 A mere twenty-seven years after his death, a recalcitrant Thebes was obliterated by Alexander the Great.Thus Epaminondas—who had been praised in his time as an idealist and liberator—is today largely remembered for a decade (371 BC to 362 BC) of campaigning that sapped the strength of the great city-states and paved the way for the Macedonian conquest.The life of Epaminondas is very poorly attested in the ancient sources, especially compared to some of his near contemporaries (e.g.