Astounding news swept through Greece in the summer of 371 bc. In Boeotia, a crossroads for armies that was usually littered with the dead of its own citizens, the invading Spartans had been beaten, and one of their two kings had been slain in battle. The Boeotian victory at Leuctra on July 6, 371 bc, would change the balance of power throughout Greece. Over the course of the previous century Boeotia had been forced to choose sides in the conflicts that engulfed Greece. The Boeotians had sided with the invading Persians during the Second Persian Invasion of Greece in 480 bc, then with Sparta against Athens, and after that with Athens against Sparta. Even though the Boeotians' victory over the Spartans at the Battle of Leuctra made enemies of both Sparta and Athens, the Boeotians could claim to have truly liberated themselves.
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