BOEOTIA. Thebes. Circa 364-362 BC. Stater (Silver, 21 mm, 12.12 g), Epaminondas, magistrate. Boeotian shield. Rev. EΠ-ΠA Amphora. BCD Boeotia 540. Hepworth, Epaminondas pl. 3, 4. SNG Lockett 1755. Rare and of considerable historical interest. Faint scratches and with a graffito of Λ on the reverse, otherwise, very fine.


This is the only numismatic testimony we have of Epaminondas, the famous Theban statesman who in 371 became the first general in history to beat a Spartan army in open battle. The Battle of Leuktra was a milestone in Greek history, breaking Sparta's longstanding hegemony and making Thebes the most powerful polis in Greece. In 362, however, Epaminondas was killed in the Battle of Mantineia by a javelin thrown by Gryllos, the son of the historian, Xenophon. Without the inspiring leadership of its greatest statesman, Thebes soon proved to be unable to defend its hegemony against the aggressions of Philip II of Macedon. After losing the Battle of Chaironeia in 339, Thebes was finally forced to accept a Macedonian garrison on the Kadmeia, the local Akropolis.