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south between Coronea and Haliartus. The north-east barrier was pierced by underground passages (katavothra) which carried off the overflow from Copais. The See also:

SOUTHERN

southern portion of the See also:

LAND

land forms a See also:

plateau which slopes to Mt. See also:

CITHAERON

Cithaeron, the frontier range between Boeotia and Attica. Within this territory the See also:

low ridge of Teumessus separates the See also:

PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain of Ismenus and See also:

DIRCE

Dirce, commanded by the citadel of See also:

Thebes, from the upland plain of the Asopus, the only Boeotian See also:

RIVER

river that finds the eastern See also:

sea. Though the Boeotian See also:

CLIMATE

climate suffered from the exhalations of Copais, which produced a heavy See also:

ATMOSPHERE (Gr. fir µ6r, vapour; orkaipa, a sphere)

atmosphere with foggy winters and sultry summers, its See also:

rich See also:

SOIL

soil was suited alike for crops, plantations and pasture; the Copais plain, though able to turn into See also:

marsh when the choking of the katavothra caused the lake to encroach, being among the most fertile in Greece. The central position of Boeotia between two seas, the strategic strength of its frontiers and the ease of communication within its extensive area were calculated to enhance its See also:

POLITICAL

political importance. On the other See also:

hand the lack of See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good harbours hindered its maritime development; and the Boeotian nation, although it produced See also:

GREAT

great men like See also:

PINDAR (Gr. HivSapos, c. 522–443 B.c.)

Pindar, See also:

EPAMINONDAS (c. 418-362)

Epaminondas, See also:

PELOPIDAS (d. 364 B.C.)

Pelopidas and See also:

Plutarch, was proverbially as dull as its native See also:

air.

But See also:

CREDIT (Lat. credere, to believe)

credit should be given to the See also:

PEOPLE

people for their splendid military qualities: both their See also:

CAVALRY (Fr. cavalerie, Ger. Kavallerie or Reiterei, derived ultimately from late Lat. caballus, horse)

cavalry and heavy See also:

INFANTRY

infantry achieved a glorious See also:

RECORD (Lat. recordari, to recall to mind, from cor, heart or mind)

record. In the mythical days Boeotia played a prominent See also:

PART

part. Of the two great centres of legends, Thebes with its Cadmean See also:

POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population figures as a military stronghold, and See also:

ORCHOMENUS (local form on coins and inscriptions, Erchomenos)

Orchomenus, the See also:

home of the Minyae, as an enterprising commercial See also:

CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city. The latter's prosperity is still attested by its archaeological remains (notably the " See also:

TREASURY

Treasury of Minyas ") and the traces of artificial conduits by which its See also:

ENGINEERS, MILITARY

engineers supplemented the natural outlets. The " Boeotian " population seems to have entered the land from the north at a date probably anterior to the Dorian invasion. With the exception of the Minyae, the See also:

ORIGINAL

original peoples were soon absorbed by these immigrants, and the Boeotians henceforth appear as a homogeneous nation. In See also:

HISTORICAL

historical times the leading city of Boeotia was Thebes, whose central position and military strength made it a suitable See also:

capital. It was the See also:

CONSTANT, BENJAMIN (1845-1902)

constant ambition of the Thebans to absorb the other townships into a single See also:

state, just as See also:

Athens had annexed the See also:

ATTIC (i.e. "in the Attic style ")

Attic communities. But the outlying cities success-fully resisted this policy, and only allowed the formation of a loose federation which in See also:

early times seems to have possessed a merely religious See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character. While the Boeotians, unlike the Arcadians, generally acted as a See also:

UNITED

united whole against See also:

FOREIGN

foreign enemies, the constant struggle between the forces of centralization and disruption perhaps went further than any other cause to check their development into a really powerful nation. Boeotia hardly figures in See also:

HISTORY

history before the See also:

LATE

late 6th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century. Previous to this its people is chiefly known as the producer of a type of geometric pottery similar to the Dipylon See also:

WARE

ware of Athens.

About 519 the resistance of See also:

PLATAEA, or PLATAEAE

Plataea to the federating policy of Thebes led to the interference of Athens on behalf of the former; on this occasion, and again in 507, the Athenians defeated the Boeotian See also:

levy. During the See also:

Persian invasion of 48o, while some of the cities fought whole-heartedly in the ranks of the patriots, Thebes assisted the invaders. For a See also:

time the See also:

PRESIDENCY

presidency of the Boeotian See also:

LEAGUE

League was taken away from Thebes, but in 457 the Spartans reinstated that city as a See also:

BULWARK (a word probably of Scandinavian origin, from bol or bole, a tree-trunk, and werk, work, in Ger. Bollwerk, which has also been derived from an old German bolen, to throw, and so a machine for throwing missiles)

bulwark against Athenian aggression. Athens retaliated by a sudden advance upon Boeotia, and after the victory of Oenophyta brought under its See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power the whole See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country excepting the capital. For ten years the land remained under Athenian See also:

CONTROL (Fr. contrdle, older form contre rolle, from Med. Lat. contra-rotulus, a counter roll or copy of a document used to check the original; there is no instance in English of the use of " control " in this, its literal, meaning)

control, which was exercised through the newly installed democracies; but in 447 the oligarchic See also:

MAJORITY (Fr. majorite; Med. Lat. majoritas; Lat. major, greater)

majority raised an insurrection, and after a victory at Coronea regained their freedom and restored the old constitutions. In the Peloponnesian See also:

War the Boeotians, embittered by the early conflicts See also:

ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round Plataea, fought zealously against Athens. Though slightly estranged from See also:

SPARTA (Gr. Eirapril or AaKe5atycav)

Sparta after the See also:

peace of See also:

Nicias, they never See also:

ABATED

abated their enmity against their neighbours. They rendered good service at See also:

Syracuse and Arginusae; but their greatest achievement was the decisive victory at Delium over the See also:

flower of the Athenian See also:

army (424), in which both their heavy infantry and their cavalry displayed unusual efficiency. About this time the Boeotian League comprised eleven See also:

groups of See also:

SOVEREIGN

sovereign cities and associated townships, each of which elected one Boeotarch or See also:

MINISTER (Lat. minister, servant)

minister of war and foreign affairs, contributed sixty delegates to the federal See also:

COUNCIL (Lat. concilium, from cum, together, and the root cal, to call)

council at Thebes, and supplied a contingent of about a thousand See also:

FOOT

foot and a See also:

HUNDRED

hundred See also:

HORSE (a word common to Teutonic languages in such forms as hors, hros, ros; cf. the Ger. ross)

horse to the federal army. A safeguard against undue encroachment on the part of the central See also:

government was provided in the See also:

COUNCILS

councils of the individual cities, to which all important questions of policy had to be submitted for ratification. These See also:

LOCAL

local councils, to which the propertied classes alone were I I 5 eligible, were subdivided into four sections, resembling the prytaneis of the Athenian council, which took it in turns to take previous See also:

COGNIZANCE (Lat. cognoscere, to know)

cognizance of all new See also:

MEASURES

measures). Boeotia took a prominent part in the war of the Corinthian League against Sparta, especially at Haliartus and Coronea (395–394)• This See also:

CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

change of policy seems due mainly to the See also:

NATIONAL

national resentment against foreign interference.

Yet disaffection against Thebes was now growing rife, and Sparta fostered this feeling by stipulating for the See also:

COMPLETE

complete See also:

independence of all the cities in the peace of See also:

ANTALCIDAS

Antalcidas (387). In 374 Pelopidas restored the Theban dominion. Boeotian contingents fought in all the See also:

CAMPAIGNS

campaigns of Epaminondas, and in the later See also:

WARS

wars against Phocis (356–346); while in the dealings with See also:

Philip of Macedon the federal cities appear merely as the tools of Thebes. The federal constitution was also brought into See also:

ACCORD (from Fr. accorder, to agree)

accord with the democratic governments now prevalent through-out the land. The sovereign' power was vested in the popular See also:

ASSEMBLY, UNLAWFUL

assembly, which elected the Boeotarchs (between seven and twelve in number), and sanctioned all See also:

LAWS

laws. After the See also:

BATTLE

battle of Chaeroneia, in which the Boeotian heavy infantry once again distinguished itself, the land never See also:

rose again to prosperity. The destruction of Thebes by See also:

Alexander (335) seems to have paralysed the political See also:

ENERGY (from the Gr. ivipyela; iv, in, ipyov, work)

energy of the Boeotians, though it led to an improvement in the federal constitution, by which each city received an equal See also:

VOTE

vote. Henceforth they never pursued an See also:

INDEPENDENT

independent policy, but followed the See also:

lead of protecting See also:

POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers. Though the old military training and organization continued, the people proved unable to defend the frontiers, and the land became more than ever the " dancing-ground of See also:

ARES

Ares." Though enrolled for a See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short time in the Aetolian League (about 245 B.c.) Boeotia was generally loyal to See also:

MACEDONIA

Macedonia, and supported its later See also:

KINGS, FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF

kings against See also:

Rome. In return for the excesses of the democracies Rome dissolved the league, which, however, was allowed to revive under See also:

AUGUSTUS (a name 1 derived from Lat. augeo, increase, i.e. venerable, majestic, Gr. Ee0avr6s)

Augustus, and merged with the other central See also:

Greek federations in the Achaean See also:

synod. The See also:

DEATH

death-See also:

BLOW, JOHN (1648-1708)

blow to the country's prosperity was given by the devastations during the first Mithradatic War. See also:

SAVE, or SAVA (Ger. Sau; Hungarian Szdva; Lat. Savus)

Save for a short See also:

period of prosperity under the Frankish rulers of Athens (1205–1310), who repaired the katavothra and fostered See also:

agriculture, Boeotia See also:

long continued in a state of decay, aggravated by occasional See also:

BARBARIAN (Gr. fap/3apos)

barbarian incursions.

The first step towards the country's recovery was not until 1895, when the outlets of CopaIs were again put into working See also:

order. Since then the See also:

NORTHERN

northern plain has been largely reclaimed for agriculture, and the natural riches of the whole land are likely to develop under the See also:

INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence of the railway to Athens. Boeotia is at See also:

PRESENT

present a Nomos with Livadia (the old See also:

TURKISH

Turkish capital) for its centre; the other surviving townships are quite unimportant. The population (65,816 in 1907) is largely Albanian.

End of Article: BOEOTIA

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