Siege of Plataea

Siege of Plataea
Date429–427 BC
Location
Plataea
Result Peloponnesian victory
Belligerents
Plataea
Commanders and leaders
Unknown Archidamus II
Strength
400 infantry 5,000 infantry
Casualties and losses
200 dead Unknown
Soldiers attack the walls of a fortress with a battering ram. Enemy fighters watch over the top of the walls.
An illustration of the Siege of Plataea from an encyclopedia of war.

The siege of Plataea took place in 429–427 BC, during the Peloponnesian War. At the beginning of the conflict, the Thebans attacked the city of Plataea, an Athenian ally on the border between Boeotia and Attica. The initial Theban attempt to capture the city failed, but in 429 BC the Thebans' allies, the Spartans under their king Archidamus II, laid siege to the city. Left unaided by Athens, the Plataeans finally surrendered in 428 BC. Plataea was razed to the ground by the Thebans, and was not restored until after 338 BC by Philip II of Macedon.