ORDER OF BATTLE // -393 BCE
Battle of Nemea
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 42,000–43,000 estimated
Sparta
18,000–19,000
Medium-confidence figure
Thebes
24,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Nemea, fought in Corinthian territory at the dry bed of the Nemea River, was a decisive Spartan victory over the coalition of Argos, Athens, Corinth, and Thebes. Despite being outnumbered — Spartan forces numbered between 18,000 and 19,000 against a coalition force of roughly 24,000 — Sparta inflicted heavier aggregate losses, with coalition casualties at Thebes alone reaching 2,800 against Spartan losses of 1,100. Taken together with the Battle of Coronea later in the same year, Nemea gave Sparta the dominant position in the early phase of the ground war on the Greek mainland. The two victories stabilized Spartan strategic standing at a moment when the Corinthian War had drawn together a broad anti-Spartan coalition, checking the coalition's ability to translate numerical advantage into territorial or political gains in the conflict's opening campaigns.
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