Epaminondas

Epaminondas (c. 418–362 BCE) was a Theban general and statesman who helped transform Thebes into the leading power in Greece after the decline of Athens and before the rise of Macedon. He held high command as a Boeotarch and, alongside Pelopidas, led Theban forces during a period of intense military reform.

His most celebrated achievement came at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE, where he employed an oblique phalanx tactic, concentrating a deep, leftward wing to break the Spartan line. The victory ended Sparta's military hegemony in Greece and opened the path for Theban influence over Boeotia and the Peloponnese. He is also associated with the Sacred Band of Thebes, a corps of 300 elite hoplites who fought under Theban command.

In subsequent campaigns Epaminondas extended Theban power into the Peloponnese. He invaded Messenia, liberated many Helots, and established Messene as an independent city-state allied to Thebes, thereby ending Spartan hegemony in Messenia. He also won victories in Arcadia and conducted operations designed to check Spartan influence.

Epaminondas was killed at the Battle of Mantinea in 362 BCE, and his death is commonly viewed as the end of Theban prominence as a major Greek power. His tactical innovations—most notably the oblique formation and deep wings—were studied by later military thinkers and influenced the development of hoplite warfare and combined-arms practices in the ancient world.