NEMEA, BATTLE OF

(394 BC), battle in the Corinthian War (395387 BC) in which a coalition of Greek city-states sought to destroy the ascendancy of Sparta after its victory in the Peloponnesian War. The Spartans' defeat of the troops from Thebes, Corinth, Athens, and Argos temporarily broke the force of the coalition. On the battlefield in the Nemea River valley (near modern Nema), the outnumbered Spartans' skill in hoplite warfare (use of heavily armoured foot soldiers) enabled them to encircle and crush the Athenians before turning against the other opponents.