The Sacred Band of Thebes
Thebes’ Sacred Band was formed sometime around 379 BC. The idea was that the same sex couples who formed the unit were devoted to each other, and would fight ferociously to protect their lovers and avoid dishonor or cowardice in their presence. They were spread out along the front ranks of the phalanx, or concentrated into a shock unit. The Sacred Band lived up to expectations, and spearheaded a series of Theban victories that shattered Sparta’s power and the myth of Spartan invincibility. For decades, Thebes’ gay warriors were acknowledged as ancient Greece’s greatest warriors. Their run of success finally ended at the Battle of Chaeronea, in 338 BC. There, Thebes was decisively defeated by Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander.
The Sacred Band refused to surrender, and fought to the last man until all its members were killed. The Thebans eventually erected a statue of a huge lion, nearly 13 feet tall, at Chaeronea to honor those killed in the battle. It was eventually discovered, broken and buried near the village of Chaeronea, in the nineteenth century. Further excavations revealed that the monument stood at the edge of an enclosure, in which were buried the bodies of 254 men, laid out neatly in seven rows. They were the remains of Thebes’ Sacred Band. The statue was pieced back together in 1902, and today, the Lion of Chaeronea stands near the site of the heroic last stand ancient Greece’s famous same sex unit.
