Editing Epaminondas (section)

===Background===
Epaminondas lived at a particularly turbulent point in Greek history. Following its victory in the [[Peloponnesian War]] in 404&nbsp;BC, Sparta had embarked upon an aggressively [[unilateral]]ist policy towards the rest of Greece and quickly alienated many of its former allies.{{sfn|Fine|1983|p=547}}{{sfn|Hornblower|Spawforth|2003|p=391}} Thebes, meanwhile, had greatly increased its own power during the war and sought to gain control of the other cities of [[Boeotia]] (the region of ancient Greece northwest of Attica). This policy, along with other disputes, brought Thebes into conflict with Sparta. By 395 BC, Thebes, alongside [[Athens]], [[Corinth]], and [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]], found itself arrayed against Sparta (a former ally) in the [[Corinthian War]]. That war, which dragged on inconclusively for eight years, saw several bloody Theban defeats at Spartan hands. By the time of its conclusion, Thebes had been forced to check its expansionist ambitions and return to its old alliance with Sparta.{{sfn|Seager|2000|pp=118{{ndash}}119}}

In 382&nbsp;BC, however, the Spartan commander [[Phoebidas]] committed an act that would ultimately turn Thebes against Sparta for good and pave the way for Epaminondas's rise to power. Passing through Boeotia on campaign, Phoebidas took advantage of civil strife within Thebes to secure entrance to the city for his troops. Once inside, he seized the [[Cadmeia]] (the Theban [[acropolis]]), and forced the anti-Spartan party to flee the city.{{sfn|Beck|2008|p=170}} Epaminondas, although associated with that faction, was allowed to remain; since "his philosophy made him to be looked down upon as a recluse, and his poverty as impotent". The Spartans installed a puppet government in Thebes, and garrisoned the Cadmeia to ensure the behaviour of the Thebans.