Sbot is defined as sacred band of thebes very rarely. Parts of the statue had broken off and a good deal of it still remained buried. However we received the best account of the sacred band from famous greek biographer plutarch. For forty years, they were considered the greatest fighting force on earth. Were ancient figures all that they were cracked up to be. Erotic experience and sexual ethics in ancient greece. Regarded as invincible throughout all of ancient greece, the theban sacred band or the sacred band of thebes were specially selected and trained elite soldiers of the theban army in the 4th century bc. In about 300 bc, the town of thebes erected a giant stone lion on a pedestal at the burial site of the sacred band. Modern historians, mainly concerned with the achievements of athens and sparta, have paid little attention to their story, but it is a remarkable one, told in some detail by plutarch. In 375 bc the bands command was transferred to the younger boeotarch known as pelopidas, who was one of the original exiled with gorgidas. Just click the edit page button at the bottom of the page or.
At least as early as plutarch 46120 ad, it was believed that the band had become sacred because of each pairs ceremonial vows. These wonderfully sculptured men form the basis of your sacred band of thebes with the full band consisting of 150 pairs of male lovers. Theban commander gorgidas is credited with the creation of the sacred band in 378 bce. The sacred band became thebes greatest military asset. The sacred band of thebes entirely made up of male lovers. Its predominance began with its crucial role in the battle of leuctra in 371 bc, it was annihilated by philip ii of macedon in the battle of chaeronea. Podcast notes patrick garvey november 21, 2016 ancient greek heroes, sacred band of thebes, alexander the great, homosexuality in ancient greece 3 comments. The story of this battle is almost entirely romanticised, we dont have a very good source on it. The couples themselves were selected from the other theban units to join this elite group. Steam workshopnew elite unit theban sacred band for. See more ideas about sacred band of thebes, ancient greece and greek warrior. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the posters, and have not been cleared with nor are they endorsed by the miniatures page. When philip saw the lovers dead side by side, he wept and said, perish any man who suspects that these men either did or suffered any thing that was base. Sacred band of thebes military wiki fandom military wikia.
He used forged government documents, combined with newspaper articles. According to plutarch, the sacred band of thebes was a group of three hundred warriors composed entirely of couples. Sacred band of thebes how is sacred band of thebes. Sacred band of thebes simple english wikipedia, the free. The sacred band of thebes lives on, a world away, in this mythic novel of love in war in ancient times. The sacred band of thebes was a troop of select soldiers, consisting of 150 pairs of male lovers which formed the elite force of the theban army in the 4th century bc, ending spartan domination. It was believed these men would make better warriors. Dec 17, 2014 adds a new unit, theban sacred band, an elite hoplite unit for the boiotian league.
See more ideas about sacred band of thebes, ancient greece and ancient greek. The annihilation of the sacred band at chaeronea jstor. The sacred band of carthage is the name used by greek historians to refer to an infantry unit of carthaginian citizens that served in carthaginian armies during the fourth century bc. Sacred band of thebes show notes in this episode of the podcast, we investigate whether a mysterious army of lovers known as the sacred band of thebes really dominated greece in the 4th century bce. I started this idea in july with naerossi, but i sure took my time to write it all down orz. In 338 bce, during the battle of chaeronea that results in the massacre of the sacred band of thebes, the legendary tempus and his stepson cavalry rescue twentythree pairs of theban sacred banders, paired lovers and friends, to fight on other days. Customs fees and import duties are the responsibility of the customer. Its predominance began with its crucial role in the battle of leuctra in 371 bc.
Their finest hour came at the battle of leuktra, under the theban general epaminondas. The sacred band of thebes was a troop of select soldiers, consisting of 150 pairs of male. Dec 31, 2016 if you mean to ask if the men of the sacred band engaged in malemale sex, then yes, it seems almost certain that they did. According to the ancient sources, the sacred band of thebes was an elite unit of the theban army consisting of 150 pairs of male lovers. The earliest surviving record of the sacred band by name was made in 324 bc. The rise and fall of the sacred band of thebes and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. The earliest evidence we have of the sacred band dates back to 324 bc in a text by athenian speech writer dinarchus. While the story of the sacred band of thebes is well known and t. Though plutarch claims that all three hundred died that day, excavation of the burial site at the lion monument in 1890 produced only 254 skeletons, arranged in seven.
This is sacred band of thebes by ryan mcnamara on vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them. Adds a new unit, theban sacred band, an elite hoplite unit for the boiotian league. An army of lovers the sacred band of thebes history. All members in good standing are free to post here. The sacred band of thebes was an elite fighting unit within the ancient theban army of the 4th century bc. He mentions the sacred band as being led by the general pelopidas and, alongside epaminondas who commanded the army of thebes boeotia, were responsible for the defeat of the spartans at the decisive battle of leuctra 371 bc.
Theban sacred band, the sacred band of thebes hail caesar. Sacred band of thebes, elite gay soldiers heritagedaily. The sacred band of thebes are athenian greeks, the men in 300 are spartans. Ive also read that the unit was formed out of 150 pairs of lovers an older erastes. This is though to be hypocritical since there was homosexuality in their ranks as well but, theyre two separate groups of men. An army of lovers the sacred band of thebes history today.
The rise and fall of the sacred band of thebes by g. The band was composed of pairs of lovers, normally made up of an older soldier who had taken on the job of mentoring a some. For 40 years, the sacred band of thebes outarmied every army around, and it took no less than alexander the great to bring them down. The earliest surviving record of the sacred band by name was in 324 bc, in the oration against demosthenes by the athenian logographer dinarchus. Unknown to nikanoras, his mentor holds a treacherous secret over his father and is in love with his mother. A year later philip divorced olympias, and, after a quarrel at a feast held to celebrate his fathers new marriage, alexander and his mother fled to epirus, and alexander later went. Back in the fourth century, there was an elite group made up of 150 pairs of men. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Its predominance began with its crucial role in the battle of leuctra in 371 bc, it was annihilated by philip ii of macedon in the battle of chaeronea in 338 bc. The spartan tradition of military heroism has also been explained in light of strong emotional bonds resulting from homosexual relationships.
The band was destroyed by philip ii of macedon in 338 bc during the battle of chaeronea. Various ancient greek sources record incidents of courage in. Homosexuality in the militaries of ancient greece was regarded as contributing to morale. Did you mean sacred band of the best the sacred band of thebes. Modern historians, mainly concerned with the achievements of athens and sparta, have paid little attention to their story, but it is a remarkable one, told. Nikanoras, born the only son of an aristocrat, is sent to train with a mentor and find a male lover in order to be selected to serve with the sacred band of thebes. Jun 03, 2017 the sacred band of thebes was celebrated throughout greece for their courage, and in fact they are credited as being a key part of the rise of thebes to prominence within the 4 th century b. Sacred band world war ii, a special forces unit composed entirely of officers. While it can be argued that gorgidas idea of having lovers side by side helped in pitched battle. Sacred band of thebes quotethe sacred band of thebes was a troop of select soldiers, consisting of 150 pairs of male lovers which formed the elite force of the theban army in the 4th century bc. The 6 most cynical exploitations of romantic love in. Louis crompton argues that male love and military prowess went hand in hand in classical greece. May, 2014 the sacred band of thebes entirely made up of male lovers may, 2014 melissa 7 comments in the 4th century b.
Tmp sacred band of thebes topic the miniatures page. In 300 the movie, leonidas sneeringly refers to the athenians as boy lovers. Ancient greek superpower the spartan army, confronts the three hundred warriors of the sacred band of thebes. What is the consensus among historians about the sacred band. If you mean to ask if the men of the sacred band engaged in malemale sex, then yes, it seems almost certain that they did.
An army comprised of 150 pairs of homosexual lovers. The sacred band of thebes was celebrated throughout greece for their courage, and in fact they are credited as being a key part of the rise of thebes to prominence within the 4 th century b. Historically, the sacred band of thebes was a picked force of 150 male couples 300 soldiers, forming the elite of the theban army in the 4th century bce. Cool weird facts, fun facts, crazy facts, random facts, random stuff. This was restored in the 20th century and is standing today. Given these often negative attitudes, it is intriguing to note that in ancient times, one greek city state actually recruited a regiment of male lovers, the socalled sacred band of thebes.
The legend of the sacred band, the sleep of reason. The upcoming graphic novel the sacred band of thebes, based on the true story of the greatest fighting force of ancient greece. It is likely, therefore, that this band was called sacred on this account. Modern society has a fraught history of tension between the military and its lgbtq members, but in ancient greece, an army of 300 male lovers.
New elite unit theban sacred band for wrath of sparta campaign. The theory was that men would fight more bravely and more fiercely if they were fighting side by side with their lover. Its predominance began with its crucial role in the battle of leuctra in 371bc. In 338 bce, during the battle of chaeronea that results in the massacre of the sacred band of thebes, the legendary tempus and his stepson cavalry rescue 23 pairs of theban sacred banders, paired lovers and friends, to fight on other days. Incredible stories podcast ep 1 the sacred band of thebes duration.
Opinions expressed here are solely those of the posters. He mentions their leader, general pelopidas, and that they were responsible for defeating the spartans at the battle of leuctra in 371 bc. The chief example is the sacred band of thebes, a unit said to have been formed of samesex couples. And so spartan dominance of greece was broken ibid. What is the consensus among historians about the sacred. The 300 men were the handpicked elite fighting force known as the sacred band of thebes. Feb 07, 2017 back in the fourth century, there was an elite group made up of 150 pairs of men. The sacred band of thebes was a troop of select soldiers, consisting of 150 pairs of male lovers which formed the elite force of the theban army in the 4th. The sacred band of thebes is a tr short story, and thus belongs to him alone, but the tale is true, based on plutarch and other ancient sources. We do know the sacred band of thebes was an elite fighting force, we do have mention of them being male lovers some sources mention this, some do not, though i see no reason to doubt this claim.
Thus was the motivation for the sacred band of thebes, an elite greek fighting force of 150 pairs of lovers. The sacred band consisted of a small heavy infantry unit of 20003000 men, who were inferior to none among them as to birth, wealth, or reputation and distinguished by the splendour of their arms, and the slowness and order of their march. It is said to have been organized by the theban commander gorgidas in 378 bc and to have played a crucial role in the. From what ive read, the sacred band was a unit of 300 elite soldiers that formed one of thebes best military units. Ancient assassins sacred band of thebes tv episode 2016. It looks like we dont have a synopsis for this title yet. It is said to have been organised by the theban commander gorgidas in 378 bc and to have played a crucial role in the. Raw moments in myth and history 150 military couples end. The army won every battle until it was finally defeated by philip of macedonia and his son alexander the great.
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