379 BC

Events

Sparta suppresses the Chalcidian League and imposes terms favourable to King Amyntas III of Macedonia.
A small group of Theban exiles, led by Pelopidas, infiltrate the city of Thebes and assassinate the leaders of the pro-Spartan government. Epaminondas and Gorgidas lead a group of young men who break into the city's armories, take weapons, and surround the Spartans on the Cadmea, assisted by a force of Athenian hoplites. In the Theban assembly the next day, Epaminondas and Gorgidas bring Pelopidas and his men before the audience and exhort the Thebans to fight for their freedom. The assembly respond by acclaiming Pelopidas and his men as liberators. Fearing for their lives, the Spartan garrison surrender and are evacuated. The Thebans of the pro-Spartan party are also allowed to surrender; they are subsequently executed.
The Thebans are able to reconstitute their old Boeotian confederacy in a new, democratic form. The cities of Boeotia unite as a federation with an executive body composed of seven generals, or Boeotarchs, elected from seven districts throughout Boeotia.