Prior to its destruction by alexander in 335 bc, thebes was a major force in greek history, and was the most dominant citystate at the time of the macedonian conquest of greece. During the battle of chaeronia, they stood and fought to the death while their comrades ran. But a battalion joined together by erotic love cannot be destroyed or broken. It is the only time in history that homosexual soldiers have been deliberately assembled, let alone paired and allowed to. This was restored in the 20th century and is standing today.
Til the elite fighting unit of ancient thebes was the. Thebes is a city in the region of boeotia in greece, which provided the setting for various myths and stories. Its predominance began with its crucial role in the battle of leuctra in 371 bc. It was an important mycenaean centre in the middle to late bronze age and was a powerful citystate in the classical period, participating in both the persian and peloponnesian wars, reaching its peak of influence in the early 4th century bce when it was the most powerful. The army won every battle until it was finally defeated by philip of macedonia and his son alexander the great. Theban forces under the command of epaminondas ended the power of sparta at the battle of leuctra in 371 bc. The sacred band was modeled on the spartans, who also encouraged youngmanolderman pairings in the phalanx, but did not insist upon it. Using the ancient sources, some of which refer only obliquely to the sacred band, the author attempts to present a. Sacred band of thebes facts for kids kiddle encyclopedia.
The stalemate was broken by the arrival of the seventh boeotarch. Thus was the motivation for the sacred band of thebes, an elite greek fighting force of 150 pairs of lovers. Sacred band of thebes how is sacred band of thebes. Incredible stories podcast ep 1 the sacred band of thebes duration. After it stopped, cadmus decided to sacrifice it to the gods and asked his. Jan 02, 2016 incredible stories podcast ep 1 the sacred band of thebes duration. 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. The sacred band of thebes was an elite fighting unit within the ancient theban army. The band was destroyed by philip ii of macedon in 338 bc during the battle of chaeronea. Back in the fourth century, there was an elite group made up of 150 pairs of men. The spartan tradition of military heroism has also been explained in light of strong emotional bonds resulting from homosexual relationships.
The earliest surviving record of the sacred band by name was in 324 bc, in the oration against demosthenes by the athenian logographer dinarchus. Sbot is defined as sacred band of thebes very rarely. The sacred band of thebes proved that people will fight like goddamn hemen to avoid sleeping alone at night. Dec 17, 2014 adds a new unit, theban sacred band, an elite hoplite unit for the boiotian league. In 300 the movie, leonidas sneeringly refers to the athenians as boy lovers. Sacred band of thebes archeology lion of chaeronea. 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. Ancient assassins sacred band of thebes tv episode 2016. Ancient greek superpower the spartan army, confronts the three hundred warriors of the sacred band of thebes. The chief example is the sacred band of thebes, a unit said to have been formed of samesex couples. They were thought to have been organized by theban commander gorgidas in 378 bc. Lgbt history month began with missouri high school teacher rodney wilson in 1994, and its overarching goal is to provide role models, help build connections, and highlight the contributions of the lgbt community worldwide.
While the story of the sacred band of thebes is well known and the band itself is mentioned in almost every history of greece, there exists no complete chronological account of its formation, activities, and eventual destruction. 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. At least as early as plutarch 46120 ad, it was believed that the band had become sacred because of each pairs ceremonial vows. In about 300 bc, the town of thebes erected a giant stone lion on a pedestal at the burial site of the sacred band. He used the power of love to turn 150 gay couples into the deadliest orgy in all of human history. It was believed these men would make better warriors. Thebes academy was created in 1995 in compliance with the egyptian governments policy of encouraging private higher education. Sacred band of thebes, elite gay soldiers heritagedaily. The earliest surviving record of the sacred band by name was made in 324 bc. Thebes was the largest city of the ancient region of boeotia and was the leader of the boeotian confederacy. Adds a new unit, theban sacred band, an elite hoplite unit for the boiotian league.
While it can be argued that gorgidas idea of having lovers side by side helped in pitched battle. 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. The sacred band of thebes was an elite fighting unit within the ancient theban army of the 4th century bc. They immediately reported their discovery when they returned to athens. A documentary history from the ancient world to the present new york. Til of the sacred band of thebes who were 300 elite soldiers made up of 150 pairs of male lovers.
It is likely, therefore, that this band was called sacred on this account. Podcast notes patrick garvey november 21, 2016 ancient greek heroes, sacred band of thebes, alexander the great, homosexuality in ancient greece 3 comments. 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. 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 simple english wikipedia, the free. A theban general named gorgidas thought plato was onto something. 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. It was a major rival of ancient athens, and sided with the persians during the 480 bc invasion under xerxes. Apr 02, 2012 the sacred band of thebes paperback april 2, 2012 by c. 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.
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. New elite unit theban sacred band for wrath of sparta campaign. 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. The german psychologist karoly maria benker coined the term homosexuality in the late 19th century, but while many people consider homosexuality to be a modernday phenomenon, it has actually existed in all cultures and at all times in history. 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. Parts of the statue had broken off and a good deal of it still remained buried. 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 300 men were the handpicked elite fighting force known as the sacred band of thebes.
An army of lovers the sacred band of thebes history today. The sacred band of thebes was a troop of select soldiers, consisting of 150 pairs of male. This is though to be hypocritical since there was homosexuality in their ranks as well but, theyre two separate groups of men. An army comprised of 150 pairs of homosexual lovers. The 6 most cynical exploitations of romantic love in. All because somebody decided to exploit their love to turn them into killing machines. The sacred band of thebes entirely made up of male lovers. It was annihilated by philip ii of macedon in the battle of chaeronea in 338 bc. Cadmus, a phoenician king, was the mythical founder of the city. The sacred band of thebes are athenian greeks, the men in 300 are spartans. Pausanias in his description of greece mentions that the thebans had erected a gigantic statue of a lion near the village of chaeronea, surmounting the polyandrion, common tomb of the thebans killed in battle against philip. Steam workshop new elite unit theban sacred band for. See more ideas about ancient greece, thebes, ancient. Their finest hour came at the battle of leuktra, under the theban general epaminondas.
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. It is said to have been organised by the theban commander gorgidas in 378 bc and to have. Til of the sacred band of thebes who were 300 elite. Sacred band of thebes how is sacred band of thebes abbreviated. Was hercules a member of the sacred band of thebes.
Even more decisive was the battle of leuktra in 371 bce, where the spartans were roundly defeated and where the victory monument set up by the thebans is still visible today. The upcoming graphic novel the sacred band of thebes, based on the true story of the greatest fighting force of ancient greece. 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. All of which was horrifying once we found out that a nice chunk of the labor force mining those diamonds were child slaves. Til the elite fighting unit of ancient thebes was the sacred band of thebes, a force comprised of 150 gay male couples who crushed the spartans in multiple military engagements. It is said to have been organised by the theban commander gorgidas in 378 bc and to have played a crucial role in the battle of leuctra. The legend of the sacred band, the sleep of reason. Jul 18, 2012 the sacred band, used for the first time as an independent unit by pelopidas, defeated the spartans at the battle of tegyra in 375 bce. These wonderfully sculptured men form the basis of your sacred band of thebes with the full band consisting of 150 pairs of male lovers. Til the elite fighting unit of ancient thebes was the sacred. It is said to have been organized by the theban commander gorgidas in 378 bc and to have played a crucial role in the.
Thebes is a town in central greece which has been continuously inhabited for five millennia. This passage discusses the sacred band of thebes, an elite military unit. 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. Theban sacred band, the sacred band of thebes hail caesar. It is the only time in history that homosexual soldiers have been deliberately assembled, let alone paired and allowed to fight alongside their lovers. Erotic experience and sexual ethics in ancient greece. This is sacred band of thebes by ryan mcnamara on vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them. Homosexuality in the militaries of ancient greece was regarded as contributing to morale.
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. It is said to have been organised by the theban commander gorgidas in 378 bc and to have played a crucial role in the. Louis crompton argues that male love and military prowess went hand in hand in classical greece. Ancient assassins sacred band of thebes tv episode 2016 quotes on imdb. 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. Descends supine grace of the luminant attunes to access light of celestial form open the radiant seaelectric. 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. The thebans formalized the male pairings and maybe triples and quadruples nobody knows for sure and made sure everyone in the sacred band had a steady date for saturday night. While the story of the sacred band of thebes is well known and t. 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.
For forty years, they were considered the greatest fighting force on earth. Homosexuality in the militaries of ancient greece simple. 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. Jun 09, 2011 the sacred band of thebes lives on, a world away, in this mythic novel of love in war in ancient times. Seen visitant guides and the breath cedes grant release hayya. Feb 07, 2017 back in the fourth century, there was an elite group made up of 150 pairs of men. In 375 bc the bands command was transferred to the younger boeotarch known as pelopidas, who was one of the original exiled with gorgidas. See more ideas about sacred band of thebes, ancient greece and greek.
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