Sparta, its fleet, and the Aegean Islands in 387-375 BC

The naval politics of Sparta in the period between the Corinthian and Boeotian Wars is a problem that barely features in modern studies on classical Greek history. The article tries to partially fill this gap, through analysis of the scant sources. The author argues that Sparta did not withdraw completely from maintaining its own presence in the Aegean Sea after conclusion of the King’s Peace. From the few testimonies, especially of Xenophon and Polyaenus, we can conclude that Sparta even kept a fleet (albeit small) in this period. This means that some kind of influence on insular poleis could have been exerted. Possible examples of Spartan actions, like on Thasos, are also disputed. However, all bridgeheads in the Aegean that Sparta probably had were lost in the first phase of the Boeotian War. This puts into question the quality of Lacedaemonian leadership, in terms of both political and military command. The article was prepared as a part of grant: The Aegean Islands 8th-4th c. BC - 4th c. AD. Centre or Periphery of the Greek World. Project ID: 2012/07/B/HS3/0345