When Phrasicleides was archon at Athens, the Romans elected eight military tribunes with consular power, Publius Manius, Gaius Erenucius, Gaius Sextus, Tiberius Julius, Lucius Lavinius, Publius Tribonius, and Gaius Manlius, and besides Lucius Anthestius.2 During their term of office the Thebans, since they were not participants in the truce, were forced to undertake alone the war with the Lacedaemonians; for there was no city that could legally join them, because all had agreed to the general peace. [2] The Lacedaemonians, since the Thebans were isolated, determined to fight them and reduce Thebes to complete slavery. And since the Lacedaemonians were making their preparations without concealment and the Thebans were destitute of allies, everyone assumed that they would easily be defeated by the Spartans. [3] Accordingly some of the Greeks who were friendly to the Thebans sympathized with them at the prospect of defeat, while others who were at odds with them were overjoyed at the thought that Thebes would in a trice be reduced to utter slavery. Finally the Lacedaemonians, their huge army ready, gave command of it to Cleombrotus their king,3 and first of all sent envoys ahead to Thebes, directing the Thebans to permit all of the Boeotian cities to be independent, to people Plataeae and Thespiae,4 and to restore the land to its former owners. [4] When the Thebans replied that they never meddled with affairs in Laconia and the Spartans had no right to touch those of Boeotia, such being the tenor of their answers, the Lacedaemonians sent Cleombrotus forth immediately with his army against Thebes; and the Spartan allies were eager for the war, confident that there would be no contest or battle but that they would master the Boeotians without a struggle.
