 Though not explicitly stated, this was probably the Spartan attack on Mantinea in 385 BC, as described by Xenophon; Plutarch tells us that Epaminondas was there as part of a Theban force aiding the Spartans, so this battle fits the description.Epaminondas was certainly not old enough to have served at the First Battle of Mantinea which was in 418 BC.It was at this battle, regardless of exactly when and where this occurred, that a defining moment of Epaminondas's early life would happen.