book, Lion of Macedon
, which includes the significant deviation from historical canon is that it is credited to a young Parmenio(n) instead of Epaminondas
, who serves merely to gain permission to carry out the echelon tactic.
371 BC
Year 371 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Fifth year without Tribunate or Consulship...
, between the Boeotia
Boeotia
Boeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:...
ns led by Thebans and the Sparta
History of Sparta
The History of Sparta describes the destiny of the ancient Dorian Greek state known as Sparta from its beginning in the legendary period to its forced incorporation into the Achaean League under the late Roman Republic, its conquerors, in 146 BCE, a period of roughly 1000 years...
ns along with their allies amidst the post-Corinthian War
Corinthian War
The Corinthian War was an ancient Greek conflict lasting from 395 BC until 387 BC, pitting Sparta against a coalition of four allied states; Thebes, Athens, Corinth, and Argos; which were initially backed by Persia. The immediate cause of the war was a local conflict in northwest Greece in which...
conflict. The battle took place in the neighbourhood of Leuctra
Leuctra
Leuctra was a village in ancient Greece, in Boeotia, seven miles southwest of Thebes. It is primarily known today as the site of the important 371 BC Battle of Leuctra in which the Thebans, under Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans...
, a village in Boeotia
Boeotia
Boeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:...
in the territory of Thespiae
Thespiae
Thespiae was an ancient Greek city in Boeotia. It stood on level ground commanded by the low range of hills which runs eastward from the foot of Mount Helicon to Thebes, near modern Thespies.-History:...
. Theban victory shattered Sparta’s immense influence over the Greek peninsula which Sparta had gained since its victory in the Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 BC, was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases...
.
Prelude
In 379 BC the newly established democracy of Thebes had elected 4 BoeotarchBoeotarch
Boeotarch was the title of the chief officers of the Boeotian Confederacy, founded in 379 BC after a rebellion freed the cities of Boeotia from Spartan dominance. There were seven Boeotarchs, democratically elected from seven electoral districts throughout Boeotia...
s, the traditional title of the generals of the Boeotian League and so proclaimed their intention of reconstituting the League that Sparta had disbanded. During this period Thebes had had an ally in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
but Athens was far from happy with the treatment Plataea
Plataea
Plataea or Plataeae was an ancient city, located in Greece in southeastern Boeotia, south of Thebes. It was the location of the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC, in which an alliance of Greek city-states defeated the Persians....
had received. When it came to swearing an oath to respect the treaty, Sparta swore on behalf of herself and her allies. When Epaminondas
Epaminondas
Epaminondas , or Epameinondas, was a Theban general and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek city-state of Thebes, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a preeminent position in Greek politics...
came forward asking to swear on behalf of the whole Boeotian League, the Spartans refused saying he could swear as the representative of Thebes or not at all. This Epaminondas refused. (According to Xenophon, the Thebans signed as "the Thebans", and asked the next day to change their signature to "the Boeotians", but the Spartan king Agesilaus
Agesilaus II
Agesilaus II, or Agesilaos II was a king of Sparta, of the Eurypontid dynasty, ruling from approximately 400 BC to 360 BC, during most of which time he was, in Plutarch's words, "as good as thought commander and king of all Greece," and was for the whole of it greatly identified with his...
would not allow it.) In this Sparta saw an opportunity to reassert their shaky authority in central Greece. Hence, they ordered the Spartan King Cleombrotus I
Cleombrotus I
Cleombrotus I was a Spartan king of the Agiad line, reigning from 380 BC until 371 BC. Little is known of Cleombrotus' early life. Son of Pausanias, he became king of Sparta after the death of his brother Agesipolis I in 380 BC, and led the allied Spartan-Peloponnesian army against the Thebans...
to march to war from Phocis
Phocis
Phocis is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardousia on the west, upon the Gulf of Corinth...
.
Rather than take the expected, easy route into Boeotia through the usual defile
Defile (geography)
Defile is a geographic term for a narrow pass or gorge between mountains or hills. It has its origins as a military description of a pass through which troops can march only in a narrow column or with a narrow front...
, the Spartans marched over the hills via Thisbae and took the fortress of Creusis (along with twelve Theban warships
Trireme
A trireme was a type of galley, a Hellenistic-era warship that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greeks and Romans.The trireme derives its name from its three rows of oars on each side, manned with one man per oar...
) before the Thebans were aware of their presence and then proceeded to Leuctra where they were confronted by the Boeotian army. Initially the six Boeotian generals (i.e. the Boeotarch
Boeotarch
Boeotarch was the title of the chief officers of the Boeotian Confederacy, founded in 379 BC after a rebellion freed the cities of Boeotia from Spartan dominance. There were seven Boeotarchs, democratically elected from seven electoral districts throughout Boeotia...
s) present were divided as to whether to offer battle, with Epaminondas
Epaminondas
Epaminondas , or Epameinondas, was a Theban general and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek city-state of Thebes, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a preeminent position in Greek politics...
being the main advocate in favor of battle. Only when a seventh arrived who sided with Epaminondas was the decision made. In spite of inferior numbers and the doubtful loyalty of his Boeotian allies, the Boetians would offer battle on the plain before the town.
The size of the armies
Several ancient writers give figures for one or both of the armies but unfortunately they are contradictory and in some cases unbelievable. Modern Scholars estimates have varied from 6,000 to 9,000 for the Boeotian force. For the Spartan side most modern scholars favor Plutarch's figure of 10,000 in infantry and 1,000 cavalry.Battle
Sacred Band of Thebes
The Sacred Band of Thebes was a troop of picked soldiers, consisting of 150 male couples which formed the elite force of the Theban army in the 4th century BC. It was organised by the Theban commander Gorgidas in 378 BC and played a crucial role in the Battle of Leuctra...
led by Pelopidas
Pelopidas
Pelopidas was an important Theban statesman and general in Greece.-Athlete and warrior:He was a member of a distinguished family, and possessed great wealth which he expended on his friends, while content to lead the life of an athlete...
at its head. The decisive issue was then fought out between the Theban and Spartan infantry.
The normal practice of the Spartans (and, indeed, the Greeks generally) was to establish their heavily armed infantry in a solid mass, or phalanx
Phalanx formation
The phalanx is a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons...
, some eight to twelve men deep. This was considered to allow for the best balance between depth (the pushing power it provided) and width (i.e., area of coverage of the phalanx's front battle line). The infantry would advance together so that the attack flowed unbroken against their enemy. In order to combat the phalanx's infamous right-hand drift (see article phalanx
Phalanx formation
The phalanx is a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons...
for further information), Greek commanders traditionally placed their most experienced, highly regarded and, generally, deadliest troops on the right wing as this was the place of honour. By contrast, the shakiest and/or least influential troops were often placed on the left wing. In the Spartan battleplan therefore, the hippeis
Hippeis
Hippeis was the Greek term for cavalry. The Hippeus was the second highest of the four Athenian social classes, made of men who could afford to maintain a war horse in the service of the state. The rank may be compared to Roman Equestrians and medieval knights. Among the Athenians, it referred to...
(an elite force numbering 300 men) and the king of Sparta would stand on the right wing of the phalanx.
In a major break with tradition, Epaminondas
Epaminondas
Epaminondas , or Epameinondas, was a Theban general and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek city-state of Thebes, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a preeminent position in Greek politics...
massed his cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
and a fifty-deep column of Theban infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
on his left wing, and sent forward this body against the Spartan right. His shallower and weaker center and right wing columns were drawn up so that they were progressively further to the right and rear of the proceeding column, in the so-called Echelon formation
Echelon formation
An echelon formation is a military formation in which members are arranged diagonally. Each member is stationed behind and to the right , or behind and to the left , of the member ahead...
. The footsoldiers engaged, and the Spartans' twelve-deep formation on their right wing could not sustain the heavy impact of their opponents' 50-deep column. Xenophon insists that Spartans initially were able to hold back the gigantic mass of the Thebans, however they were eventually overwhelmed. The Spartan right was hurled back with a loss of about 1,000 men, of whom 400 were Spartan citizens
Spartiate
The Spartiates or Homoioi were the males of Sparta known to the Spartans as "peers" or "men of equal status". From a young age, male Spartiates were trained for battle and put through grueling challenges intended to craft them into fearless warriors...
, including the king Cleombrotus I
Cleombrotus I
Cleombrotus I was a Spartan king of the Agiad line, reigning from 380 BC until 371 BC. Little is known of Cleombrotus' early life. Son of Pausanias, he became king of Sparta after the death of his brother Agesipolis I in 380 BC, and led the allied Spartan-Peloponnesian army against the Thebans...
.
Rüstow
Friedrich Wilhelm Rüstow
Friedrich Wilhelm Rüstow was a Prussian-born Swiss soldier and military writer.Rüstow was born in Brandenburg an der Havel in the Province of Brandenburg. He entered the Prussian Army and served for some years, until the publication of Der deutsche Militärstaat vor und während der Revolution...
and Kochly, writing in the 19th Century, believed that Pelopidas led the Sacred Band out from the column to attack the Spartans in the flank. Hans Delbrück
Hans Delbrück
Hans Delbrück was a German historian. Delbrück was one of the first modern military historians, basing his method of research on the critical examination of ancient sources, the use of auxiliary disciplines, like demography and economics, to complete the analysis and the comparison between...
considered this to be a mere misreading of Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
. Plutarch does indeed describe Pelopidas leading the band and catching the Spartans in disorder but there is nothing in his account that conveys anything other than the Sacred Band being the head of the column and the Spartans were disordered not because they were taken in the flank but because they were caught in mid-manoeuvre, extending their line.
Seeing their right wing beaten, the rest of the Peloponnesians, who were essentially unwilling participants, retired and left the enemy in possession of the field.
After the Battle
The arrival of a Thessalian army under Jason of PheraeJason of Pherae
Jason of Pherae was the ruler of Thessaly during the period just before Philip II of Macedon came to power. He had succeeded his father Lycophron I of Pherae as tyrant of Pherae and was appointed tagus, or king, of Thessaly in the 370s BC and soon extended his control to much of the surrounding...
persuaded a relieving Spartan force under Archidamus
Archidamus III
Archidamus III , the son of Agesilaus II, was king of Sparta from 360 BC to 338 BC.While still a prince, he was the eispnelas of Cleonymus, son of Sphodrias. He interceded with his own father to spare his aites' father's life in a legal matter, an action which further intensified friction between...
not to heap folly on folly and to withdraw instead, while the Thebans were persuaded not to continue the attack on the surviving Spartans. The Thebans somewhat bent the rules by insisting on conditions under which the Spartans and allies recovered the dead and by erecting a permanent rather than perishable trophy - something that was criticized by later writers.
Historical significance
The battle is of great significance in Greek history, and, by extension, European history. Epaminondas not only broke away from the traditional tactical methods of his time, but marked a revolution in military tacticsMilitary tactics
Military tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
, affording the first known instance of an oblique infantry deployment and one of the first deliberate concentrations of attack upon the vital point of the enemy's line. The new tactics of the phalanx, introduced by Epaminondas, employed for the first time in the history of war the modern principle of local superiority of force.http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/A/AR/ARMY.htm
The use of these tactics by Epaminondas was, perhaps, a direct result of the use of some similar maneuvers by Pagondas
Pagondas
- Biographical information :Little is known of Pagondas's life. He is mentioned by Pindar as having been born to a noble Theban family, and we know that he was in his early sixties at Delium. He was evidently a fiery and persuasive speaker, purportedly moving the disparate Boeotian contingents to...
, his countryman, during the
Battle of Delium
Battle of Delium
The Battle of Delium or of Delion took place in 424 BC between the Athenians and the Boeotians, and ended with the siege of Delium in the following weeks.-Prelude:...
. Further, Philip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon "friend" + ἵππος "horse" — transliterated ; 382 – 336 BC), was a king of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III.-Biography:...
, who studied and lived in Thebes, was no doubt heavily influenced by the battle to develop his own, highly effective approach to tactics and armament. In turn, his son Alexander would go on to develop his father's theories to an entirely new level.
Historians Victor Davis Hanson
Victor Davis Hanson
Victor Davis Hanson is an American military historian, columnist, political essayist and former classics professor, notable as a scholar of ancient warfare. He has been a commentator on modern warfare and contemporary politics for National Review and other media outlets...
and Donald Kagan
Donald Kagan
Donald Kagan is an American historian at Yale University specializing in ancient Greece, notable for his four-volume history of the Peloponnesian War. 1987-1988 Acting Director of Athletics, Yale University. He was Dean of Yale College from 1989–1992. He formerly taught in the Department of...
have argued that Epaminondas's so-called "oblique formation" was not an intentional and preconceived innovation in infantry tactics, but was rather a clever response to circumstances. Because Epaminondas had stacked his left wing to a depth of fifty shields, the rest of his units were naturally left with far fewer troops than normal. This means that their maintenance of a depth of eight to twelve shields had to come at the expense of either number of companies or their width. Because Epaminondas was already outnumbered, he had no choice but to form fewer companies and march them diagonally toward the much longer Spartan line in order to engage as much of it as possible. Hanson and Kagan's argument is therefore that the tactic was more dilatory than anything else. Whatever its motivation, the fact remains that the tactic did represent an innovation and was undoubtedly highly effective.
The battle's political effects were far-reaching: the losses in material strength and prestige (prestige being an inestimably important factor in the Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 BC, was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases...
) sustained by the Spartans at Leuctra and subsequently at the Battle of Mantinea
Battle of Mantinea (362 BC)
The Battle of Mantinea was fought on July 4 362 BC between the Thebans, led by Epaminondas and supported by the Arcadians and the Boeotian league against the Spartans, led by King Agesilaus II and supported by the Eleans, Athenians, and Mantineans...
were key in depriving them forever of their supremacy in Greece. Therefore, the battle permanently altered the Greek balance of power, as Sparta was deprived of her former prominence and was reduced to a second-rate power among the Greek city-states
Polis
Polis , plural poleis , literally means city in Greek. It could also mean citizenship and body of citizens. In modern historiography "polis" is normally used to indicate the ancient Greek city-states, like Classical Athens and its contemporaries, so polis is often translated as "city-state."The...
.
Theban supremacy in Greece was short-lived as it was subsequently lost to the Macedonians led by Philip II
Philip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon "friend" + ἵππος "horse" — transliterated ; 382 – 336 BC), was a king of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III.-Biography:...
.
Popular culture
The battle is fictionalised, though in some detail, in David GemmellDavid Gemmell
David Andrew Gemmell was a bestselling British author of heroic fantasy. A former journalist and newspaper editor, Gemmell had his first work of fiction published in 1984. He went on to write over thirty novels. Best known for his debut, Legend, Gemmell's works display violence, yet also explore...
's book, Lion of Macedon
Lion of Macedon
Lion of Macedon is a historic fantasy novel written by English author David Gemmell. It is the first of two books following the character Parmenion. The book was first published in 1990. The sequel, Dark Prince, was published in 1991. Parmenion is a Spartan in training but faces prejudice and...
, which includes the significant deviation from historical canon is that it is credited to a young Parmenio(n) instead of Epaminondas
Epaminondas
Epaminondas , or Epameinondas, was a Theban general and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek city-state of Thebes, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a preeminent position in Greek politics...
, who serves merely to gain permission to carry out the echelon tactic.
External links
- Battle of Leuctra animated battle map by Jonathan Webb
- Battle of Leuctra from Encyclopædia Britannica