Boeotians

Starting territory of Boeotians, with its neighbours

difficulty Difficult
Greek culture
believes Aeolian
3 settlements
capital Orchomenos
8,700 manpower
4 characters
17 faction units
435 regional units

The campaign brief

"The Boiotians were reputed to be inferior to none of the Greek nations in the number of their men and in military valour." – Diodoros of Agyrion

Who are we? Are we mere mortals, toys of the Gods? Or are the Gods just an excuse for our foolishness? Witless we have been, and maybe the Athenians are not wrong if they call us pigs. For like common peasants we have behaved, and still now passion and anger are overcoming our people. Who are we? Are we Boiotians? Or are we just Orchomenians, Chaironeians, Tanagrans, Thebans?

Who was the first to call our land Boiotia, after its abundance of cattle (βοῦς)? Was it Kadmos, who sailed from the purple washed coasts of Phoenicia to receive a prophecy from the Oracle of Delphi? When the white cow led him into the fertile plains of our land, he founded Thebes upon a wooden spot where the Drakon of Ares was slain. But, by Athena, Thebes is not Boiotia. They led us to glory and fame, Epaminondas and Pelopidas, the Sacred Band and the Horsemen of Thebes, brave fighters all. They broke the power of the Lakedaimonians, those self-proclaimed anointed warrior legends, and humbled the arrogant Athenians. Yet glory is always transient, and man is but a victim of Tyche. For did not the Plataians sacrifice their lives for the freedom of the Hellenes at Marathon and on the plain beneath their own city? Their glory beamed like sunshine to the world, but when walls of Lakedaimonian Hoplites, with their claret cloaks flying in the wind, surrounded the city, its oh so honourably ally Athens abandoned Plataiai. With the city perished its men and its glory, for what is it now but a story to tell our young?

The Thespians, though their city was small, fought at Thermopylai and their fame, too, radiated into the whole Oikumene. Though their sacrifice was great, the battle was lost, and the Medians razed their city to the ground. Like Plataiai, their town was rebuilt, but like Plataiai, it was destroyed once more, this time by the Thebans. And finally, Thebes itself was of ancient glory, yet when the majority of its nobles decided to throw in their lot with the Medians, Zeus himself climbed down from Olympos to punish this cowardly act. Their Medismos dishonoured them, but the ever-industrious Thebans were not to be put down, gained the ascendancy over all Boiotians and, as I told above, brought the body building Lakedaimonians and the talkative Athenians to their knees. Once again, however, their Hybris was punished, and this time Zeus sent his son Alexander to burn the city down, just like Agamemnon had burnt down Troy.

Who are we, then? Are we Boiotians? Can we even call us Boiotians, with all this anger and hatred, all this bad blood in our history? Plataiai hated Thebes, Thebes hated Thespiai, Thespiai hated Orchomenos. But are we not all Boiotian? Do we not share common traits? Do we not sacrifice to the same Gods and the same heroes? Do we not all bury our dead with Tanagran figurines? Who in our country does not shudder at the story of the Massacre of Mykalessos? Who, on the other hand, does not love the tale of the Spartoi? These are our myths, our history. We share our knowledge, our beliefs, our culture. For which Boiotian would not enjoy the lyrics of Korinna of Tanagra when she sings:

"Great pleasure the city takes,

from my crystal clear voice."

Or who would not take some pride in the lines of Pindar when he claimed that Thebes was the "violet-crowned bulwark of Greece" – some of us may hate the Thebans even now when it is but a village, but deep inside we know they are Boiotians, and we’d rather take their orders than those of the pretentious Athenians, or the warmongering Lakedaimonians, or – the Ghost of Laios forbid – the Barbarians from the North. And who would not rejoice in the words of the Thespian Hesiod when he praises the simple life of our peasants? For is this not the life men were born to live, far away from luxury and Tryphe? Did Athens not become like Persepolis, and Pella like Babylon? But we Boiotians, we have always been honest and hardworking Greeks, and we will always be true to our word.

Now, Greece is under the dominion of the wine drinking Macedonians, but Boiotia is free. The Athenians, speakers of many words, are our allies now, though we do not like them. Brutal Lakedaimon is but a shadow of its former self, but with the rogue Aitolians in the West, a new danger looms. Maybe friendship can be forged with the Achaians to the South, honest people like us who relish some dirt on their Hoplite armour. The king, Antigonos, too, enjoys our friendship, but his people are half Barbarians and cannot be trusted. Word has reached us that the Athenians and Lakedaimonians are planning a revolt. Should we join them? Should we warn the king? Or should we not rather do it our own way? For who are we? We are a people, a good people, god-fearing, diligent and straightforward. We are peasants, we are warriors, we are Hoplites, we are horsemen. We are Boiotians.

Starting settlements

Boeotians begins with 3 settlements and 8,700 manpower.

Settlement	Region	Size	Manpower	Already built
Orchomenos (capital)	Boiotia	large town	3,800	13 buildings
Tanagra	Poimandris	large town	3,300	12 buildings
Thebes	Thebai	town	1,600	3 buildings

What is already built in each settlement

Orchomenos, in Boiotia: Governor's Villa, Wooden Palisade, Small Granary (Food trade), Homeland, Region Information Scroll, Roads, Basin Irrigation (Crops), Local Market, Basic Armoury, Trade Port, Shrine, Odeon (Leisure), Tannery (Urban)

Tanagra, in Poimandris: Governor's Villa, Wooden Palisade, Homeland, Cisterns (Sanitation), Region Information Scroll, Roads, Irrigation Ditches (Crops), Local Barter, Training Grounds, Trade Port, Shrine, Grape Orchards (Rural)

Thebes, in Thebai: Governor's House, Homeland, Region Information Scroll

Homeland

Boeotians's homeland is 3 regions. Only there can it install the Homeland government (more on homelands).

Homeland of Boeotians

Boiotia · Poimandris · Thebai

Starting diplomacy

Allied with (1): Athens

Trade agreements with (1): Athens

At peace with every other faction.

Like every faction, it is also at war with the Free Peoples, who hold every settlement no faction does.

Starting characters

Name	Role	Age
Thiogneitidas	General	55
Philokomos	General	55
Aischriondas	General	57
Kratyllos	General	70

Faction mechanics

From the game's own guide. See also the other game guides.

Special Mechanics

Boeotia has a mercenary centre in Thebes, check its Region Information Building for more details.

Military reforms

Boeotia has two reforms.

Boeotian reforms 1 requirements: Fight 20 battles.

Unlocks: Agema of the Peltophoroi, Boiotian Peltophoroi, Boiotian Epilektoi

Boeotian reforms 2 requirements: Have at least 1 huge city

Unlocks: Aspidophoroi

Reforms

For every faction: Military innovations have arrived!, Second wave of military innovations have arrived!.

Units you can recruit

Boeotians can recruit 452 unit types: 17 faction units and 435 regional.

What you need to recruit each unit.

Faction units

	Unit	Requires
	Boiotian Agema of the Peltophoroi	Homeland · Tier 2 Military Industrial Complex · Boiotian Macedonian Reform
	Aspidophoroi	Homeland · Tier 2 Military Industrial Complex · Boiotian Military Reforms
	Ballistas	Armourer (Industry) · Government Building (Dependency, Indirect Rule, Direct Rule or Homeland)
	Boiotian Epilektoi	Homeland · Tier 2 Military Industrial Complex · Boiotian Macedonian Reform
	Boiotian Hoplites	Homeland · Tier 2 Military Industrial Complex
	Boiotian Neaniskoi	Homeland · Garrison Building or Tier 1 Military Industrial Complex
	Boiotian Peltophoroi	Homeland · Tier 2 Military Industrial Complex · Boiotian Macedonian Reform
	Boiotian Thureophoroi	Homeland · Garrison Building or Tier 1 Military Industrial Complex
	Greek Archers	Homeland · Garrison Building or Tier 1 Military Industrial Complex
	Greek General's Bodyguard	Homeland · Tier 2 Military Industrial Complex
	Greek Peltasts	Homeland · Garrison Building or Tier 1 Military Industrial Complex
	Greek Slingers	Homeland · Garrison Building or Tier 1 Military Industrial Complex
	Large Lithoboloi	Foundry (Industry) · Government Building (Dependency, Indirect Rule, Direct Rule or Homeland)
	Lithoboloi	Armourer (Industry) · Government Building (Dependency, Indirect Rule, Direct Rule or Homeland)
	Prodromoi	Homeland · Garrison Building or Tier 1 Military Industrial Complex
	Akontistai	Homeland · Garrison Building or Tier 1 Military Industrial Complex
	Xystophoroi	Homeland · Tier 2 Military Industrial Complex · not Boiotian Military Reforms

Regional units

Show all 435 regional units