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The early years following the Peloponnesian War were marked by Spartan hegemony. However, Sparta's dominance was met with sharp dissatisfaction across the Hellenic world. Like Athens before it, Sparta imposed a tribute (foros) on its allies. Constantly interfering in the internal affairs of Greek cities, Sparta persecuted democrats and imposed oligarchic rule everywhere. Many cities were garrisoned with troops led by Spartan governors. As a result, the Greek poleis, which had expected liberation from Sparta, found themselves in worse conditions than they had been under the Athenian League.
Sparta's position became precarious when its relations with Persia deteriorated. During the Peloponnesian War, Sparta had promised to return the Greek cities on the Asia Minor coast to Persia in exchange for subsidies. However, these cities had gained their independence through the Greco-Persian Wars, which were regarded by most Greeks as a heroic past. Sparta was initially reluctant to infringe upon this independence, and therefore, did everything possible to delay fulfilling its obligation.
After the death of Persian King Darius II, a struggle for the throne broke out between his elder son and successor Artaxerxes and his younger son, Cyrus. Cyrus sought help from Sparta, with whom he had close ties dating back to the Peloponnesian War. Sparta found it advantageous to support Cyrus, as in return for their support, they could bargain to maintain the independence of the cities of Asia Minor. Having recruited a 13,000-strong contingent of Greek mercenaries and combining them with his Persian troops, Cyrus launched a campaign against Artaxerxes. However, in 401 BC, in the Battle of Cunaxa (north of Babylon), Cyrus was killed. Cyrus' native troops immediately switched to Artaxerxes' side, leaving the Greek mercenaries, now slightly over 10,000 strong, stranded far from home and surrounded by enemies. To make matters worse, the Greek commanders were treacherously murdered after being invited to Artaxerxes' camp for negotiations. The Greeks then elected new commanders, one of whom was the historian Xenophon, who described this campaign. They began a retreat northward to the Black Sea coast. Despite all Persian efforts to obstruct their march and the difficulties of the journey, the Greeks managed to carve a path to the sea and eventually return home, though they lost about a quarter of their number.
Regardless of the outcome of this retreat, Sparta's situation became difficult. Artaxerxes was deeply angered by Sparta's intervention on Cyrus' behalf. Satrap Tissaphernes demanded that the Greeks of Asia Minor pay tribute, thereby recognizing themselves as subjects of the Persian king. In these circumstances, Sparta was forced to support the Greeks of Asia Minor.
After the Peace of Antalcidas, Spartan hegemony in Greece was briefly restored. However, the further course of events showed that Sparta's policy of crude pressure and interference in the internal affairs of other Greek states, which was strictly enforced, only served to alienate even its old allies. In this context, the events that took place in 379 BC in Thebes became significant. The city was ruled by oligarchs who enjoyed the support of a 1,500-strong Spartan garrison stationed in the Theban acropolis, Cadmea. Many Theban democrats were forced to flee to Athens and other cities, while others remained in Thebes but went into hiding. However, discontent with the existing order was growing stronger among the urban demos and the Boeotian peasantry. Pelopidas emerged as the leader of the democratic movement. The hatred of the rebels toward the oligarchic regime was so intense that the Theban oligarchs were slaughtered, and the Spartan garrison was forced to surrender.
This marked the beginning of the rise of Thebes. Other Boeotian cities united around it, and contrary to the Peace of Antalcidas, the Boeotian League was reestablished. Soon, Athens began to develop friendly relations with this league, hoping to find in it an ally against Sparta.
In 378 BC, under Athenian leadership, the Second Athenian League was formed. Many states that had previously been allies of Athens joined, though the number of participants was smaller compared to the first league. For example, the cities of Asia Minor, which had fallen under Persian control, and several others did not participate. In organizing the Second League, both the Athenians and their new allies took past experiences into account: the league was established on more or less equal terms. An interesting inscription represents a decree of the Athenian assembly on the structure of this union: fearing that their allies might suspect them of trying to restore their empire, the Athenians swore not to collect tribute (foros) from their allies, not to interfere in their internal affairs, and not to send officials, garrisons, or cleruchs to them. To equip and maintain a fleet, the Athenians had to mobilize internal resources and carry out a reform whereby the first three classes of citizens were required to pay a special tax, the so-called eisphora, annually, based on the size of their property.
Sparta had good reason to see the formation of the Second Athenian League and the Boeotian League as a real threat to its hegemony. Therefore, the Peloponnesian fleet was sent to the shores of Attica to blockade them. However, the Peloponnesian fleet soon suffered a heavy defeat in the naval battle of Naxos (376 BC). After this, the Spartans focused their main forces on the struggle against Thebes. In 371 BC, the famous Battle of Leuctra took place in Boeotia. The Theban forces were commanded by the outstanding general Epaminondas, who for the first time used a new formation in battle, the so-called oblique phalanx. The essence of the innovation was the unusual strengthening of the left flank for that time, which decided the outcome of the battle. The Spartan army suffered a crushing defeat.
The defeat of the Spartans and the subsequent Theban campaigns in the Peloponnese led to a general rise in the democratic movement throughout Greece. A series of democratic revolutions occurred in the Peloponnese itself. In the previously backward region of Arcadia, a strong democratic league was formed under the leadership of the city of Mantinea. Messenia became independent. The result of all these upheavals was the complete disintegration of the Peloponnesian League, Sparta's loss of its hegemonic position, and its transformation into a secondary state.
However, Thebes' rise to power was very short-lived. Boeotia had even fewer opportunities to occupy a leading position in the Hellenic world than Sparta. Additionally, the balance of power in Greece changed drastically when the Athenians, alarmed by Thebes' excessive rise, broke away from them and allied with Sparta. Epaminondas launched a new campaign into the Peloponnese, and in 362 BC, the decisive Battle of Mantinea took place between the Spartan and Theban forces. The Thebans once again achieved a brilliant victory but were unable to capitalize on it due to the heavy losses they suffered and the death of Epaminondas. The strength of Thebes was already exhausted, and they could no longer maintain hegemony in the Peloponnese. Athens, meanwhile, attempted to take advantage of this favorable situation and return to its old imperialist policy towards its allies. However, the revival of this policy led to the so-called Social War (357–355 BC), which resulted in the collapse of the Second Athenian League.
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