Page:Greece from the Coming of the Hellenes to AD. 14.djvu/240

212 supremacy in the Ionian sea. The renewed activity of Athens brought out a new generation of generals and admirals as able and successful as those who served her in the last century. Thus Chabrias won a victory over a fleet of sixty Lacedaemonian ships off Naxos, and relieved the coasts and seas of Attica (B.C. 376); Timotheos, son of Conon, defeated another Lacedaemonian fleet at Corcyra, thus enabling the Corcyraeans to join the alliance (B.C. 375); and two years later (B.C. 375) Iphicrates again relieved Corcyra from the attack of another powerful Spartan fleet. The only success won by Sparta in this period was the thwarting of an invasion of Phocis by the Thebans in B.C. 374. Weariness of such continuous and futile warfare now began to be generally felt. A peace, which only lasted a few months, had been patched up between Athens and Sparta in B.C. 374, but three years later a general pacification was arranged, Sparta covenanting to withdraw her harmosts from the cities, and to disband her land and sea forces, and, in fact, to abandon her position of militant supremacy (B.C. 371).

This, therefore, was the end of the Spartan hegemony, but it did not bring actual and complete peace to Greece. It was the beginning of a new period, in which Thebes took her place with evil results to the unity and prosperity of Greece. In the pacification of B.C. 371 the Thebans took no share, for they claimed to sign on behalf of all the Boeotian cities, which was against the spirit of the agreement. Accordingly the Spartan king, Cleombrotus, invaded Boeotia. but was defeated at Leuctra by the Theban