The Battle of Mantinea was fought in 362 BC between the Thebans, led by Epaminondas and supported by the Arcadians and the Boeotians, and the Spartans, led by King Agesilaus II and supported by the Eleans and Mantineans. The battle had to decide the hegemony over Greece, but the death of Epaminondas and the defeat of the Spartans paved the way for the Macedonian conquest. Map of the Greek world at the start of the Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War began in 431 BC between the Athenian Empire (or The Delian League) and the Peloponnesian League which included Sparta and Corinth. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 367 BC 366 BC 365 BC 364 BC 363 BC 362 BC 361 BC 360 BC 359... Mantinea is a city in the central Peloponnese that was the site of two significant battles in Classical Greek history. ... Arcadia or Arkadía (Greek Αρκαδία; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus. ... Thebes (in modern Greek: Θήβα - Thíva, in ancient Greek and Katharevousa: - ThÄ“bai or Thívai) is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. ... Casus belli is a Latin expression from the international law theory of Jus ad bellum. ... Thebes (in modern Greek: Θήβα - Thíva, in ancient Greek and Katharevousa: - ThÄ“bai or Thívai) is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. ... Arcadia or Arkadía (Greek Αρκαδία; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus. ... Boeotia (Greek Βοιωτια) was the central area of ancient Greece. ... Sparta (Σπάρτη) was a city in ancient Greece, whose territory included, in Classical times, all Laconia and Messenia, and which was the most powerful state of the Peloponnesus. ... Elis, or Eleia (Greek, Modern: Ήλιδα Ilida, Ancient/Katharevousa: Ήλις, also Ilis, Doric: Άλις) is an ancient district within the modern prefecture of Ilia. ... Mantinea is a city in the central Peloponnese that was the site of two significant battles in Classical Greek history. ... Epaminondas For information about the modern board game of the same name, see Epaminondas (game). ... Agesilaus II, or Agesilaos II (Greek Ἀγησιλάος), king of Sparta, of the Eurypontid family, was the son of Archidamus II and Eupolia, and younger step-brother of Agis II, whom he succeeded about 401 BC. Agis had, indeed, a son Leotychides, but he was set aside as illegitimate, current rumour representing... The Battle of Haliartus was fought in 395 BC between Sparta and Thebes. ... Combatants Sparta Thebes Argos Athens Corinth Commanders Aristodemus Unknown Strength 18,000 hopites 24,000 hoplites Casualties 1,100 dead or wounded 2,800 dead or wounded {{{notes}}} The Battle of Nemea (394 BC) was a battle in the Corinthian War, between Sparta and the allied cities of Argos, Athens... At the Battle of Cnidus (394 BC), the Persian fleet, led by the former Athenian admiral Conon, utterly destroyed the Spartan fleet of Peisander, ending Spartas brief bid for naval supremacy. ... At the Battle of Coronea (394 BC), Spartan forces under Agesilaus II defeated the Thebans. ... At the Battle of Naxos (376 BC) the Athenian fleet of Chabrias defeated the Spartans. ... Leuctra was a village of Boeotia in the territory of Thespiae, chiefly noticeable for the battle fought in its neighborhood in 371 BC between the Thebans and the Spartans and their allies. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 367 BC 366 BC 365 BC 364 BC 363 BC 362 BC 361 BC 360 BC 359... Thebes (in modern Greek: Θήβα - Thíva, in ancient Greek and Katharevousa: - ThÄ“bai or Thívai) is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. ... Epaminondas For information about the modern board game of the same name, see Epaminondas (game). ... Arcadia or Arkadía (Greek Αρκαδία; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus. ... Boeotia (Greek Βοιωτια) was the central area of ancient Greece. ... Sparta (Σπάρτη) was a city in ancient Greece, whose territory included, in Classical times, all Laconia and Messenia, and which was the most powerful state of the Peloponnesus. ... Agesilaus II, or Agesilaos II (Greek Ἀγησιλάος), king of Sparta, of the Eurypontid family, was the son of Archidamus II and Eupolia, and younger step-brother of Agis II, whom he succeeded about 401 BC. Agis had, indeed, a son Leotychides, but he was set aside as illegitimate, current rumour representing... Elis, or Eleia (Greek, Modern: Ήλιδα Ilida, Ancient/Katharevousa: Ήλις, also Ilis, Doric: Άλις) is an ancient district within the modern prefecture of Ilia. ... Mantinea is a city in the central Peloponnese that was the site of two significant battles in Classical Greek history. ...

After the battle of Leuctra in 371 BC had shattered the foundations of Spartan hegemony, there was an attempt by Thebes' chief politician and general Epaminondas to build a new hegemony centered on his city. To obtain this, the Thebans had marched south, into the area traditionally dominated by the Spartans, and set up the Arcadian League, a federation of city-states of the central Peloponnese plateau, to contain the influence of Sparta in the Peloponnese and thereby maintain overall Theban control. In the years leading up to the battle of Mantinea, the Spartans had joined with the Eleans (a minor Peloponnesian people with a territorial grudge against the Arcadians) in an effort to undermine the League. When the Arcadians miscalculated and seized the Pan-Greek sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia in Elis, one of the Arcadian city-states, Mantinea, detached itself from the League. The Spartans and Eleans joined the Mantineans in a military attack on the Arcadian League. Epaminondas then led a Theban army into the Peloponnese to restore order and re-establish Theban/Arcadian hegemony there. Leuctra was a village of Boeotia in the territory of Thespiae, chiefly noticeable for the battle fought in its neighborhood in 371 BC between the Thebans and the Spartans and their allies. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC - 370s BC - 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 376 BC 375 BC 374 BC 373 BC 372 BC - 371 BC - 370 BC 369 BC 368... Period in classical Greek history. ... For the ancient capital of Upper Egypt, see Thebes, Egypt. ... Epaminondas For information about the modern board game of the same name, see Epaminondas (game). ... Sparta (Σπάρτη) was a city in ancient Greece, whose territory included, in Classical times, all Laconia and Messenia, and which was the most powerful state of the Peloponnesus. ... Arcadia or Arkadía (Greek Αρκαδία; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus. ... Though Peloponnese is used to refer to the entire peninsula, the periphery with that name includes only part of that landmass. ... Elis, or Eleia (Greek, Modern: Ήλιδα Ilida, Ancient/Katharevousa: Ήλις, also Ilis, Doric: Άλις) is an ancient district within the modern prefecture of Ilia. ... Statue of Zeus Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall statue of Zeus at Olympia about 435 BC. The statue was perhaps the most famous sculpture in ancient Greece, imagined here in a 16th-century engraving. ... Olympia is an ancient city in Greece, the site of the Ancient Olympic Games. ... Mantinea is a city in the central Peloponnese that was the site of two significant battles in Classical Greek history. ...

The two armies met near Mantinea in 362 BC. The Spartans, Eleans and Mantineans were led by the Spartan king, Agesilaus II. The Theban army included other than Thebans also contingents from the other city-states of the pro-Theban Boeotian League. Epaminondas' Thebans were assisted by the Arcadians loyal to the League, principally those from the city-states of Megalopolis (founded by the Thebans when they were last in the Peloponnese, as the Arcadian federal capital) and Tegea (the traditional leading city-state of the Arcadians). Both generals were highly proficient, but Epaminondas prevailed on that occasion. Using a modified version of the tactics that he had successfully pioneered at Leuctra, he organised the Boeotian troops on the left wing of his army into an unusually deep column of hoplites (ancient Greek pikemen with heavy, brazen shields). He personally led this column from the front line. Xenophon described the left wing of that Theban army as "like a trireme, with the spur of the prow out in front." Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 367 BC 366 BC 365 BC 364 BC 363 BC 362 BC 361 BC 360 BC 359... Agesilaus II, or Agesilaos II (Greek Ἀγησιλάος), king of Sparta, of the Eurypontid family, was the son of Archidamus II and Eupolia, and younger step-brother of Agis II, whom he succeeded about 401 BC. Agis had, indeed, a son Leotychides, but he was set aside as illegitimate, current rumour representing... Boeotia (Greek Βοιωτια) was the central area of ancient Greece. ... Ancient Megalopolis, or now Megalópoli (Μεγαλοπολη) is a town in the western part of the prefecture of Arcadia. ... There is also an ancient Tegea near Kissamos in the island of Crete, see Tegea, Crete Tegea was an important religious center of ancient Greek containing the Temple of Athena Alea. ... Ancient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek-speaking world in ancient times. ... Xenophon (In Greek , c. ... A Greek trireme A Roman trireme Triremes were ancient war galleys with three rows of oars on each side. ...

Epaminondas charged and routed the Spartan right wing, winning the battle. Having fought in the front line, however, he was fatally wounded. The Theban leaders Iolaidas and Daiphantus, whom he intended to succeed him, were killed. On his deathbed, Epaminondas, on hearing of the deaths of his fellow leaders, instructed the Thebans to make peace, despite having won the battle. Without his leadership, the Theban hegemony was immediately ended. The Spartans, however, having been again defeated in battle, were unable to replace them. The ultimate result of the battle was to pave the way for the Macedonian conquest of Greece, by ensuring the weakness of both the Thebans and the Spartans.