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The Battle of Tegyra in 375 (also known as the Battle of Tegyrae) was
an ancient Greek battle between Theban and Spartan hoplite forces. In the
battle, a Theban army under Pelopidas was challenged by a substantially larger
Spartan force while retreating from an abortive attack on Orchomenus, but
successfully attacked and routed the Spartans. The battle marked the first
occasion in the historical record in which a Spartan force had been defeated by
a numerically inferior enemy in a set battle (as opposed to irregular warfare,
employed by Iphicrates).
Location Tegyra, near Orchomenus, Boeotia
Result Theban victory
Opponents Thebes versus Sparta
Commanders and leaders:
- Thebes - Pelopidas
Sparta - Gorgolleon & Theopompus
Strength:
Thebes - 300 infantry, 200 cavalry
Sparta - 1,000-1,800
Casualties and losses:
Thebes Low
Sparta moderate
Prelude:
After an insurrection in 379/8 removed Spartan control over Thebes, the city
set about reestablishing its control over the Boeotian League. Over several
years of campaigning, the Thebans succeeded in driving Spartan garrisons out of
every city in Boeotia but Orchomenus. In 376,
Pelopidas, learning that
the Spartan garrison of Orchomenus had gone on an expedition to Locris, set out
with the Sacred Band of Thebes and a small force of cavalry, intending to seize
the city while it was unguarded. As the Thebans approached the city, however,
they learned that a sizable force had been dispatched from Sparta to reinforce
the Orchomenus' garrison, and was approaching the city. Accordingly, Pelopidas
retreated with his force, but before the Thebans could reach safety at Tegyra,
they met the original Spartan garrison returning from Locris.
Battle:
The Theban force was heavily outnumbered by the Spartans opposite them. The
Sacred Band numbered some 300 hoplites, while the Spartan garrison consisted of
two companies, meaning that the Spartan force contained between 1,000 and 1,800
hoplites. Plutarch reports that one Theban soldier, upon seeing the enemy
force, said to Pelopidas "We are fallen into our enemies' hands," to
which Pelopidas replied "And why not they into ours?" Pelopidas then
ordered the Theban cavalry to charge while the infantry formed up into an
abnormally dense formation. When the two phalanxes came together, the compact
Theban formation broke through the Spartan line at the point of contact, then
turned to attack the vulnerable flanks of the Spartans to either side. The
Spartan force broke and fled, although the Theban pursuit was limited by the
proximity of Orchomenus.
Significance: The Theban victory at Tegyra had little immediate military
significance, beyond the survival of Pelopidas's force; the Spartan force, once
regrouped within Orchomenus, was far too formidable for Pelopidas to press his
advantage. Despite this fact, the victory was a symbolically significant event
for both sides. Diodorus Siculus records that the victory at Tegyra marked the
first time the Thebans had erected a trophy of victory over a Spartan
force—for while the Thebans had defeated the Spartans before, these
victories had generally been in much smaller skirmishes. For the Spartans, on
the other hand, their defeat at Tegyra marked the first occasion on which one
of their formations had been defeated by a force of equal or lesser size in set
battle For these reasons, Plutarch saw in Pelopidas' victory at Tegyra a
"prelude to Leuctra", with the limited victory in 375 anticipating
the day 4 years later when a similarly outnumbered Theban phalanx would deal
Sparta a blow from which it would never recover.
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