c. 390-350 BCE
AR Obol 10mm, 0.71g
Boiotian shield.
R/ Upward-facing crescent composed of three lines.
BCD Boeotia 596-601; SNG Copenhagen 401-2
During the Persian invasion of Greece by Xerxes I, Thespiai earned a lot of good press by being the only city of Boeotia to side with the Greeks. They even sent a force of 700 who stood by the Spartans until the very end. In retribution, Xerxes destroyed the city.
Throughout much of its history, Thespiai held a huge grudge against the biggest player in Boeotia, Thebes. Except in situations where Thebes controlled Thespiai, they were opposite them in pretty much every war. They sided with the Spartans during their war with Thebes (which turned out disastrous for the Spartans at the Battle of Nemea) and they eagerly lined up with Alexander the Great’s forces that marched on Thebes. I’m sure they were heartbroken when he annihilated the city.
Perhaps the most famous and richest prostitute who ever lived, Phryne, was born in Thespiai. She made her living in Athens and once bared her breasts at a trial. The statue Aphrodite of Knidos, from which we only have Roman copies, was based on her. The most famous sculptors of the time, Praxiteles and Apelles, used her as a model.
When someone asked her for funds to rebuild the walls of Thebes, she famously quipped that she would do so only if the words “Destroyed by Alexander, Restored by Phryne the courtesan” were placed outside.
A number of soldiers from Thespiai accompanied Alexander the Great in Asia, per an inscription on an altar that still exists.