Faction Preview:
The Boeotian League (Thebes)
Models:
Dark Fernir, Model Modifications & Skins:
Spirit of Rob, Thespian Model & Skin:
Dark Fernir and
Hades, Research & Text:
Apostates &
Team, Map:
Uranos, Additional Art:
Lupus.
The icon is the
club of Hercules within the shape of a typical
boeotian shield
These are the two typical symbols of the boeotian league and the city of Thebes, merged together.
- "You die childless Epameinond ?"
- ''By Zeus this is not true; I leave you my immortal daughters, Leuktra and Mantineia...''
Epaminond's last dying words to his mourning comrades...
The Boeotian League
Boeotians are considered to have moved from Macedonia and were originally of Dorian stock, before they mixed with the previous populations who were Aeolians, along with the Minyes and the mythological Kadmians, who were the descendants of Kadmos, who had established the acropolis of Thebes.
The Thebans claimed Dorian descent and their city was the city where Hercules himself was born, according to the myth. The most prosperous Boeotian city before the Boeotians inhabited Thebes was Orchomenos, but later, Thebes gained considerable wealth and power, and rapidly became the dominant city of Boeotia. The Hellenic dialect spoken in Boeotia belonged to the Aeolic group along with the Thessalian and Lesbian dialects, but was mixed with many Doric elements.
The majority of the Boeotian cites had followed Thebes and allied with the Persians, except for 2 cities famous for their warriors, the cities of Plataia and Thespiai. The city of Plataia was a traditional ally of Athens but after an agreement it participated in the Boeotian league. Nevertheless they were the only Greeks who helped the Athenians in the battle of Marathon by sending 1000 of their troops, whereas the 700 brave Thespians commanded by Diadromos' son, Demophilos, were the only Greeks who willingly decided to defend Thermopylai after a treasonous Greek informed the invaders of a path which would allow them to surround the Greeks. Despite the fact that they were not professional soldiers they fought bravely down to the last man. A number of Thespians also fought later in the Battle of Plataia without carrying shields or any defensive equipment, since the destruction of their city by the Persians which followed the Battle of Thermopylai, left them in a desperate situation. On the other hand, the Plataians had offered to crew the Athenian triremes in the naval battle of Artemision, even though they had no previous experience in naval combat. Despite the Theban decision to turn against the rest of the Greeks, these 2 cities put on a glorious performance against the invaders. The cities of Plataia and Thespiai figure as enemies of Thebes and were traditional allies of Sparta and Athens respectively.
Thebans were always ready to betray the Greek cause. Hellenic mythology describes a campaign against Thebes lead by 7 generals from the Peloponnese, allied with Argos. When the campaign failed, it was repeated again by their sons and finally ended with the complete destruction of the city of Thebes, an act which is not often recorded in mythology and history. This razing of the city seems to have indeed occurred some time during the 13th century BC. The city of Thebes was also later completely destroyed by Alexander the Great, and it seems Thebans and Boeotians in general were not popular amongst Greeks.
The Thebans were considered traitors and butchers, because when they defeated an enemy Hellenic phalanx they would continue to slaughter the routing soldiers, and enjoy doing it ! Also, after their victory at Leuktra against the Spartans, the Thebans were the first to build a monument to commemorate their victory out of indestructable materials, this was not done before amongst Greeks. Considering the Thebans were always more than willing to ally with the Persians and undermine the Greeks, it makes quite an impression that Epameinondas didn’t destroy the helpless Sparta after the battle of Mantineia and respected their King, Agesilaos. Thanks to the genius of Epameinondas and its superbly trained army, led by the Sacred Band, Thebes gained the hegemony of Hellas for a short time by defeating the invincible Sparta and inspired Phillip II of Macedon to reform his army into an unbeatable force.
The Greeks used some rude phrases to describe a stupid man, by using the phrase “Boeotian mind” or to comment a dirty one, as a “Boeotian pig”. Such comments were mostly unjustified, since Boeotians and especially Thebans, had proven their virtues even when they fought against other Greeks in Plataia and Chaironeia, by disregarding death. Boeotia was the birthplace of eminent Greeks like Hesiodus, Pindar and Ploutarch, and hosted one of the richest mythological backgrounds in Hellas. Generally, the Boeotians were known to the rest of the Ancient Hellas, for their "love" of the human body! They spent almost all of their time in gymnasiums, so that they were always in good shape, and possessed great strength and stamina. In battle, they based their efforts to win mostly by their physical strength rather than by discipline and order. It was even said that they were the most robust amongst all Hellenes!
Some time after the end of the Persian invasion, the Thebans reformed the Boeotian league and it was unharmed by the Peloponnesian War, thereby gaining the potential to become the hegemon of Hellas!
Playing with the Boiotian league will demand a very careful choice of your alliances and hostilities untill your faction becomes the dominant power in southern Hellas. A direct attack on the strong factions like the Lacedaimonians or Corinthians early in the game, may turn out to be a catastrophic error.
Locations/Regions around Boeotia
Boeotian League Units
Left to Right:
Top Row: Boeotian Hoplite; Theban Hoplite; Elite Band of Thebes; Family Members Bodyguards
Bottom Row: Boeotian Hippeis; Thespian Hoplite; Orchomenian Hoplite; Theban Hippotai
Boeotian Hoplites
Boeotia is a region of Hellas where some of the most vicious battles of antiquity have taken place. The Boetoians have repeatedly proved their martial skills and their valour against each other and against superior enemies like the Athenians and the Spartans and later against the Thessalians and the Macedonians.
Their equipment slightly differs from the rest of the Greeks since they carry the unique boeotian shield and usually wear the simple boeotian helmet.
Each city of the Boeotian league has to provide a number of those hoplites. On their shields they selected the serpent/snake which is strongly associated with boeotia through myths.
Theban Hoplites
The leading city of the Boeotian League is Thebes, in fact the Boeotian League most often operated in the interests of Thebes. The Thebans are known to be the most robust of all the Greek peoples; on their shields they traditionally have the club of Hercules, who was born in Thebes. It is recorded that they spent a lot of their time working on their bodies, thus their tactic in the field of battle is usually based on their physical strength rather than their discipline and command skills. They are also said to be the most bloodthirsty, especially when they face other Greeks, since after the battle, they like to hunt down the enemy and kill as many as they can.
Elite Band of Thebes/Hieros Lochos
The Hieros Lochos (Sacred Band) has not been formed yet in our mods timeframe; however most of the team wanted that name in, and maybe its a good way to make a reference to it and honour the brave men of that corp. Before the formation of the Hieros Lochos, Thebes had an elite band of a few hundred of their best citizens. our unit has on their shields the sphinx from the Oidipodus myth.
Family-Member Bodyguards
These hoplites are recruited from the best families and possess superior skills and equipement. On their shields you can see Poseidon who was a respected deity in Boeotia, although boeotians possessed practically no naval skills!
Boeotian Cavalry
Each city of the Boeotian league has to provide a number of cavalry troops to the common army which is about 1/10 of the total number of hoplites. The cavalry they provide don’t have any kind of unique equipment nor do they utilise the shock impact of a charge, but the horsemen are very well trained to fight on horseback compared to other southern Greeks.
Theban Hippotai
The cavalry of Thebes is recorded to have slain 500 hoplites in the Battle of Plataia, since they are capable of directly attacking hoplites it can be assumed that they wore some kind of body protection and also used heavy "kopis" swords specially adapted for use in cavalry assualts against infantry.
Thespian Hoplites
The Thespian "Melanochitones" (or "Black Cloaks") are the hoplites of the city of Thespies, they are some of the bravest hoplites of Hellas who not only fought to the last man in Thermopylai but also took part in the Plataia battle, with no shields of their own, since their city was destroyed by the Persians, they used the Boeotian shield which had a moon symbol painted on it, the symbol of Artemis their patron goddess and besides the black cloak, their equipment is also dark. They are known to be specialists using the "kopis/machaira" sword so we decided to make them a shock troop armed only with swords.
Orchomenos Hoplites
Orchomenos is an important city of Boeotia as noted, prior to the rise of Thebes, it was probably the most influential city and can provide reliable hoplites. These soldiers carry a shield with an image of grain on it.
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Thanks again from the "Hegemonia" team...
Faction preview No 5: Thebes
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Originally Posted by EddieripsupAthens
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