Epaminondas

The Theban leader Epaminondas stepped forward to put an end to Spartan arrogance and hypocrisy.

On a battlefield near Thebes in 371, Epaminondas broke the Spartan hoplite phalanx and killed one of its kings.

Epaminondas very nearly took Sparta, prevented only by a river flooding its banks.

Epaminondas aided those who had been oppressed by the Spartans for centuries, helping them shore up their own cities’ defenses and even building entirely new cities to serve as capitals opposed to Spartan dominance.

Epaminondas was not only the tactical genius who bested the Spartan army; he was also one of history’s greatest liberators.