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Thebans attack Plataea and the war begins

431 BCE, Plataea. An event.

Where and when

431 BCEPlataea

2,456 years ago

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, Plataea

A Theban force slips into Plataea, an ally of Athens, at night. Thucydides treats this as the start of the war between Athens and Sparta.

a Theban force a little over three hundred strong, under the command of their Boeotarchs, Pythangelus, son of Phyleides, and Diemporus, son of Onetorides, about the first watch of the night, made an armed entry into Plataea, a town of Boeotia in alliance with Athens.

Thucydides 2.2.1Translated by Richard Crawley (1874)Read the full passage (Thucydides 2.2.1, opens scaife.perseus.org)

Background: Peloponnesian War, Wikipedia (opens en.wikipedia.org)

Why it matters

The Theban attack on Plataea was the first attack of the war, in which Athens lost its Aegean empire and its maritime dominance and Sparta became the leading power of Greece.

Based on Wikipedia: Peloponnesian War

The first attack was by the Thebans on the Athenian outpost at Plataea, on 4 April 431 BC.

Athens lost its Aegean empire and its maritime dominance, while Sparta became established as the leading power of Greece.

Wikipedia, Peloponnesian War (opens en.wikipedia.org), as of 2026-08-22. Text CC BY-SA 4.0. Our line is checked against these sentences only.

Related moments

In time order, with this one in its place. Each says why it is here.

  1. 479 BCE48 years earlier Greeks defeat the Persian army at Plataea Also in Plataea
  2. set in 432 BCE1 year earlier Pericles urges Athens to guard the sea Rests on this event
  3. set in 432 BCE1 year earlier Pericles warns Athens of its own blunders Rests on this event
  4. 431 BCEThis momentThebans attack Plataea and the war begins
  5. 431 BCESame year Medea on the lot of women Rests on this event
  6. 431 BCE, written laterSame year Thucydides opens his history of the war Rests on this eventAlso about war and empire
  7. 431 BCESame year Medea on childbirth and battle Same years
  8. 431 BCE0.10000000000002274 years later Spartan army invades Attica Also about war and empire
  9. set in 431/430 BCEBegins this year Pericles on wealth and poverty Rests on this event
  10. 430 BCE1 year later Plague breaks out in Athens Same years
  11. 431/430 BCEBegins this year Athens holds a public funeral for its first war dead Same years
  12. 429 BCE2 years later Pericles dies Same years

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