This book belongs to Routledge's Cities of the Ancient World series, a collection meant ‘to offer academics, students, and the interested reader comprehensive and scholarly accounts of the life of each city’ (p. ii). R.'s volume, however, is neither ‘comprehensive’ nor ‘scholarly’ in the sense that professionals use these terms. Instead, it provides ‘an introductory survey of the history of the ancient Greek city of Thebes’ (p. x). These limited aims ultimately hinder the volume's utility for scholars and students alike. Other problems also exist.
Seven successive chapters cover the major periods of Greek history, each beginning with a short overview followed by a chronological discussion of major historical events and special topics. We learn that the footnotes and bibliography contain references to ‘some of the most significant discussions in the modern scholarship related to Thebes as a starting point for those interested in pursuing further lines of inquiry’ (p. x). It is a shame that, on almost every occasion, the footnotes only contain bibliographic references with no further discussion of historical debates or scholarly opinions.
In the chapters on prehistory (1–2) the book proves to be more a synoptic look at Bronze and Dark Age Greece than a specific discussion of Thebes. These chapters exemplify the single biggest problem with the volume as a whole: R.'s treatment is not quite introductory, nor is it quite scholarly; in places the book assumes a grounding in Greek history, but elsewhere it does not. For example, we read that ‘by the time of the Warrior Vase (ca. 1200), soldiers are depicted with leather cuirasses and greaves’ (p. 28). Is the reader meant to know of the Warrior Vase or where it was found? The footnote points to O. Dickinson for an image, but the vase itself is never introduced or contextualised, nor is it discussed further. Scholars will know the details, but students and interested laypeople may not. Moreover, R. does not fully draw connections between the material he includes and Thebes itself. We read of Minoans in the Bronze Age, but their relevance to Thebes is not clearly delineated. We hear of Lefkandi in the Dark Age, but again possible relationships to Thebes remain vaguely expressed. There is, of course, a general lack of sources for these periods apart from archaeological finds and references in later texts; so a coherent narrative is not easy to construct. Nonetheless, much we do know about Thebes goes unexplored. R.'s readers gain no sense of the real city in these times: discussion of the famous cylinder seals is spotty; questions about a double palace (or a sequence of palaces) remain insufficiently explored; the reader does not learn of the Armory/Arsenal until R.'s chapter on the Dark Age. Inevitably, the book spends some time on Homeric epic, but the poems are used mostly and somewhat repetitively to frame a ‘what-it-must-have-been-like’ approach to the various eras discussed.
Ultimately R.'s selectivity and focus on breadth detract from what one could learn about Thebes. R. might have spent more time discussing Linear B, since the nodules and tablets from Thebes (especially the more recent finds) could have helped sketch out a geographical footprint of palatial influence, explore the contested religious reading of some of these texts or discuss Bronze Age resource exploitation, trade or craft. Similarly, although this book appeared in 2017, we find no mention of the Herakleion in Thebes, surely one of the most important sanctuaries recently discovered in Greece from the Geometric to Archaic period. Its importance in illuminating the mythology, topography, religious economy and life of Thebes can hardly be overstated. Aside from such gaps, we find a glaring error. Image 1.8 shows the procession scene from the so-called ‘Old Kadmeion’ (p. 16) – perhaps one of the most famous finds from Bronze Age Thebes. The image caption reads ‘reconstructed wall painting from a monumental chamber tomb at Thebes (1300–1200 bce)’. Wall painting is indeed associated with one of the so-called ‘Tombs of the Sons of Oedipus’, but the illustrated image does not show what was found there. One suspects an editorial lapse in this instance.
In Chapter 3 R. discusses Thebes in the Archaic period, an era that has encouraged much scholarly debate. Was Boeotia unified politically? Was Thebes working to lead the region? How did conflict with other regions arise? R. alludes to these matters, but his grounds for excluding or including details remain puzzling. For example, the book asserts, ‘at some uncertain date in the sixth century, the Thebans had to repel a joint military action in Boeotia by the Orchomenians and the Thessalians’ (p. 44), and a footnote dutifully points to E. Mackil's work. Much historical interpretation of Boeotia and Thebes at this time rests on this battle, but neither the name of the battle (the Battle of Keressos) nor the ancient sources are included in either the text or footnotes. His inclusion of the conflict between Lagash and Umma of c. 2450 also perplexes: does the reader need to know of this particular battle to grasp the concept of contested agricultural borderlands in Archaic Greece? This event seems included so that R. can mention the Stele of the Vultures and its depiction of battle (p. 39). His subsequent link to the Orientalising period feels severely strained.
Once R. turns to periods better known from ancient literary sources, the book follows a chronological course through the major historical events in which Thebes played a role. He presents the Classical period over three chapters (4–6), each roughly covering a century. Military affairs and ‘great men’ receive the most prominence. Here ancient authors are referred to or quoted extensively. Although R.'s attempt to organise the chain of historical events into discrete, connected blocks of time might be useful, for example ‘Second invasion of the Peloponnese (369)’ and ‘First northern campaign (369)’, his synopses offer less than the historical sources themselves. Many would likely learn more by reading the original sources cited in the footnotes. At times R. adds seemingly tangential material that strays from Thebes in order to make larger historical points. The Sicilian Episode, for example, appears out of nowhere; we learn that warfare was profitable; we hear that Arginusae is the ‘classic example’ (p. 78) of direct democracy's failings. Readers who already know a little of these matters can (mostly) follow the narrative thread, but a novice will need more help than is provided.
While the book's chapter on Hellenistic and Roman Thebes (Chapter 7) is limited, and recent studies of Thebes’ role in the later League are not discussed, the city's development in Late Antique, Byzantine, Ottoman and modern times receives no mention at all. Post-Imperial Thebes functioned as the seat of a theme that flourished intellectually and economically (centred in part on the silk trade). Its successive rule by the Franks and Catalans made Thebes an exceptional city indeed. To be fair, these periods fall outside the book's stated scope, but even a general and limited work about Thebes should at least allude to these other major eras of Theban strength.
It is hard to imagine the proper audience for this book. R.'s broad sketches of historical developments approach something of an outline of Greek history, but the work lacks a clear methodology, framing narrative or set of theoretical concerns. Numerous general histories on Greece do such a job better. Theban archaeology is not discussed in any useful depth, and literary traditions pertaining to Thebes (apart from Homer) are not mentioned.
Even after 35 years, this book contains little that advances S. Symeonoglou's landmark presentation of the city's topography (The Topography of Thebes from the Bronze Age to Modern Times [1985]), which itself contained sketches of historical events. P. Cartledge's 2020 general treatment of Thebes (not yet available in the United States; positively reviewed by J. Romm in the LRB 42, July 2020) offers an alternative to R.'s work.
