Thebes, Greece

Thebes, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, lies in Boeotia, central Greece. A ruined 15th-century BCE Minoan-style palace at the Cadmea citadel featured frescoes suggesting contact with Knossos, while Linear B tablets discovered in 1970 confirmed its importance as a Mycenaean power center. After revolting against Sparta in 379 BC, Thebes under Epaminondas defeated the Spartans at Leuctra (371 BC) and became Greece's foremost military power for a decade. The city was destroyed by Alexander the Great in 335 BC after an unsuccessful revolt, with its population sold into slavery.