Theban Diplomacy in 371 B.C.

Abstract

At the Peace Conference held at Sparta in 371 B.C. the Theban delegates swore oaths as Thebans, but on the following day they returned to ask for their oaths to be recorded in the name of Boeotia. As the principle of Boeotian independence had been an issue in 387/6 B.C. it is unlikely that domestic difficulty or diplomatic oversight led the Theban delegates into initial error in 371 B.C. Their apparent change of mind was a tactical move in a preconceived plan first to secure general agreement and then by the substitution of one word to effect a change of principle in the hope that other parties would not wish to see the agreement collapse.