in 395, during a foolish foray against the Boiotianss, and a crushing defeat at the hands of a Persian fleet under Athenian command at Knidos in 394 started the disintegration of the overseas empire, while defeat at Nemea in the same year brought about stalemate on the mainland. Spartiates had long believed in their right to rule, but most of them had set limits to their hegemony, generally within the Peloponnese. The success in the Peloponnesian War seems, therefore, to have turned their minds.
             By 398, the first instances of unrest by underprivileged groups other than the helots was recorded. Then a plot was discovered for Helots, Perioikoi and other socially inferior groups to set upon their masters led by a man called Cinadon. The problem of the inferior classes, particularly the Helots had been a longstanding one. On the whole, though most of the underclasses were ultimately loyal. Non-Spartiates wanted freedom within the Spartan system, not for freedom from it. Xenophon says that the stated aim of Cinadon was to be "inferior to nobody" in the state. This is illustrated by Xenophon who says that at Leuctra, the Spartiates offered freedom to any Helots who would fight for the Spartans and over six thousand took up arms. The exception to this was the Messenian Helots. They maintained their national awareness and yearned for the re-establishment of their state. This proved crucial because, although they were unwilling to confront the Spartiates while they were strong, when the Theban army had defeated the Spartiate army, they rose up and reclaimed their land. This was what really made Sparta fall to the position of a second rate power, beca
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