Strabo, Geography, Hans Claude Hamilton (Translator), William Falconer (Translator), 9.2.5

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[5] After this they assisted Penthilus in sending out the Aeolian colony, and despatched a large body of their own people with him, so that it was called the Boeotian colony.

A long time afterwards the country was devastated during the war with the Persians at Plataeae. They afterwards so far recovered their power, that the Thebans, having vanquished the Lacedaemonians in two battles,¹ disputed the sovereignty of Greece. Epaminondas, however, was killed, and they were disappointed in their hope of obtaining this supremacy. They, nevertheless, fought in defence of the Greeks against the Phocaeans, who had plundered their common temple. Reduced by this war, and by the Macedonians, at the time they invaded Greece, they lost their city, which was afterwards restored to them, and rebuilt by the Macedonians themselves, who had razed it.² From that period to our own times their affairs have continued to decline, nor do they retain the appearance even of a considerable village. Other cities (of Boeotia) have experienced a similar fate, with the exception of Tanagra and Thespiae, which in comparison with Thebes are in a tolerable condition.

Geography. Strabo. Hans Claude Hamilton (Translator), William Falconer (Translator). London. 1854-1857.

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Current edition Perseus

Geography (English) (Strabo. The Geography of Strabo, Vols. 1-3. Hamilton, Hans Claude, translator; Falconer, William, translator. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854-1857.)

Editions (1)

Γεωγραφικά Perseus (Strabo. Strabonis Geographica, Vols. 1-3. Meineke, August, editor. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877.) — 9.2.5 focus

[5] μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τὴν Αἰολικὴν ἀποικίαν συνέπραξαν τοῖς περὶ Πενθίλον, πλείστους ἐξ ἑαυτῶν συμπέμψαντες, ὥστε καὶ Βοιωτικὴν προσαγορευθῆναι. ὕστερον δὲ χρόνοις πολλοῖς ὁ Περσικὸς πόλεμος περὶ Πλαταιὰς γενόμενος διελυμήνατο τὴν χώραν. εἶτʼ ἀνέλαβον σφᾶς πάλιν ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ὥστε καὶ τῆς τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀρχῆς ἀμφισβητῆσαι Θηβαίους δυσὶ μάχαις κρατήσαντας Λακεδαιμονίους. Ἐπαμεινώνδα δὲ πεσόντος ἐν τῇ μάχῃ ταύτης μὲν τῆς ἐλπίδος διεσφάλησαν, ὑπὲρ δὲ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ὅμως ἐπολέμησαν πρὸς Φωκέας τοὺς τὸ ἱερὸν συλήσαντας τὸ κοινόν. κακωθέντες δʼ ὑπό τε τούτου τοῦ πολέμου καὶ τῶν Μακεδόνων ἐπιθεμένων τοῖς Ἕλλησιν, ὑπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν τούτων καὶ ἀπέβαλον τὴν πόλιν κατασκαφεῖσαν καὶ ἀνέλαβον ἀνακτισθεῖσαν. ἐξ ἐκείνου δʼ ἤδη πράττοντες ἐνδεέστερον ἀεὶ μέχρι εἰς ἡμᾶς οὐδὲ κώμης ἀξιολόγου τύπον σώζουσι· καὶ αἱ ἄλλαι δὲ πόλεις ἀνάλογον πλὴν Τανάγρας καὶ Θεσπιῶν· αὗται δʼ ἱκανῶς συμμένουσι πρὸς ἐκείνας κρινόμεναι.

Translations (1)

Geography (Books 6-14) Perseus (Strabo. The Geography of Strabo, Vols. 3-6. Jones, Horace Leonard, translator. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd., 1924-1929 (printing).) — 9.2.5 focus

[5] After this the Boeotians cooperated with Penthilus¹ and his followers in forming the Aeolian colony, sending with him most of their own people, so that it was also called a Boeotian colony. A long time afterwards the country was thoroughly devastated by the Persian war that took place near Plataeae. Then they recovered themselves to such an extent that the Thebans, having conquered the Lacedaemonians in two battles, laid claim to supremacy over the Greeks. But Epameinondas fell in the battle, and consequently they were disappointed in this hope; but still they went to war on behalf of the Greeks against the Phocians, who had robbed their common temple. And after suffering loss from this war, as also from the Macedonians when these attacked the Greeks,² they lost their city,³ which was razed to the ground by these same people, and then received it back from them when rebuilt.⁴ From that time on the Thebans have fared worse and worse down to our own time, and Thebes today does not preserve the character even of a respectable village; and the like is true of other Boeotian cities, except Tanagra and Thespiae, which, as compared with Thebes, have held out fairly well.

Notes on the current edition

Geography

1. Leuctra and Mantineia.

2. The Thebans, who were formerly the allies of the Macedonians, were opposed to Philip of Macedon at the battle of Chaeroneia. On the accession to the throne of Alexander, the city was destroyed, B. C. 335; 6000 of the inhabitants were killed, and 30,000 sold as slaves. The city was rebuilt, B. C. 316, by Casander. Pausanias, ix. 7. The ravages committed by Sylla in the war against Mithridates, which completed the final-ruin of Thebes, must have been fresh in the memory of Strabo.

Strabo Geography 9.2.5

Hans Claude Hamilton (Translator), William Falconer (Translator)

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