1. The emergence of ‘leagues’ in the Greek world.
A league, koinon in Greek, represents a form of federalism first appearing in the ancient Greek world in the 5th century BC. It was a combination of an amphictyony (deputies of states associated in an Amphictiony), a confederacy and an alliance, and it implied a common tribal ancestry that involved ritual worship in common sanctuaries; various social, political and economical imperatives greatly contributed to the formation of leagues as well. Cities acceding to a league devolved their right to pursue independent external policies as state entities to the Confederacy. The league exercised its power through the federal assemblies and ecclesiae, to which all citizens of the local boule could participate. The boule was the body that elected the members of civil and military authorities of the league; it carried out the league’s external policy and defended the interests of the confederate cities.
2. The Boeotian League
The earliest example of this political system was the Boeotian League, which in ancient sources is denoted by the terms ethnos (nation), koinon (league) or simply by the ethnonym Boeotoi. The overall structure of this federal state was bipartite: at its head was the central government comprising the representatives of the cities, while the cities themselves formed its basis. Among the most important institutions/offices of the central state were: the Boeotarch (one of the chief magistrates of the Boetian league, whose office combined civil and military authority), the hipparchos (commander of cavalry) and the grammateus (secretary, registrar). The league also featured: a primary assembly, a federal boule, federal law-givers who drafted and revised laws, a federal court, a federal army, a federal treasury and federal coinage bearing the Boeotian shield as its emblem. The partition in geographical districts, notwithstanding occasional alterations in terms of the balance of power between the individual cities belonging to them, formed the basis of their proportional representation in the military apparatus, in the election of officials, judges and bouleutai, even in the taxation system.
2.1. The tribal aspect
By the early 11th cent. BC, the tribal state of the Boeotians, almost immediately upon their arrival and permanent settlement in the plains west of Lake Copais (Thuc. Ι, 12.6) had begun disintegrating into a number of autonomous areas, which by the early Archaic period had evolved into city-states. By the early 5th cent. BC, the process of unification of smaller neighbouring settlements into larger formations had resulted in the emergence of eight or nine autonomous city-states.
2.2. The religious-ritual dimension
The two religious Amphictyonies of Boeotian cities also functioned as points of convergence: these were entrusted with maintaining sanctuaries and organising national festivals: the Pamboeotia (festival of the United Boeotians), held at the Itonion, the age-old sanctuary of Athena Itonia at Coronea, and the festival held at the Poseidoneion, the sacred grove of Poseidon at Onchestus, close to Haliartus.
2.3. The military dimension
As can be gleaned from the primary sources, we can not speak of a federal Boeotian state until the time of the Persian invasions of Greece. This was predominantly a political and military union of cities, in which Thebes gradually asserted a hegemonic role managing to control a large potion of Boeotian land. This allowed Thebes to dictate the external policy of the Boeotians, take leading role in military conflicts and seeking to impose the accession of the weaker settlements to it. The primary goal of this union, which is different from the religious unions of the earlier period, was the formation of a strong defensive alliance to withstand the expansionary tendencies of the Thessalians and the Athenians. The boule, called halia (Hdt. 5.79, assembly of people), charged with decision-making, was convened at Thebes, under Theban authority. The core of this first political union comprised, apart from Thebes, Tanagra, Coronea and Thespiae. The members of the so-called Tetracomia (i.e. a union of four villages, in this case Mykalessus, Pharai, Eleon and Arma), Aulis, Haliartus and Acraephia, were probably included as satellite-cities. Plataea was absent, for the city had allied itself to the Athenians as early as 519 BC (Hdt. 6.108), as was Orchomenus, who thanks to Thessalian support remained independent until 507 BC. Chaeronea, Livadia and Hyettus acceded to the union soon thereafter.
3. The members of the Boeotian League
By the end of the Persian Wars, eleven (11) city-states belonged to the union (Thebes, Tanagra, Thespiae, Coronea, Haliartus, Acraephnium, Tetracomia, Orchomenus, Livadia, Copae, Anthedon or Chaeronea). Following the Persian Wars, and notwithstanding the humiliation of the Boeotians, mainly the Thebans, because of their pro-Persian stance in the eyes of the allied Greeks, the League remained in place (Diod. ΧΙ 81.2; Justin ΙΙΙ 6.10). Thebes, however, lost its hegemony and its role greatly diminished, as other city-states, such as Tanagra, who had increased its domain as far as the Straits of Euripus, and Orchomenus took the opportunity to defect. The fact that during this time Tanagra minted stater coins (didrachms) on behalf of the League depicting the city’s initials (Τ-Α, or Τ-Τ) on the obverse, led certain scholars to argue that Tanagra replaced Thebes as the leader of the League.
During the Athenian domination in Boeotia (458-447 BC), the Boeotian League formed part of the Athenian League (Thuc., Ι. 107-108), as also suggested by the coins minted during this period, which continued to feature the shield, symbol of the Boeotian League, but lacked the ethnonym ΒΟΙΟ. Thebes was no longer the dominant city. It appears that during this period Plataea had acceded to the League, and enjoyed special privileges: the city supplied two Boeotarchs – if these were not, in fact, representing Athenian interests directly.
Following the end of Athenian hegemony over Boeotia (446 BC), with the aid and the support of Orchomenus (Thuc., Ι. 113) Thebes constantly gained ground in the reconstituted League, which for the first times took on the characteristics of a federal union. The ‘First Boeotian Federation’ survived with minor changes for two generations, from 446 BC until the King's Peace (Antalcidas' Peace 387/6 BC). As attested in an Oxyrhynchus papyrus (Hellenica Oxyrhynchia XVI 3) preserving a fragment from the work of an unknown Greek historiographer, the Boeotian domain was divided in eleven parts. This division in geographical districts and the election of representatives in these districts appears to have its roots in the old religious Amphictyony. In some cases, smaller cities were annexed to larger ones, thus increasing the number of their representatives in the federal institutions.
4. Organisation and operation
According to the aforementioned Oxyrhynchus fragment, each part supplied one Boeotarch (the highest federal authority), 60 bouleutai (councilors), 1000 hoplites (heavy armed soldiers) and 100 horsemen to the League. The functions of the Boeotarch were mostly military and administrative; in no wise did they wield judicial or legislative authority. The Boeotarchs answered to the federal boule (Council), which comprised 660 members in total. The federal boule was divided into four smaller, local branches; representatives taken from these (165 bouleutai) alternately formed a body which prepared legislation drafts and then presented them to the other branches. The local council, which were not different in function to the councils of other cities, convened together on the acropolis of Thebes (Cadmea) and reached the final decisions.
4.1. The ‘First Boeotian League’
The parts of the ‘first Boeotian League’ included the following settlements: Thebes, which dominated almost all of central Boeotia to Euripus and Anthedon in the north-northeast, to Pharai in the east and Lake Copais to the west, and originally provided two Boeotarchs. After 427 BC, when Thebes razed Plataea, it appropriated its share and annexed the entire area of Parasopea (Plataea, Scolus, Erythrae, Scaphae) south of the Asopus river, and supplied a further two Boeotarchs to the Confederacy (by extension a total of 240 bouleutai, 4000 hoplites and 400 horsemen). It is important to note that the two additional Boeotarchs were not elected by the annexed areas (e.g. Plataea), but by Thebes as well. Orchomenus together with Hysies (or Hyettus) supplied two Boeotarchs. Thespiae until 423 BC (when it was destroyed by Thebes) controlled most of south Boeotia, including Eutresis, Siphae (modern Aliki), Thisbe and Chorisae (modern Prodromos) and also provided two Boeotarchs. Tanagra, which controlled a smaller domain in eastern Boeotia, and Delion (modern Dilesi) until 424 BC, supplied one Boeotarch. Haliartus, Coronea and Livadia controlled the south/south-western part of the Copais basin, and supplied one Boeotarch. Finally, by 395 BC Copae, Acraephnium and Chaeronea formed the last part of the confederacy, and supplied one Boeotarch.
The Peace of Antalcidas (387/6 BC), which envisaged autonomy for the Greek cities, combined with Sparta’s pressures (the city functioned as an agent of the Persian king) resulted in the dissolution of the Boeotian Confederacy. The minting of federal coins ceased and each city reverted to minting its own coins.
4.2. The ‘Second Boeotian League’
After the Spartan garrison was expelled from the acropolis of Thebes (Cadmea), where it had been stationed since 382 BC, the League was reconstituted. The precise date for the emergence of the so-called ‘Second Boeotian League’ is unknown; it was certainly in existence in 371 BC, for the participation of seven Boeotarchs in attested in the Battle of Leuctra (Diod. XV 52.1 and 53.3; Paus. IX 13.7). The new Confederacy featured a more democratic system of governance. Decisions were taken in the Ecclesia -in accordance to the Athenian model-, and were enforced by the body of the Boeotarchs, who were elected directly by the demos, as the institution of the boule had been abolished. It is telling that in proxeny decrees from this period (IG VII 2407, 2408), the Boeotarchs are mentioned unaccompanied by ethnic adjectives, which could be taken as an indication that they were all Thebans. Although we have no testimonies concerning the division of Boeotia’s domain into geographical districts, and therefore no evidence on their representation in the Confederacy, it appears certain that some division existed. Out of the eleven districts of the ‘First League’ the votes of Thespiae and Orchomenus are missing, for these cities were destroyed by the Thebans in 373 and 364 BC. respectively. Thus, the ‘Second League’ comprised seven districts electing seven Boeotarchs respectively. The following is an attempt at reconstructing the distribution of votes: Thebes (4); Tanagra (1); Haliartus, Coronea, Livadia (1); Acraephnium, Copae, Chaeronea (1). The Confederacy’s coinage no longer bore the city’s initials, but the acronym of the person responsible for the mint. Another novelty of the ‘Second League’ was the introduction of the institution of the eponymous archon, an officer with a yearly term who had no political power and executed only the duties of a president. His seat, and the administrative centre of the League until 338 BC, was Thebes.
4.3. The ‘Third Boeotian League’
After the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC), Phillip II of Macedon moved the seat of the Confederacy to the city of Onchestus (close to Haliartus) where it remained until 197 BC; this marked the emergence the ‘Third Boeotian League’. Following the destruction of Thebes by Alexander the Great (335 BC), the city never recovered its former grandeur, notwithstanding its reconstruction by Cassander which begun in 316/5 BC. Thebes rejoined the Boeotian League as late as 287 BC. According to another view, however, it acceded to the League sometime between 308 and 292 BC, withdrawing from it and re-acceding in 287 BC, when Demetrius Poliorcetes restored to the Thebans their polity (Plut., Demetrius 46.1).
A new official, the aphedriateuon (title of Boeotian magistracy), possibly with some religious functions, appeared in the Confederacy, parallel to the older offices of the Boeotarch and the eponymous archon. Dedicatory inscriptions dating to 308-280/270 BC (IG VII 2724b, 2724, 2724a, 2723) preserve the names of seven or eight such officials and a mantes (seer), while by the mid-3rd cent. AD and throughout the latter part of that century, another officer appears, the grammateus (IG VII 2724c, 1795, 3207, 1672-1674, 2724d). This increase in the number of dignitaries from seven to eight, perhaps even nine should undoubtedly be correlated to the annexation of new lands to the domain of Boeotia. Thus, on an inscription originating from the Sanctuary of Amphiaraus at Oropus, dating to 263-255 BC, there is an eighth Boeotarch from Opus (modern Skala Atalantis) together with a grammateus (SEG XV 282).
The ethnic adjectives accompanying the names of the officers in the text of the inscriptions dating to this period suggest that the four cities, whose names are invariably repeated (i.e. Thebes, Tanagra, Orchomenus and Thespiae), were the ones with voting rights. A material change vis-à-vis the ‘Second Confederacy’ was that each city could elect only one Boeotarch. Certain smaller cities, which together with other small settlements formed groups of two or three, rotated in electing one Boeotarch each year, as follows: Haliartus, Acraephnium, Anthedon (together with Chalcis for the period between 308 and 304 BC): (1); Livadia, Coronea, Thisbe: (1); Plataea, Oropus (until 252/1 BC): (1); Chaeronea, Copae, Hyettus (and Oropus after 252/1 BC): (1); Opuntian Locris in the periods 272-245 and 235-228 BC: (1). This new division into districts, which by c. 260 BC are called tele, after the model of the Aetolian and Acarnanian Leagues, is entirely reflected in the subsequent reorganization of the confederate cavalry, in which each troop of chariots supplied one hipparch (commander of cavalry) and four ilarchoi (commander of a troop of horse).
Two important developments occurred in the institutions of the Confederacy in the late 3rd-early 2nd cent. BC. The eponymous archon was replaced by the general (praetor) (Titus Livius XXXIII 1.3; XLII 43.9; Polybius ΧΧΙΙ 4.12); the example of the Achaean League was followed in this, for during this period the Achaean League deeply influenced all other leagues in Greece. The existence of this officer is attested in the epigraphic record as late as 177/6 BC (SGDI 1872), yet this institution could easily date to the mid-3rd cent. BC. The second change, which came about following the attempt of the Roman Senate to intervene in the institutions of Greece, was the formation of a decision-making council (concilium), first convened in 197 BC and henceforth held at Thebes, which once more became the seat of the League (Titus Livius XXXIII 2.1 and XXXIII 2.7). Apart from the representatives of the districts (six for each, i.e. 42 in total), a Roman proconsul, the king of Pergamon and the strategos of the Achaean League also participated in the proceedings of the council (Titus Livius XXXIII 2).
5. Dissolution of the Boeotian League and its reconstitution under Roman rule
After the destruction of Haliartus by the Roman praetor Lucretius (171 BC), the Boeotian Confederacy was disbanded. According to one view, in the aftermath of the Battle of Pydna (168 BC) Rome revived the League; it did not, however, include Haliartus (it had been ceded to Athens in 167 BC), and Oropus, who had been granted independence. After the end of the Achaean War (146 BC) the Boeotian League was finally disbanded and faced the harsh consequences of the wrath of Consul Lucius Mummius, for the Boeotians had fought on the anti-Roman side. It was reconstituted much later, perhaps during the Mithridatic Wars, in the 80s BC, when Lucius Lucullus sought to relieve the cities that had suffered from Sulla’s cruel conduct (Thebes, Livadia, Athedon, Larymna, Halae [modern beach of Agios Ioannis Theologos]).
The league of the Roman period was by no means a federal state, lacking as it did any legislative or executive power. The eponymous archon was the supreme officer, like in the cities of Anthedon, Livadia, Oropus, and Thespiae. The epistles of the Roman emperors were addressed to the boule and the demos that ratified the decrees. The boule was no longer an elected body; its structure had become oligarchic, for it was comprised of aristocrats, while there were never any surprises in the ballots of the demos, for the decrees were drafted by a boule devoted to Rome.
During this period the League was mainly concerned with organising great festivals (Pamboeotia at Coronea, festival of the United Boeotians) and pan-Hellenic games (Mouseia/festival of the Muses and Erotideia/ festival of Eros at Thespiae/, Basileia/ festival of Zeus Basileus and Trophoneia/festivalofTrophoniosat Livadia, Ptoia/festival of Apollo Ptoos at Acraephnium, Amphiareia Romaia/ festival of Aphiaraus at Oropus). Together with the leagues of the Achaeans, the Phocaeans, the Locrians and the Euboeans, the Boeotian League participated in the requisite rites of the Imperial Cult. The federal priest of the Imperial Cult was no longer the Boeotarch. In the early 3rd cent. AD (IG VII 3426), a woman from Chaeronea served as a priestess in the Imperial Cult for the Boeotian League, and as a priestess of Athena Itonia and Homonoia. The Boeotian League survived until c. 250-260 AD, when we have the last testimony for the celebration of the Trophoneia in Livadia.
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