Theban Culture

Thebes was not a very popular city because not many cities would trade with them. Other cities did not like them because their army was homosexual, they had an exotic written language and they practiced an unusual religion. Many Thebans were known for their unusual practices. They were monotheistic and believe in afterlife. Their social classes were not very different from any other city. They consider their upper class, male scholars and their middle class consisted of merchants, artisans, and plantation owners. Their lower class were the people that ran the farms and people that were not citizens. The men and women of Thebes had two completely different roles. The men would go to work and control the slaves. The boys were raised by their mothers until the age of seven, where they learned their father's occupation. The women cleaned and took care of the children.
Agriculture was very important to them and that’s what they depended on. The ocean was another important factor to them. Most people made a living from the ocean. It provided an abundant source for numerous necessities. Men that
lived in Thebes were usually poets, architects, farmers, fishermen, traders or soldiers.
There were many battles that the Thebans took place in.
One of the battles was Battle of Delium which was part of the Peloponnesian War. It took place in 424 B.C and it was fought between the Athenians and Boeotians. It took the Athenians by surprise. Another battle that the Thebans took place in was the Battle of Leuctra. This battle occurred in 371 B.C. between the Thebans and the Spartans. In the end the Thebans won the battle and the Spartans lost over one thousand soldiers. Another battle was the Battle of Marathon. This was between the Athenians and the Persians. The Persians had 48,000 men while the Athenians had 10,000 men. On September 490 B.C. war breaks out and lasts for nine days. 6,400 Persians were left dead while only 192 Athenians were left dead. Thebes had a very poor economy and bad leadership but they had a very strong army which could lead them to
victory.
Some important and popular people in Thebes were Pelopidas, Pindar and Crates. Pelopidas was an athlete and warrior. He was known for helping bring revenge to Sparta. Pinder was a greek lyric poet that had two daughters and won first place in the dithyrambic competition. Crates was an Hellenistic philosopher. He wrote books on philosophical subjects such as philosophic tragedies. Oedipus was another very important person in Thebes. He was a king of Thebes. He was the son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta. Without knowing, he killed his father and married his mother and had four children with her. He brought disaster to the city and family. More important people were the Hoplites. They were average day men that no matter what their occupation was they were called to the battle and they became a hoplite.
Thebes was a very well known city in Greece. They were known for their rich agricultural and trade which led to many great things in the city.