Phoebidas
Sign in to savePhoebidas () was a Spartan general who, in 382 BC, seized the Theban acropolis, thus giving Sparta control over Thebes. As punishment for his unauthorized action, Phoebidas was relieved of command. Nevertheless, the Spartans continued to hold Thebes. The Spartan king Agesilaus argued against punishing Phoebidas, on the grounds that his actions had benefitted Sparta, arguing that that was the only standard by which he should be judged.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Place of birth
- Sparta
- Place of death
- Boeotia
- Occupation
- military personnel
- Position held
- harmost
- Languages spoken
- Ancient Greek
Show 4 more facts
- date of birth
- 0500-00-00
- time period
- classical antiquity
- date of death
- 0378-00-00
- described by source
- Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
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Phoebidas () was a Spartan general who, in 382 BC, seized the Theban acropolis, thus giving Sparta control over Thebes. As punishment for his unauthorized action, Phoebidas was relieved of command. Nevertheless, the Spartans continued to hold Thebes. The Spartan king Agesilaus argued against punishing Phoebidas, on the grounds that his actions had benefitted Sparta, arguing that that was the only standard by which he should be judged.
In 378 BC, the Thebans tried to take Thespiae, but were beaten back by Phoebidas who was serving as the harmost of Thespiae. When the Thebans retreated Phoebidas sallied out, he lost 500 soldiers while he himself was killed by cavalry under the command of the Theban general Gorgidas.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Phoebidas” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.