Everything about Boeotian League totally explained
Boeotia,
Beotia, or
Bœotia (
Greek: Βοιωτία - English ), formerly Cadmeis, was a region of
ancient Greece, north of the eastern part of the
Gulf of Corinth. It was bounded on the south by
Megaris and the
Kithairon mountain range that forms a natural barrier with
Attica, on the north by
Opuntian Locris and the
Euripus Strait at the
Gulf of Euboea, and on the west by
Phocis.
Lake Copais was a large lake in the center of Boeotia.
The
Boeotia Prefecture is a prefecture of modern
Greece with approximately the same boundaries.
Legends
In
Greek mythology, Boeotia plays a prominent part. Of the two great centres of legends,
Thebes, with its
Cadmean population, figures as a military stronghold, and
Orchomenos, the home of the
Minyae, as an enterprising commercial city.
Graia (Γραία), which means ancient or old, was said to be the oldest city of Greece. The word
Γραικός is connected to 'Graia' by some authors.
Aristotle said that this city was created before the
deluge. The same assertion about the origins of Graia city was found also in an ancient marble, the
Parian Chronicle, discovered in 1687 and dated in
267-
263 BC, that's currently kept in
Oxford and on
Paros. Reports about this ancient city can be found also in
Homer, in
Pausanias, in
Thucydides, etc.
The origin of Boeotians lays in mountain
Boeon (
Epirus-West
Macedonia), where
Graecus is connected with Epirus by
Aristotle.
They were also related to
Thessalians as their
aeolic dialect indicates.
According to some ancient Greek sources, there were two great kings who ruled in
Thebes (and Boeotia) before the
Cataclysm (deluge) which happened in the reigns of
Deucalion (in Thessaly),
Cranaos (in Attica) and the sons of
Lycaon (in Arcadia):
Calydnos (
Κάλυδνος) and
Ogygos (
Ώγυγος).
History
Boeotia had significant political importance, owing to its position on the north shore of the
Gulf of Corinth, extending westwards between
Thessaly and
Peloponnesus to the
Isthmus of Corinth; the strategic strength of its frontiers; and the ease of communication within its extensive area. On the other hand, the lack of good harbours hindered its maritime development. The Boeotian people, although they included great men like
Pindar,
Hesiod,
Epaminondas,
Pelopidas and
Plutarch, were portrayed proverbially dull by Athenians (cf.
Boeotian ears incapable of appreciating music or poetry and
Hog-Boeotians,
Cratinus.310)
The importance of the legendary
Minyae has been confirmed by its archaeological remains (notably the "Treasury of Minyas"). The Boeotian population seems to have entered the land from the north at a date possibly before the
Dorian invasion. With the exception of the Minyae, the original peoples were soon absorbed by these immigrants, and the Boeotians henceforth appear as a homogeneous nation.
In historical times, the leading city of Boeotia was Thebes, whose central position and military strength made it a suitable capital; other major towns were Orchomenus,
Plataea, and
Thespiae. It was the constant ambition of the Thebans to absorb the other townships into a single state, just as
Athens had annexed the
Attic communities. But the outlying cities successfully resisted this policy, and only allowed the formation of a loose federation which, initially, was merely religious.
While the Boeotians, unlike the
Arcadians, generally acted as a united whole against foreign enemies, the constant struggle between the cities was a serious check on the nation's development. Boeotia hardly figures in history before the late 6th century BC. Previous to this, its people are chiefly known as the makers of a type of geometric pottery, similar to the
Dipylon ware of Athens. In about
519 BC, the resistance of
Plataea to the federating policy of Thebes led to the interference of Athens on behalf of the former; on this occasion, and again in
507 BC, the Athenians defeated the Boeotian levy.
During the
Persian invasion of
480 BC, Thebes assisted the invaders. In consequence, for a time, the presidency of the Boeotian League was taken from Thebes, but in
457 BC the
Spartans reinstated that city as a bulwark against Athenian aggression after the
Battle of Tanagra. Athens retaliated by a sudden advance upon Boeotia, and after the victory at the
Battle of Oenophyta took control of the whole country except the capital. For ten years the land remained under Athenian control, which was exercised through the newly installed democracies; but in
447 BC the people revolted, and after a victory at the
Battle of Coronea regained their independence.
In the
Peloponnesian War the Boeotians fought zealously against Athens. Though slightly estranged from Sparta after the
peace of Nicias, they never abated their enmity against their neighbours. They rendered good service at
Syracuse and at the
Battle of Arginusae in the closing years of the Pelopennesian War; but their greatest achievement was the decisive victory at the
Battle of Delium over the Athenian army (
424 BC), in which both their heavy infantry and their cavalry displayed unusual efficiency and the
Battle of Tanagra in
423 BC in which the
Spartans helped to defeat the Athenians. However, two months later, the Athenians regrouped and defeated Thebes at the
Battle of Oenophyta and took control of Boeotia, taking down the wall the Spartans had built. With the victory the Athenians also occupied
Phocis, the original source of the conflict and the Opuntian
Locris.
About this time the Boeotian League comprised eleven groups of sovereign cities and associated townships, each of which elected one Boeotarch or minister of war and foreign affairs, contributed sixty delegates to the federal council at Thebes, and supplied a contingent of about a thousand foot and a hundred horse to the federal army. A safeguard against undue encroachment on the part of the central government was provided in the councils of the individual cities, to which all important questions of policy had to be submitted for ratification. These local councils, to which the propertied classes alone were eligible, were subdivided into four sections, resembling the
prytaneis of the Athenian council, which took it in turns to vote on all new measures.
Boeotia took a prominent part in the war of the
Corinthian League against Sparta, especially at
Haliartus and the
Battle of Coronea (
395-
394 BC). This change of policy seems due mainly to the national resentment against foreign interference. Yet disaffection against Thebes was now growing rife, and Sparta fostered this feeling by stipulating for the complete independence of all the cities in the peace of Antalcidas (
387 BC). In
374 BC Pelopidas restored the Theban dominion and their control was never significantly challenged again.
Boeotian contingents fought in all the campaigns of
Epaminondas against the Spartans, most notably at the
Battle of Leuctra in
371 BC, and in the later wars against
Phocis (
356-
346 BC); while in the dealings with
Philip of Macedon the cities merely followed Thebes. The federal constitution was also brought into accord with the democratic governments now prevalent throughout the land. The sovereign power was vested in the popular assembly, which elected the Boeotarchs (between seven and twelve in number), and sanctioned all laws. After the
Battle of Chaeroneia, in which the Boeotian heavy infantry once again distinguished itself, the land never rose again to prosperity.
The destruction of Thebes by
Alexander the Great (
335 BC) seems to have removed the political energy of the Boeotians. They never again pursued an independent policy, but followed the lead of protecting powers. Though military training and organization continued, the people proved unable to defend the frontiers, and the land became more than ever the "dancing-ground of Ares". Though enrolled for a short time in the Aetolian League (about
245 BC) Boeotia was generally loyal to
Macedon, and supported its later kings against
Rome. Rome dissolved the league, which, however, was allowed to revive under
Augustus, and merged with the other central Greek federations in the
Achaean synod. The death-blow to the country's prosperity was given by the devastations during the
First Mithridatic War.
Pejorative term
Boeotia came to be proverbial for the stupidity of its inhabitants (OED), probably because of Athens' proud assertion of its cultural superiority compared to its rural neighbours.
Natives of Boeotia
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