Dr. Owen Rees

So this is unusual, and it creates an uncomfortable balance.

So much so, Thebes

There is a bit of an obsession in Sparta after the Peloponnesian War in what's going on with Thebes and the growth of Thebes potentially as a rival.

And you could even date it to the debate about whether or not we destroy Athens.

I say we, the Spartans, should they destroy Athens?

And Thebes is very much on one side of that debate.

Yes, we should.

And so, you know, even from that point, and then they seem to be sort of involved in the insurrection of the Democrats coming back to Athens.

So again, they're getting involved in the other side of that conversation within a year.

And, you know, if you look at it from a Spartan perspective,

It's almost like they're just being prodded, poked at by the Thebans.

It's like, we're now just picking any sides that I'm not on.

So you get this real conflict.

And when we get a new... Sparta, as you know, is ruled by two kings.

When we get a new king on one of those thrones, I guess Aleos II, he in particular has a real bee in his bonnet about the Thebans.

And it sort of goes throughout his entire reign.

So from that respect, I mean, this is why we kind of come back to the first point we talked about, which is the end of the Peloponnesian War.

Sparta is at this zenith of its power, but everything is falling apart, including all the internal politics and the geopolitics that it was used to navigating before that point is now quickly shifting and adapting to what they're doing.

It's a massive question.

I think really you need to start with Agesilaus II.