Famous Men of Greece · Ch. XXIII · Unit 7: Socrates, Xenophon and Thebes
28. Epaminondas and Pelopidas
Goal: Your child can tell how two friends freed Thebes from Sparta and made it, for a time, the strongest city in Greece.
You'll need
- A map or globe (a free online map works well)
- A notebook or paper and colored pencils
- Your timeline (a long strip of paper on the wall, or a notebook page)
What's in the book
Two Theban friends, rich Pelopidas and poor, bookish Epaminondas, fight side by side. When Sparta seizes the Cadmea, exiles disguised as hunters slip into Thebes on a snowy night and free the city. Epaminondas wins at Leuctra; Pelopidas dies in Thessaly; Epaminondas wins at Mantinea in 362 B.C. and dies of his wound.
The lesson, step by step
Set the scene
Find Thebes again (Cadmus's city). The Cadmea was its citadel, named after Cadmus. Then find Leuctra near Thebes and Mantinea in the Peloponnesus.
Read the chapter together
Read pages 203–209 aloud, or let your child read and help with the hard names.
Narration
Close the book. Ask your child to tell the story back in their own words, from the beginning. Don't correct as they go; just listen. If they get stuck, use a prompt:
- How did Epaminondas save Pelopidas the first time?
- How did the Spartans take the Cadmea?
- How did the exiles get into Thebes without being noticed?
- What did Epaminondas say about Leuctra and Mantinea?
Talk it over
Ask:
1. Why did the tyrants leave Epaminondas alone in Thebes? What did he do with that time?
2. What made these two men good friends?
3. The book calls Epaminondas "a spotless hero." What does that mean?
Remember it
"Leuctra and Mantinea," replied the hero, "are daughters who will keep my name alive."
Add "362 B.C.: battle of Mantinea" to the timeline.
Something extra
Draw the twelve exiles, dressed as hunters with their hounds, walking into Thebes as the snow begins to fall.
Afterwards
Talk about friendship: what did Epaminondas and Pelopidas do for each other? What would you do for a good friend?
Answers to the book's problems
1. He was poor and they thought him of no consequence; he got the young Thebans to drill and grow stronger than the Spartans. 2. They were brave and true, stood by each other in danger, and loved each other like brothers. 3. A hero with no stain on his name: he fought only for freedom and lived only to do good.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.