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He was a member of a distinguished family, and possessed great wealth which he expended on his friends, while content to lead the life of an athlete. In 384 he served in a Theban contingent sent to the support of the Spartans at Mantineia, where he was saved, when dangerously wounded, by Epaminondas.

Upon the seizure of the Theban citadel by the Spartans (383 or 382) he fled to Athens, and took the lead in a conspiracy to liberate Thebes. In 379 his party surprised and killed their chief political opponents, and roused the people against the Spartan garrison, which surrendered to an army gathered by Pelopidas.

In this and subsequent years he was elected boeotarch, and about 375 he routed a much larger Spartan force at Tegyra (near Orchomenus). This victory he owed mainly to the valour of the Sacred Band, a picked body of 300 infantry. At the battle of Leuctra ( 371) he contributed greatly to the success of Epaminondas's new tactics by the rapidity with which he made the Sacred Band close with the Spartans.

In 370 BC he accompanied his friend Epaminondas as boeotarch into Peloponnesus. On their return both generals were unsuccessfully accused of having retained their command beyond the legal term.

In 369, in response to a petition of the ThessaliansThessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalia is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. The capital of the periphery is Larissa. The prefecture lies in central Gre, Pelopidas was sent with an army against Alexander of PheraeAlexander tagus or despot of Pherae in Thessaly, ruled from 369 BC to 358 BC. He was the son and successor of the tyrant Jason of Pherae, who was assassinated in 370 BC. Alexander's tyranny caused the Aleuadae of Larissa to invoke the aid of Alexander II. After driving Alexander out, he passed into MacedonAlternate meanings: Macedon (village), New York; Macedon (town), New York Macedon (aka. Macedonia) was the ancient Greek state of Macedonia in the central-northern part of ancient Greece bordering with the ancient Greek state of Epirus on the west and the and arbitrated between two claimants to the throne. In order to secure the influence of Thebes, he brought home hostages, including the king's brother, afterwards Philip IIPhilip II ( 382 BC 336 BC), King of Macedon ( 359 BC 336 BC) Olympionike, was the father of Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon) and Philip III of Macedon. Coin with likeness of Philip II Born in Pella in 382 BC, he was King Amyntas III of Maced, the conqueror of Greece.

Next year Pelopidas was again called upon to interfere in Macedonia, but, being deserted by his mercenaries, was compelled to make an agreement with Ptolemaeus of Alorus . On his return through Thessaly he was seized by Alexander of Pherae, and two expeditions from Thebes were needed to secure his release.

In 367Centuries: 5th century BC 4th century BC 3rd century BC Decades: 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 372 BC 371 BC 370 BC 369 BC 368 BC 367 BC 366 BC 365 BC 364 BC 363 BC 362 BC Events The temple to Conc Pelopidas went on an embassy to the Persian king and induced him to prescribe a settlement of Greece according to the wishes of the Thebans. In 364 BC he received another appeal from the Thessalian towns against Alexander of Pherae. Though an eclipse of the sun prevented his bringing with him more than a handful of troops, he overthrew the tyrant's far superior force on the ridge of Cynoscephalae ; but wishing to slay Alexander with his own hand, he rushed forward too eagerly and was cut down by the tyrant’s guards. See Battle of Cynoscephalae (364 BC)At the Battle of Cynoscephalae ( 364 BC), the Theban forces of Pelopidas fought against the Thessalian troops of Alexander of Pherae in a drawn battle in which Pelopdias was killed. The next year, the Theban general Epaminondas avenged the defeat by a vic.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. 1911 Britannica