The Sacred Band of Thebes
—Jason
Listen here: https://www.spreaker.com/user/ufpearth/hwts070
The Sacred Band of Thebes was an elite formation in the city-state’s army. It was a military organization consisting of 150 couples who were chosen from the best soldiers of the city-state. The Sacred Band helped usher in the end of Spartan dominance in Classical Greece in 371 BCE. Its members were subsequently annihilated by King Phillip II of Macedon in 338 BCE.
Thebes was a powerful Greek city-state in Boeotia in Central Greece. Its location ensured that Thebes and its people were in the path of many groups’ hostile to them: the Athenians, Corinthians, and Spartans to the south, the Phocians to their west, and the Thracians, Thessalians, and Macedonians to their north. To protect itself, Thebans had to maintain a strong military. The Sacred Band was an elite addition to supplement the rest of the army.
The Sacred Band consisted of 150 older erastes (“lovers”) and 150 young eromenos (“beloved”) who lived and fought together. Later Greek historians had many different explanations in how and why the Sacred Band was formed: Athenaeus of Naucratis records that its members were followers of the god Eros, Greek god of love and sex, and sought a glorious death instead of dishonor. Plutarch claims that the lovers exchanged vows with each other at the Theban shrine of Iolaus (one of the lovers of the demi-god Hercules). The Sacred Band was permanently stationed in the Cadmea, the citadel of Thebes, to serve as a garrison to prevent foreign takeover.
The Sacred Band was formed sometime between 379-378 BCE following the aftermath of the Peloponnesian Wars. Spartan had defeated Athens during the conflict and had become the dominant city-state in Greece. Thebes, and many other city-states, feared the oppressive garrisons and governments that the Spartans placed upon defeated enemies. The Thebans worked to eject pro-Spartan elements that had taken over their territory. The Theban Gorgidas is recorded with the creation of the Sacred Band. These soldiers were not placed in one unit, rather they were spread throughout the entire front line to inspire acts of valor from their fellows.
The Sacred Band became a coherent unit under the leadership of General Pelopidas in 375 BCE. Pelopidas concentrated the couples into one unit to serve as an elite branch of the Theban army. He also ensured that the Sacred Band was stationed opposite the enemy’s leaders and best troops: their task was to destroy these formations and shatter the morale of the survivors. These new tactics ensured the Thebans victory at the Battle of Tegyra shortly after Pelopidas took commander. The Sacred Band was instrumental in the destruction of a Spartan force that outnumbered their own army two-to-one. The Spartans were stunned by their loss and a temporary peace was established.
The Thebans had shattered the myth of Spartan invincibility, and this opened new opportunities for them. While peace had been established between Thebes and Sparta, the later went to war with Athens. This renewed fighting of these two former super-powers gave Thebes the chance to dominate Boeotia. As Athens and Sparta tore into each other, Theban armies overwhelmed city-states friendly to the warring states. By 371 BCE, both the Athenians and Spartans were alarmed by the rise of Thebes and threatened to go to stop fighting each other and turn on Boeotia.
The Sacred Band scored its most crushing victory against the Spartans at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE. A Spartan army of 12,000 soldiers confronted the main Theban army of 8,500 soldiers. Despite their numerical superiority, the Spartans were taken aback by the formation the Thebans arrayed themselves: the Sacred Band was positioned on the Theban left flank opposite the Spartan leaders. The Sacred Band was organized into a much deeper phalanx formation with multiple ranks that could push through any opposition. Once battle was initiated, the deeper Theban phalanx easily overwhelmed the thinner Spartan line and shattered their entire right flank. As the rout of this part of the Spartan line took place, the Sacred Band was able to reorient and then start attacking the vulnerable right-side of the central units. The Spartan king, along with 400 other Spartans, and 1,000 other troops were killed during the Sacred Band’s attack. The surviving Spartan commander asked for a truce, which the Thebans granted.
Despite this incredible victory, the Sacred Band would not be able save Thebes from another enemy: the Macedonians under Phillip II. The Thebans and Macedonians had briefly been allies throughout the 370s-360s BCE, but the dynamics of relationship changed: Thebes went from the stronger partner to a potential vassal. King Phillip II had molded a powerful, though small kingdom to the north of the Greek city-states. He also reorganized and expanded the Macedonian army. When Phillip sent representatives to various Greek city-states to collect allies for his planned invasion of Persia, he expected them to not only join him, but accept him as leader. Instead, Thebes, Athens, and Sparta rejected his appeal as the demand of a barbarian. Phillip assembled his army to make an example of these city-states.
Phillip II, and his son Alexander, assembled the Macedonian infantry and cavalry, then marched into Boeotia. Their army had been designed to not only defeat the Persians, but also fellow Greek hoplites. Phillip commanded the infantry and Alexander the cavalry. They confronted the Athenians and Thebans at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BCE. The battle turned against the Athenians and Thebans, but the Sacred Band stood its ground as the rest of the allied army broke and fled from the battlefield. All 300 lovers were killed on the battlefield and in an ironic turn the imagine of the Sacred Band as invincible had been shattered. Phillip II had the remains of the Sacred Band buried on the battlefield. During the Roman Empire, a monument, the Lion of Chaeronea, was placed over the burial site.