 As a tactician, Epaminondas stands above every other general in Greek history, except kings Philip II and Alexander the Great, although modern historians have questioned his larger strategic vision.According to Richard A. Gabriel, his tactics "marked the beginning of the end of traditional Greek methods of war".His innovative strategy at Leuctra allowed him to defeat the vaunted Spartan phalanx with a smaller force, and his decision to refuse his right flank was the first recorded instance of such a tactic.