264 HISTORICAL TALES.

for no allies, and seemed feeble against Spartan
strength. How dared, then, this insolent delegate
to fling defiance in the teeth of the lord of Greece?

Fortunately Thebes needed no allies. It had two
men of warlike genius, Epaminondas and Pelopidas.
These were to prove in themselves worth a host of
allies. The citizens were with them. Great as was
the danger, the Thebans sustained Epaminondas in
his bold action, and made him general of their army.
He at once marched to occupy a pass by which it
was expected the Spartans would come. Sparta at
that moment had a strong army under Cleombrotus,
one of its two kings, in Phocis, on the frontier of
Beotia. This was at once ordered to march against
defiant Thebes.

Cleombrotus lost no time, and with a military skill
which Spartans rarely showed he evaded the pass
which Epaminondas held, followed a narrow moun-
tain-track, captured Creusis, the port of Thebes,
with twelve war-ships in the harbor, and then
marched to a place called Leuctra, within an easy
march of Thebes, yet which left open communication
with Sparta by sea, by means of the captured port.

The Thebans had been outgeneralled, and were
dismayed by the result. The Spartans and their
king were full of confidence and joy. All the elo-
quence of Epaminondas and the boldness of Pelopi-
das were needed to keep the courage of their country-
men alive and induce them to march against their
foes. And it was with much more of despair than
of hope that they took up at length a position on
the hilly ground opposite the Spartan camp.