Editing Sacred Band of Thebes

{{Short description|4th century BC Theban gay military unit}}
{{distinguish|Theban Legion}}
{{Other uses|Sacred band (disambiguation){{!}}Sacred band}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name                     = Sacred Band of Thebes
| native_name                   = Ἱερός Λόχος
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| dates                         = 4th century BC
| disbanded                     = 
| country                       = Thebes
| countries                     = 
| allegiance                    = Theban
| branch                        = Theban army 
| type                          = Heavy infantry
| role                          = [[Frontal assault]]<br />[[Hand-to-hand combat]]<br />[[Phalanx]]<br />[[Raid (military)|Raiding]]
| size                          = 300 men
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The '''Sacred Band of Thebes''' ([[Ancient Greek]]: {{lang|grc|[[wikt:ἱερός|Ἱερός]] [[wikt:λόχος|Λόχος]]}}, ''Hierós [[Lokhos|Lókhos]]'') was a [[troop]] of select soldiers, consisting of 150 pairs of [[Homosexuality in ancient Greece|male lovers]] which formed the elite force of the [[Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)|Theban]] army in the 4th century BC, ending [[Sparta|Spartan]] domination. 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 (338 BC)|Battle of Chaeronea]] in 338 BC.

== Formation ==
{{See also|Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)}}
The earliest surviving record of the Sacred Band by name was in 324 BC, in the [[Attic orators|oration]] ''Against Demosthenes'' by the [[Athens|Athenian]] logographer [[Dinarchus]]. 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).<ref name="shrimpton">{{cite journal|author=G. S. Shrimpton|year=1971 |title=The Theban Supremacy in Fourth-Century Literature|journal=Phoenix|volume=25|issue=4|pages=310–318|publisher= Classical Association of Canada|doi=10.2307/1088061 |jstor=1088061}}</ref><ref name="Dinarchus">{{cite book|url=http://www.bartleby.com/268/1/20.html|title=Against Demosthenes|author=[[Dinarchus]]|date=10 October 2022 }}</ref>
[[File:Thebes-1.jpg|thumb|The ruins of [[Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)|ancient Theban]] citadel of [[Cadmea]]]]
{{Quote box
 |quote = And if there were only some way of contriving that a state or an army should be made up of lovers and their beloved, they would be the very best governors of their own city, abstaining from all dishonour, and emulating one another in honour; and when fighting at each other's side, although a mere handful, they would overcome the world. For what lover would not choose rather to be seen by all mankind than by his beloved, either when abandoning his post or throwing away his arms? He would be ready to die a thousand deaths rather than endure this. Or who would desert his beloved or fail him in the hour of danger?
 |source = —[[Plato]], ''[[Symposium (Plato)|Symposium]]''<ref name="Plato"/>
|width  = 25%
 |quoted = 1
}}

[[Plutarch]] (46–120 AD), a native of the village of [[Chaeronea]], is the source of the most substantial surviving account of the Sacred Band.<ref name="crompton">{{cite book|author=Louis Crompton|title =Homosexuality and Civilization|publisher =Harvard University Press|year =2006|isbn =978-0-674-02233-1|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=TfBYd9xVaXcC&q=Sacred%20Band%20of%20Thebes&pg=PA70}}</ref><ref name="plutarchLoeb">{{cite book|author=Plutarch (trans. Bernadotte Perrin, 1917)|title =The Life of Pelopidas|publisher = Loeb Classical Library edition|url =https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/plutarch/lives/pelopidas*.html}}</ref> He records that the Sacred Band was originally formed by the [[boeotarch]] [[Gorgidas]], shortly after the expulsion of the [[Sparta]]n garrison occupying the Theban citadel of [[Cadmea]].<ref name="rockwell"/> The 2nd century AD [[Ancient Macedonians|Macedonian]] author [[Polyaenus]] in his ''Stratagems in War'' also records Gorgidas as the founder of the Sacred Band.<ref name="polyaenus">{{cite book|author=[[Polyaenus]] (trans. R. Shepherd, 1793)|title =Στρατηγήματα|trans-title=Stratagems in War|chapter=Book II|url =http://www.attalus.org/translate/polyaenus2.html#5.1}}</ref> However, [[Dio Chrysostom]] (c. 40–120 AD), [[Hieronymus of Rhodes]] (c. 290–230 BC), and [[Athenaeus of Naucratis]] (c. 200 AD) credit Epaminondas instead.<ref name="shrimpton"/><ref name="dio">{{cite book|author=[[Dio Chrysostom]] (trans. J. W. Cohoon, 1939)|title =Discourses |chapter=22: Concerning Peace and War |publisher =Loeb Classical Library|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dio_Chrysostom/Discourses/22*.html}}</ref><ref name="athenaeus">{{cite book|author=[[Athenaeus of Naucratis]] (trans. C.D. Yonge, 1854)|title =Deipnosophistae|chapter =XIII: About Women|page=602|url=http://www.attalus.org/old/athenaeus13d.html}}</ref>

The exact date of the Sacred Band's creation, and whether it was created before or after the ''[[Symposium (Plato)|Symposium]]'' of Plato (c. 424–347 BC) and the similarly titled ''[[Symposium (Xenophon)|Symposium]]'' by his rival [[Xenophon]] (c. 430–354 BC), has also long been debated. The generally accepted date of the Sacred Band's creation is between 379 and 378 BC.<ref name="armstrong">{{cite book|author=William Armstrong Percy, III|editor1=Beert C. Verstraete |editor2=Vernon Provencal |title =Same-Sex Desire And Love in Greco-Roman Antiquity And in the Classical Tradition of the West|chapter =Same-Sex Desire and Love in Greco-Roman Antiquity|publisher =Routledge|year =2005|pages=36–39|isbn =978-1-56023-604-7|chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=ejPZu3Ktu5cC&q=Sacred+Band+of+Thebes+armstrong&pg=PA36}}</ref> Prior to this, there were references to elite Theban forces also numbering 300. [[Herodotus]] (c.484–425 BC) and [[Thucydides]] (c. 460–395 BC) both record an elite force of 300 Thebans allied with the [[Persian Empire|Persians]], who were annihilated by [[History of Athens|Athenians]] in the [[Battle of Plataea]] (479 BC). Herodotus describes them as "the first and the finest" ({{lang|grc|πρῶτοι καὶ ἄριστοι}}) among Thebans. [[Diodorus Siculus|Diodorus]] also records 300 picked men ({{lang|grc|ἄνδρες ἐπίλεκτοι}}) present in the [[Battle of Delium]] (424 BC), composed of ''heníochoi'' ({{lang|grc|ἡνίοχοι}}, "[[chariot]]eers") and ''parabátai'' ({{lang|grc|παραβάται}}, "those who walk beside"). Though none of these mention the Sacred Band by name, these may have referred to the Sacred Band or at least its precursors.<ref name="rockwell"/><ref name="leitao">{{cite book|author=David Leitao|editor1=Martha Craven Nussbaum |editor2=Juha Sihvola |title =The Sleep of Reason: Erotic Experience and Sexual Ethics in Ancient Greece and Rome|chapter=The Legend of the Sacred Band|publisher =University of Chicago Press|year =2002|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780226609157/page/143 143]–169|isbn =978-0-226-60915-7|url =https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780226609157|url-access=registration|quote=Phaedimus Sacred band of thebes.}}</ref> Historian [[John Kinloch Anderson]] believes that the Sacred Band was indeed present in Delium, and that Gorgidas did not establish it, but merely reformed it.<ref name="anderson"/>

In the old debate surrounding Xenophon's and Plato's works, the Sacred Band has figured prominently as a possible way of dating which of the two wrote their version of ''Symposium'' first. Xenophon's Socrates in his ''Symposium'' disapprovingly mentions the practice of placing lovers beside each other in battle in the city-states of Thebes and [[Ancient Elis|Elis]], arguing that while the practice was acceptable to them, it was shameful for Athenians. Both Plato and Xenophon were Athenians.  According to the British classical scholar Sir [[Kenneth Dover]], this was a clear allusion to the Sacred Band, reflecting Xenophon's contemporary, albeit anachronistic, awareness of the Theban practice, as the dramatic date of the work itself is c. 421 BC.<ref name="xenophon">{{cite book|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/Xenophon-sym.asp#VIII|title=Symposium|year=1897|quote=But Pausanias, the lover of Agathon the poet, defended those who wallow together in licentiousness and said that an army composed of lovers and beloveds would be strongest. For he said that they would be ashamed to abandon each other in battle. But it would be quite extraordinary if those who are used to paying no attention to censure and to having no sense of shame before each other should nevertheless be ashamed to perform a shameful action. As proof he brought the example of the Thebans and the Eleans who are experienced with such things, and he claimed that even though they sleep with their beloveds, they still set them together in their ranks for battle. But there is no proof from this, for the situation is not similar: for them this practice is acceptable, but for us it is exceedingly shameful.|orig-date=c. 360 BC|author=[[Xenophon]] (trans. H.G. Dakyns)}}</ref><ref name="Danzig">{{cite journal|year=2005|title=Intra-Socratic Polemics: The Symposia of Plato and Xenophon|url=http://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/viewFile/341/421|journal=Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies|volume=45|pages=331–357|author=Gabriel Danzig}}</ref><ref name="ludwig">{{cite book|author=Paul Walter Ludwig|title =Eros and Polis: Desire and Community in Greek Political Theory|publisher =Cambridge University Press|year =2002|isbn =978-0-521-81065-4|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=TvqTEy-til8C&q=Sacred+Band&pg=PA60}}</ref>

However, it is the speech of the character [[Phaedrus (dialogue)|Phaedrus]] in Plato's ''Symposium'' referring to an "army of lovers" that is most famously connected with the Sacred Band;<ref name="Plato">{{cite book|author=[[Plato]] (trans. Benjamin Jowett, 1939)|title =Symposium|quote =And if there were only some way of contriving that a state or an army should be made up of lovers and their beloved, they would be the very best governors of their own city, abstaining from all dishonour, and emulating one another in honour; and when fighting at each other's side, although a mere handful, they would overcome the world. For what lover would not choose rather to be seen by all mankind than by his beloved, either when abandoning his post or throwing away his arms? He would be ready to die a thousand deaths rather than endure this. Or who would desert his beloved or fail him in the hour of danger?|url=http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/symposium.html}}</ref><ref name="ludwig"/><ref name="crompton2">{{cite journal|author=Louis Compton |year=1994 |title='An Army of Lovers' - The Sacred Band of Thebes|journal=History Today|volume=44|issue=11|pages=23–29|url=http://www.historytoday.com/louis-compton/army-lovers-sacred-band-thebes}}</ref> even though it does not technically refer to the Sacred Band, since the army referred to is hypothetical.<ref>Footnote 23, p. 182</ref> Dover argues Plato wrote his ''Symposium'' first since Plato's Phaedrus uses language that implies that the organization does not yet exist. He acknowledges, however, that Plato may have simply put the hypothesis in the mouth of Phaedrus according to the supposed earlier dramatic date of the work (c. 416 BC). It only shows that Plato was more mindful of his chronology in his ''Symposium'' than Xenophon, and proves that he was actually quite aware of the Sacred Band in his time.<ref name="Danzig"/>

==Composition==
According to Plutarch, the 300 hand-picked men were chosen by [[Gorgidas]] purely for ability and merit, regardless of social class.<ref name="devoto"/> It was composed of 150 male couples,<ref name="ludwig"/> each pair consisting of an older ''[[Erastes (Ancient Greece)|erastês]]'' ({{lang|grc|ἐραστής}}, "lover") and a younger ''[[Eromenos|erômenos]]'' ({{lang|grc|ἐρώμενος}}, "beloved").<ref name="plutarchD"/> [[Athenaeus of Naucratis]] also records the Sacred Band as being composed of "lovers and their favorites, thus indicating the dignity of the god [[Eros]] in that they embrace a glorious death in preference to a dishonorable and reprehensible life",<ref name="athenaeus"/> while [[Polyaenus]] describes the Sacred Band as being composed of men "devoted to each other by mutual obligations of love".<ref name="polyaenus"/> The origin of the "sacred" appellation of the Sacred Band is unexplained by Dinarchus and other historians. But Plutarch claims that it was due to an exchange of sacred vows between lover and beloved at the shrine of [[Iolaus]] (one of the lovers of [[Heracles]]) at Thebes. He also tangentially mentions Plato's characterization of the lover as a "friend inspired of God".<ref name="devoto">{{cite journal|author=James G. DeVoto|year=1992|title=The Theban Sacred Band|journal=The Ancient World|volume=23|issue=2|pages=3–19}}</ref><ref name="plutarchD"/>

The Sacred Band was stationed in [[Cadmea]] as a standing force, likely as defense against future attempts by foreign forces to take the citadel.<ref name="rockwell"/><ref name="ferrill">{{cite book|author=Arthur Ferrill|editor1=A. Hamish Ion |editor2=Keith Neilson |title =Elite Military Formations in War and Peace|chapter =Elite Forces in the Ancient World|publisher =Greenwood Publishing Group|year =1996|pages=38–41|isbn =978-0-275-94640-1|chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=rohp7lMyCakC&q=Sacred+Band+of+Thebes&pg=PA38}}</ref><ref name="ashley">{{cite book|author=James R. Ashley|title =The Macedonian Empire: The Era of Warfare Under Philip II and Alexander the Great, 359-323 B.C.|publisher =McFarland|year =2004|page=434|isbn =978-0-7864-1918-0|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=nTmXOFX-wioC&q=Sacred+Band+of+Thebes&pg=PA434}}</ref> It was occasionally referred to as the "City Band" ({{lang|grc|ἐκ πόλεως λόχος}}), due to their military training and housing being provided at the expense of the [[Boeotia]]n ''[[polis]]''.<ref name="rockwell">{{cite book|author =Nicholas Ryan Rockwell|title =The Boeotian Army: The Convergence of Warfare, Politics, Society, and Culture in the Classical Age of Greece|publisher =University of California|year =2008|isbn =978-1-109-02125-7|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=jyEX5ffzCbQC&q=DeVoto+Theban+Sacred+Band&pg=PA19}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="plutarchD"/> Their regular training included [[Greek wrestling|wrestling]] and [[dance]]. The historian James G. DeVoto points out that Gorgidas previously served as a [[Hipparchus (cavalry officer)|hipparch]] (cavalry officer), therefore [[equestrianism|equestrian]] training was also likely provided.<ref name="devoto"/> The exact ages of the unit's members are not recorded in ancient testimonies. However, comparing them with the Spartan elite unit ''[[hippeis]]'' ({{lang|grc|ἱππεῖς}})<ref group="note">''Hippeis'', literally meaning "cavalry", is also the generic name for Greek elite units of between 300 and 1000 men. Although they initially fought as horsemen, during the 4th century BC they primarily fought as [[hoplite]] heavy infantry. Compare with [[knight]]s. (DeVoto, 1992)</ref> and the Athenian ''[[ephebos|epheboi]]'' (ἔφηβοι) recruits, DeVoto estimates that trainees were inducted as full members to the Sacred Band at the ages of 20 to 21,<ref name="devoto"/> whereupon they were given a full set of armor by their ''erastai''.<ref name="plutarchAmat">{{cite book|author=Plutarch|title =Ἠθικά|trans-title=Moralia|trans-chapter=Amatorius|chapter =Ἐρωτικός |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0314%3Asection%3D17}}</ref> They likely ended their service at age 30.<ref name="devoto"/>

== Military history ==
[[File:Ancient Greek southern regions.png|thumb|287px|Map of ancient Greece showing the relative positions of the major regions of [[Boeotia]] (led by [[Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)|Thebes]]), [[Laconia]] (led by [[Sparta]]), and [[Attica]] (led by [[Athens]])]]
{{See also|Boeotian War|Theban hegemony|Spartan hegemony}}

According to Plutarch, Gorgidas originally distributed the members of the Sacred Band among the front ranks of the [[phalanx]]es of regular infantry.<ref name="murray">{{cite book|author=Stephen O. Murray|title =Homosexualities|publisher =University of Chicago Press|year =2002|page=41|isbn =978-0-226-55195-1|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=HCikDlcEHw8C&q=Dio+Chrysostom++sacred+band&pg=PA41}}</ref> In 375 BC, the command of the band was transferred to the younger [[boeotarch]] [[Pelopidas]], one of the original Theban exiles who had led the forces who recaptured Cadmea.<ref name="plutarchD"/><ref name="ferrill"/> Under Pelopidas, the Sacred Band was united as a single unit of [[shock troops]]. Their main function was to cripple the enemy by engaging and killing their best men and leaders in battle.<ref name="crompton2"/><ref name="devoto"/>

=== Invasions of Agesilaus II ===
The Sacred Band first saw action in 378 BC, at the beginning of the [[Boeotian War]]. It was during the famous stand-off between the Athenian [[Ancient Greek mercenaries|mercenary]] commander (and later ''[[strategos]]'') [[Chabrias]] (d. 357 BC) and the Spartan King [[Agesilaus II]] (444 BC–360 BC).<ref name="devoto"/> Prior to the creation of the Sacred Band under Gorgidas, the Athenians had helped the Theban exiles retake control of Thebes and the citadel of Cadmea from Sparta. This was followed by Athens openly entering into an alliance with Thebes against Sparta. In the summer of 378 BC, Agesilaus led a Spartan expedition against Thebes from the Boeotian city of [[Thespiae]] (then still allied to Sparta).<ref name="Munn">{{cite book|author=Mark H. Munn|title =The Defense of Attica: The Dema Wall and the Boiotian War of 378-375 B.C.|publisher =University of California Press|year =1993|isbn =978-0-520-07685-3|url =http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft0q2n99ng/}}</ref>

The Spartan forces were held up for several days by Theban forces manning the earthen [[stockade]]s at the perimeter of Theban territory. The Spartans eventually breached the fortifications and entered the Theban countryside, devastating the Theban fields in their wake. Though the Athenians had by this time joined the Theban forces, they were still outnumbered by the Spartans. With the fall of the stockades, they were left with two choices, either to retreat back to the defensible walls of Thebes or to hold their ground and face the Spartans in the open. They chose the latter and arrayed their forces along the crest of a low sloping hill, opposite the Spartan forces. Gorgidas and the Sacred Band occupied the front ranks of the Theban forces on the right, while Chabrias and an experienced force of mercenary hoplites occupied the front ranks of the Athenian forces on the left.<ref name="Munn"/>

Agesilaus first sent out [[skirmisher]]s to test the combined Theban and Athenian lines.<ref name="DiodorusXV"/> These were easily dispatched by the Theban and Athenian forces, probably by their more numerous cavalry. Agesilaus then commanded the entire Spartan army to advance. He may have hoped that the sight of the massed Spartan forces resolutely moving forward would be enough to intimidate the Theban and Athenian forces into breaking ranks. The same tactic had worked for Agesilaus against [[Ancient Argos|Argive]] forces in the [[Battle of Coronea (394 BC)]].<ref name="Munn"/>

It was during this time that Chabrias gave his most famous command. With scarcely {{convert|200|m|ft|abbr=on}} separating the two armies, Agesilaus was expecting the Theban and Athenian forces to charge at any moment.<ref name="Munn"/> Instead, Chabrias ordered his men to [[stand at ease]].<ref name="campbell">{{cite book|author =Duncan Campbell|title =Spartan Warrior 735-331 BC|publisher =Osprey Publishing|year =2012|pages =89–90|isbn =978-1-78096-869-8|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=nlVimtrzA1UC&q=Chabrias%20378%20BC&pg=PT67}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In unison, his mercenary hoplites immediately assumed the resting posture—with the spear remaining pointing upwards instead of towards the enemy, and the shield propped against the left knee instead of being hoisted at the shoulders.<ref name="polyaenus"/><ref name="davies">{{cite book|author=John Kenyon Davies|title =Democracy and Classical Greece|publisher =Harvard University Press|year =1993|page=[https://archive.org/details/democracyclassic0002davi/page/187 187]|isbn =978-0-674-19607-0|url=https://archive.org/details/democracyclassic0002davi|url-access=registration|quote=peltasts gorgidas.}}</ref> Gorgidas, on seeing this, also commanded the Sacred Band to follow suit, which they did with the same military drill precision and confidence.<ref name="anderson">{{cite book|author=John Kinloch Anderson|title =Military Theory and Practice in the Age of Xenophon|publisher =University of California Press|year =1970|pages=89–90,158|isbn =978-0-520-01564-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OTW4E0Ti0_MC&q=Chabrias+Sacred+Band&pg=PA89}}</ref><ref name="Munn"/> The audacity of the maneuver and the discipline of the execution was such that Agesilaus halted the advance.<ref name="anderson" /><ref name="neposChab">{{cite book|author=[[Cornelius Nepos]]|title=Excellentium Imperatorum Vitae|chapter=Chabrias|url=http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_nepos_comdrsiphicrateshabrias.htm#Chabrias|access-date=2012-07-27|archive-date=2016-03-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316235211/http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_nepos_comdrsiphicrateshabrias.htm#Chabrias}}</ref> Seeing that his attempts to provoke the Theban and Athenian forces to fight on lower ground were unsuccessful, Agesilaus eventually thought it wiser to withdraw his forces back to Thespiae.<ref name="polyaenus" /><ref name="DiodorusXV">{{cite book|author=[[Diodorus Siculus]] (trans. C.H. Oldfather, 1952)|title =Bibliotheca Historica|chapter =Book XV|publisher =Loeb Classical Library|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/15B*.html#32}}</ref>

Shortly after the stand-off in Thebes, Agesilaus disbanded his army in Thespiae and returned to [[Peloponnesos]] through [[Megara]].<ref name="devoto" /><ref name="xenoHell" /> He left the general [[Phoebidas]] as his [[harmost]] (military governor) at Thespiae,<ref name="thirwall">{{cite book|author=[[Connop Thirwall]]|title =A History of Greece, Volume 5|publisher =Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman and John Taylor|year =1835–1844|pages=45–46|isbn =978-1-4400-6139-4|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=NPoyk6clr3EC&q=Phoebidas+Gorgidas&pg=PA45}}</ref> the same general responsible for the Spartan seizure of the citadel of [[Cadmea]] in 382 BC.<ref name="cartledge" /><ref name="bucklerPhil">{{cite book|author=John Buckler|title =Philip II and the Sacred War|publisher =Brill Archive|year =1989|page=15|isbn =978-90-04-09095-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wkNCAAAAIAAJ&q=Phoibidas&pg=PA15
}}</ref><ref name="joi">{{cite book|author=Joint Association of Classical Teachers|title =The World of Athens: An Introduction to Classical Athenian Culture |publisher =Cambridge University Press|year =1984|page=46|isbn =978-0-521-27389-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VgDKeqi4or8C&q=Phoibidas&pg=PA46}}</ref> Phoebidas began making various raids into Theban territory using the Spartans under his command and Thespian [[conscript]]s.<ref name="xenoHell">{{cite book|author=[[Xenophon]]|title =Hellenica|chapter =Book V|url =https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Xen.+Hell.+5.4.42&redirect=true}}</ref><ref name="pritchett" /> These forays became so destructive that by the end of the summer, the Thebans went out in force against Thespiae under the command of Gorgidas.<ref name="Munn" />

Phoebidas engaged the advancing Theban army with his [[peltast]]s. The harrying of the light infantry apparently proved too much for the Thebans and they started to retreat. Phoebidas, hoping for a rout, rashly pursued them closely. However, the Theban forces suddenly turned around and charged Phoebidas' forces. Phoebidas was killed by the Theban cavalry.<ref name="sidnell">{{cite book|author=Philip Sidnell|title =Warhorse: Cavalry in Ancient Warfare|publisher =Continuum International Publishing Group|year =2006|pages=60–61|isbn =978-1-85285-374-7|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=DP2EHwdMnq4C&q=Thespian+peltast&pg=PA60}}</ref> His peltasts broke ranks and fled back to Thespiae pursued by Theban forces.<ref name="devoto" /><ref name="Munn" /> Aside from Polyaenus, none of these accounts mention the Sacred Band by name, but given that they were under the command of Gorgidas, they are likely to have been part of Theban forces involved.<ref name="devoto" />

Not long afterwards, Agesilaus mounted a second expedition against Thebes. After a series of skirmishes which he won with some difficulty, he was forced again to withdraw when the Theban army came out full force as he approached the city. Diodorus observes at this point that the Thebans thereafter faced the Spartans with confidence.<ref name="DiodorusXV"/> Gorgidas disappears from history between 377 and 375, during which the command of the Sacred Band was apparently transferred to Pelopidas.<ref name="devoto"/><ref group="note">The historian Louis Crompton presumes that Gorgidas died in a skirmish in 378 BC. (Crompton, 2006)</ref>

===Battle of Tegyra===
[[File:Boeotia ancient-en.svg|thumb|287px|Map of ancient [[Boeotia]] showing the location of the city of [[Orchomenus (Boeotia)|Orchomenus]]]]
{{Main article|Battle of Tegyra}}

As a single unit under Pelopidas, the first recorded victory of the Sacred Band was at the [[Battle of Tegyra]] (375 BC). It occurred near the Boeotian city of [[Orchomenus (Boeotia)|Orchomenus]], then still an ally of Sparta. Hearing reports that the Spartan garrison in Orchomenus had left for [[Locris]], Pelopidas quickly set out with the Sacred Band and a few cavalry, hoping to capture it in their absence. They approached the city through the northeastern route since the waters of [[Lake Copais]] were at their fullest during that season.<ref name="plutarchD"/><ref name="pritchett"/> Upon reaching the city, they learned that a new ''mora'' had been sent from Sparta to reinforce Orchomenus. Unwilling to engage the new garrison, Pelopidas decided to retreat back to Thebes, retracing their northeastern route along Lake Copais. However, they only reached as far as the shrine of [[Apollo]] of Tegyra before encountering the returning Spartan forces from Locris.<ref name="buck"/>

The Spartans were composed of two ''[[Mora (military unit)|morai]]'' led by the ''[[polemarch]]oi'' Gorgoleon and Theopompus.<ref name="rhodes">{{cite book|author=[[P.J. Rhodes|Peter John Rhodes]]|title =A History of the Classical Greek World: 478-323 BC|publisher =Blackwell Publishing|year =2006|isbn =978-0-631-22565-2|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=dKhOwYzZTxsC}}</ref><ref group="note">The historian P.J. Stylianou believes that only one Spartan ''mora'' was defeated in the battle, and that accounts of two ''morai'' is a result of the inadvertent inclusion of the second ''mora'' in Orchomenus which might have moved out to intercept Pelopidas after he defeated the first one, though they never met in battle. (Stylianou, 1998)</ref> They outnumbered the Thebans at least two to one.<ref name="buck">{{cite book|author=Robert J. Buck|title =Boiotia and the Boiotian League, 432-371 B.C.|publisher =University of Alberta|year =1994|page=99|isbn =978-0-88864-253-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UCmZgZrsb9AC&q=Sacred+Band+tegyra&pg=PA99}}</ref> According to Plutarch, upon seeing the Spartans, one Theban allegedly told Pelopidas "We are fallen into our enemy's hands" to which Pelopidas replied, "And why not they into ours?" He then ordered his cavalry to ride up from the rear and charge while he reformed the Sacred Band into an abnormally dense formation, hoping to at least cut through the numerically superior Spartan lines. The Spartans advanced, confident in their numbers, only to have their leaders killed immediately in the opening clashes. Leaderless and encountering forces equal in discipline and training for the first time in the Sacred Band, the Spartans faltered and opened their ranks, expecting the Thebans to pass through and escape. Instead, Pelopidas surprised them by using the opening to [[Flanking maneuver|flank]] the Spartans.<ref name="hutchinson">{{cite book|author=Godfrey Hutchinson|title =Xenophon and the Art of Command|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HgEdAAAAYAAJ|publisher =Stackpole Books|year =2000|page=234|isbn =978-1-85367-417-4}}</ref> The Spartans were completely routed, with considerable loss of life.<ref name="plutarchD"/><ref name="Gaebel">{{cite book|author=Robert E. Gaebel|title =Cavalry Operations in the Ancient Greek World|publisher =University of Oklahoma Press|year =2004|isbn =978-0-8061-3444-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6z6foPWT3_oC&q=Sacred+Band+tegyra&pg=PA127}}</ref> The Thebans didn't pursue the fleeing survivors, mindful of the remaining Spartan ''mora'' stationed in Orchomenus less than {{convert|5|km|mi|abbr=on}} away. They stripped the dead and set up a ''[[tropaion]]'' (τρόπαιον, a commemorative trophy left at the site of a battle victory) before continuing on to Thebes.<ref name="devoto"/> Having proven their worth, Pelopidas kept the Sacred Band as a separate tactical unit in all subsequent battles.<ref name="rockwell"/><ref name="plutarchD"/>

An account of the battle was mentioned both by Diodorus and Plutarch, both based heavily on the report by Ephorus.<ref name="Stylianou">{{cite book|author=P. J. Stylianou|title =A Historical Commentary on Diodorus Siculus, Book 15|publisher =Oxford University Press|series =Oxford Classical Monographs|year =1998|isbn =978-0-19-815239-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dJTK3mCMq9sC&q=+Tegyra&pg=PA318}}</ref> Xenophon conspicuously omits any mention of the Theban victory in his ''[[Hellenica]]'',<ref name="pritchett">{{cite book|author=William Kendrick Pritchett|title =Classical Studies, Volume 28: Studies in Ancient Greek Topography, Part IV (Passes)|volume=28|publisher =University of California Press|year =1982|page=103|isbn =978-0-520-09660-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wtjMuE_o-OkC&q=Sacred+Band+tegyra&pg=PA103}}</ref> though this has traditionally been ascribed to Xenophon's strong anti-Theban and pro-Spartan sentiments.<ref name="hornblower">{{cite book|author=Simon Hornblower|editor1=David Malcolm Lewis |editor2=John Boardman |title =The Cambridge Ancient History: The Fourth Century B.C.|chapter =Sources and their uses|publisher =Cambridge University Press|year =1994|page=5|isbn =978-0-521-23348-4|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vx251bK988gC&q=Xenophon+anti-theban+bias+Tegyra&pg=PA5}}</ref><ref name="buckler"/> An obscure allusion to Orchomenus in ''Hellenica'', however, implies that Xenophon was aware of the Spartan defeat.<ref name="pritchett"/>

The exact number of the belligerents on each side varies by account. Diodorus puts the number of Thebans at 500 against the Spartans' 1,000 (each ''mora'' consisting of 500 men), apparently basing it on Ephorus' original figures. Plutarch puts the number of the Thebans at 300, and acknowledges three sources for the number of Spartans: 1000 by the account of Ephorus; 1,400 by [[Callisthenes]] (c. 360–328 BC); or 1,800 by [[Polybius]] (c. 200–118 BC). Some of these numbers may have been exaggerated due to the overall significance of the battle.<ref name="Stylianou"/><ref name="hornblower"/> The battle, while minor, was remarkable for being the first time a Spartan force had been defeated in pitched battle, dispelling the myth of Spartan invincibility.<ref name="rockwell"/> It left a deep impression in Greece and boosted the morale among Boeotians, foreshadowing the later Battle of Leuctra.<ref name="cartledge">{{cite book|author=Paul Cartledge|title =Sparta and Lakonia: A Regional History, 1300-362 BC|publisher =Routledge|year =2002|isbn =978-0-415-26276-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgLxGd9c-00C&q=Sacred+Band+tegyra&pg=PA249}}</ref><ref name="buck"/><ref name="hornblower"/> In Plutarch's own words:

{{Quote|For in all the great wars there had ever been against Greeks or barbarians, the Spartans were never before beaten by a smaller company than their own; nor, indeed, in a set battle, when their number was equal. Hence their courage was thought irresistible, and their high repute before the battle made a conquest already of enemies, who thought themselves no match for the men of Sparta even on equal terms. But this battle first taught the other Greeks, that not only Eurotas, or the country between Babyce and Cnacion,<ref group="note">Places where the Spartan Assembly met.</ref> breeds men of courage and resolution; but that where the youth are ashamed of baseness, and ready to venture in a good cause, where they fly disgrace more than danger, there, wherever it be, are found the bravest and most formidable opponents.|Plutarch, ''Pelopidas'' 17<ref name="plutarchD"/>}}

Shortly after this, the Athenians initiated the [[Common Peace]] of 375 BC (Κοινὴ Εἰρήνη, ''Koine Eirene'') among Greek city-states. According to Xenophon, they were alarmed at the growing power of Thebes and weary of fending off Spartan fleets alone as the Thebans were not contributing any money to maintaining the Athenian fleet.<ref name="rockwell"/> However this broke down soon after in 374 BC, when Athens and Sparta resumed hostilities over [[Korkyra (polis)|Korkyra]] (modern [[Corfu]]).<ref name="cartledge"/> During this time period, Athens also gradually became hostile to Thebes.<ref name="devoto"/> While Athens and Sparta were busy fighting each other, Thebes resumed her campaigns against the autonomous pro-Spartan Boeotian ''[[Polis|poleis]]''. Thespiae and [[Tanagra]] were subjugated and formally became part of the reestablished [[Greek democracy|democratic]] [[Boeotian confederacy]].<ref name="buck"/> In 373 BC, Thebans under the command of the [[boeotarch]] Neocles attacked and razed its traditional rival, the Boeotian city of [[Plataea]].<ref name="paus9">{{cite book|url=http://www.theoi.com/Text/Pausanias9A.html|title=Description of Greece|chapter=Book IX|author=[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]]}}</ref> The Plataean citizens were allowed to leave alive, but they were reduced to being refugees and sought sanctuary in Athens.<ref name="DiodorusXV"/><ref name="cole">{{cite book|author=Susan Guettel Cole|editor =Mogens Herman Hansen|title =Sources for the Ancient Greek City-State: Symposium August, 24-27 1994|chapter =Pausanias and the ''Polis'': Use and Abuse|publisher =The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters|year =1995 |pages=335–336|isbn =978-87-7304-267-0|chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=y-c56ta4BKwC&q=neocles+boeotarch&pg=PA335}}</ref> Of the pro-Spartan Boeotian ''poleis'', only Orchomenus remained.<ref name="buck"/>

By this time, Thebes had also started attacking [[Phocian]] ''poleis'' allied to Sparta.<ref name="terry">{{cite book|author=Terry Buckley|title =Aspects of Greek History, 750-323 BC: A Source-based Approach|publisher =Routledge|year =1996|isbn =978-0-415-09958-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kmkL54sFzi0C&q=Sacred+Band&pg=PA446}}</ref> Pelopidas is again mentioned as the commander of the abortive Theban siege of the Phocian city of [[Elateia]] (c. 372 BC). In response to the Theban army outside the city's walls, the Phocian general [[Onomarchus]] brought out all the inhabitants of the city (including the elderly, women, and children) and locked the gates. He then placed the non-combatants directly behind the defenders of Elateia. On seeing this, Pelopidas withdrew his forces, recognizing that the Phocians would fight to the death to protect their loved ones.<ref name="polyaenus"/><ref name="devoto"/>

By 371 BC, there was another attempt to revive the [[Peace of Antalcidas|King's Peace]] to curb the rise of Thebes. It was initiated by either the Athenians or the Persians (perhaps at the prompting of the Spartans). The Spartans also sent a large force led by King [[Cleombrotus I]] (Sparta having [[List of kings of Sparta|two kings]] simultaneously for most of its history) to Phocis, ready to invade Boeotia if the Thebans refused to attend the peace conference or accept its terms.<ref name="terry"/><ref group="note">Other historians believe that Cleombrotus was already in Phocis during this period, having been sent earlier in 375 BC to reinforce it during the early Theban attacks. (Rhodes, 2006)</ref>

=== Battle of Leuctra ===
{{Main article|Battle of Leuctra}}
[[File:Battle of Leuctra, 371 BC - Decisive action.png|thumb|left|300px|A reconstruction of the Battle of Leuctra. The Theban forces are in blue, while the Spartan forces are in red. The Sacred Band under Pelopidas is the smaller phalanx at the bottom right corner, beside the largest concentration of infantry in the Theban left wing]]
[[Epaminondas]]' refusal to accept the terms of the peace conference of 371 BC excluded Thebes from the peace treaty and provided Sparta with the excuse to declare war.<ref name="terry" />
<!--[[File:Leuctra.svg|thumb|left|'''Top''': simplified schematic of traditional [[hoplite]] [[order of battle]] and advance (elite troops in red).<br />'''Bottom''': the [[oblique order|diagonal phalanx]] utilised by the Thebans under Epaminondas. The strong left wing advanced while the weak right wing retreated or remained stationary]]-->Shortly thereafter the army of Cleombrotus was ordered to invade Boeotia.<ref name="fine">{{cite book|author=John Van Antwerp Fine|title =The Ancient Greeks: A Critical History|publisher =Harvard University Press|year =1983|isbn =978-0-674-03314-6|url =https://archive.org/details/ancientgreeks00john|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/ancientgreeks00john/page/576 576]|quote=Prothous Spartan assemby.}}</ref> Cleombrotus' army crossed the Phocian-Boeotian border into [[Chaeronea]] then halted, perhaps hoping that the Thebans might change their mind. The Thebans however were committed to a fight. Cleombrotus then moved inland, following the eastward road towards Thebes, until he reached the Boeotian village of [[Leuctra]] (modern Lefktra, [[Plataies]]) near the southwestern end of the Theban plain. There they were met by the main Theban army.<ref name="seager">{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vx251bK988gC&q=Cleombrotus%20leuktra%20Creusis&pg=PA182|title=The Cambridge Ancient History: The Fourth Century B.C.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1994|isbn=978-0-521-23348-4|chapter=The King's Peace and the Second Athenian Confederacy|author=Robin Seager|editor1=David Malcolm Lewis |editor2=John Boardman }}</ref> The two armies pitched their camps opposite each other on two low ridges respectively. The battleground between them was about {{convert|900|m|ft|abbr=on}} wide.<ref name="chriss">{{cite book|author=Stefan G. Chrissanthos|title =Warfare in the Ancient World: From the Bronze Age to the Fall of Rome: From the Bronze Age to the Fall of Rome|publisher =ABC-CLIO|year =2008|isbn =978-0-313-04192-1|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=VVWlpta3kAAC&pg=PA68}}</ref>

The Spartan army numbered about 10,000 hoplites, 1,000 light infantry, and 1,000 cavalry.<ref name="gabriel">{{cite book|author=Richard A. Gabriel|title =Great Captains of Antiquity|publisher =Greenwood Publishing Group|year =2001|isbn =978-0-313-31285-4|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=_CqP1kA8EMwC&q=Battle%20of%20Leuctra%20Sacred%20band&pg=PA90}}</ref> However, only about 700 hoplites of the Spartan army were composed of [[spartiates]] (Spartan citizens), the rest were conscripted troops from Spartan subject states (the [[perioeci]]) forced to fight.<ref name="yoshi">{{cite book|author1=Susan Yoshihara |author2=Douglas A. Sylva |author3=Nicholas Eberstadt  |name-list-style=amp |title =Population Decline and the Remaking of Great Power Politics|publisher =Potomac Books, Inc.|year =2011|page=44|isbn =978-1-59797-550-6|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=v0YAhtMxVPcC&q=Battle%20of%20Leuktra%20perioeci&pg=PA44}}</ref><ref group="note">Paul Cartledge and other historians believe that the exceedingly tiny proportion of spartiates dominating a force of about 10,000 allied troops (not all of them fully loyal) may have contributed to the defeat. The number of spartiates have been falling catastrophically for over a century, numbering at perhaps not more than 1,500 by the time of the Battle of Leuctra. At the [[Battle of Nemea]] (394 BC), for example, spartiates still constituted 6,000 hoplites of an army 19,000 strong. (Cartledge, 2002)</ref> They were arrayed traditionally, in which the hoplites were formed into phalanxes about eight to twelve men deep.<ref name="chriss" /><ref name="jones">{{cite book|author=Archer Jones|title =The Art of War in Western World|publisher =University of Illinois Press|year =2000|isbn =978-0-252-06966-6|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=z2FRzcz2W0oC&q=Battle%20of%20Leuctra%20Sacred%20band&pg=PA5}}</ref> Cleombrotus positioned himself and the spartiate hoplites (including the elite royal guard of 300 ''Hippeis'') in the Spartan right wing, the traditional position of honor in Greek armies.<ref name="majoor">{{cite journal|author=Sgt. Arthur Majoor|year=2003|title=The Battle of Leuktra: Organizational Revolution in Military Affairs in the Classical World|journal=The Army Doctrine and Training Bulletin|volume=6|issue=3|pages=51–55|url=http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/caj/documents/vol_06/iss_3/CAJ_vol6.3_12_e.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130613140712/http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/caj/documents/vol_06/iss_3/CAJ_vol6.3_12_e.pdf|archive-date=2013-06-13}}</ref> Cleombrotus' only tactical innovation was the placing of his cavalry in front of his troops.<ref name="seager" />

[[File:Epam1.jpg|thumb|A statue of the [[boeotarch]] [[Epaminondas]], who was widely hailed for his brilliant and revolutionary tactics in the [[Battle of Leuctra]]]]
The Theban army was outnumbered by the Spartans, being composed of only about 6,000 hoplites (including the Sacred Band), 1,500 light infantry, and 1,000 cavalry.<ref name="gabriel" /> Anticipating the standard Spartan tactic of flanking enemy armies with their right wing, Epaminondas concentrated his forces on his own left wing, directly opposite the strongest Spartiate phalanx, led by Cleombrotus. Here, the massed Theban phalanx was arrayed into a highly unconventional depth of fifty men.<ref name="jones" /> The rest of the Theban lines were reduced to depths of only four to at most eight men because of this.<ref name="majoor" /> Epaminondas also copied Cleombrotus by placing his cavalry in front of the Theban lines.<ref name="gabriel" /> The original position of the Sacred Band being led by Pelopidas is unknown.<ref name="majoor" /> Some military historians believe Epaminondas placed Pelopidas and the Sacred Band behind the main hoplite phalanx,<ref name="jones" /> others believe he put it in front of the main hoplite phalanx and behind the cavalry,<ref name="majoor" /> while others put it on the front left corner of the main hoplite phalanx (the most likely).<ref name="buckler" /><ref name="gabriel" /> Either way, the Sacred Band is definitely known to have been on the left wing, close to the main Theban forces and detached enough to be able to maneuver freely.<ref name="majoor" /><ref name="traver">{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wYKhJDqA3xQC&q=peace+conference+of+371+BC&pg=PA147|title=From Polis to Empire, the Ancient World, C. 800 B.C.-A.D. 500: A Biographical Dictionary|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2002|isbn=978-0-313-30942-7|pages=146–147|chapter=Greece in the 4th Century BC|author=Andrew G. Traver}}</ref>

The battle opened with a cavalry charge by both armies. The Spartan cavalry were quickly defeated by the superior Theban cavalry and were chased back to their own side. Their disorderly retreat disrupted the battle lines of the Spartan heavy infantry and, because of the resulting chaos and the dust stirred up, the Spartans were unable to observe the highly unusual advance of the Theban army until the last moment.<ref name="fine" /> Epaminondas had ordered his troops to advance diagonally, such that the left wing of the Theban army (with its concentration of forces) would impact with the right wing of the Spartan army well before the other weaker phalanxes.<ref name="seager" /> The furthest right wing of the Theban phalanx was even retreating to make this possible.<ref name="chriss" /> This is the first recorded instance of the military formation later known as the [[oblique order]].<ref name="vander">{{cite book|author=Maj. Kurt P. Vandersteen|title =Classical Theories and the Will to Fight|publisher =U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Illinois State University|year =1986|page=31|url =http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a397224.pdf|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20141218173453/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a397224.pdf|url-status =live|archive-date =December 18, 2014}}</ref><ref group="note">See also the German military tactic [[Blitzkrieg#Schwerpunkt|Schwerpunkt]].</ref> The Theban cavalry also helped by continuing to carry out intermittent attacks along the Spartan battle lines, holding their advance back.<ref name="rhodes" />

By the time the Spartans realized that something unusual was happening it was already too late. Shortly before the Theban left wing made contact, the Spartans hastily stretched out their right wing in an attempt to outflank and engulf the rapidly approaching Thebans. This was a traditional tactic and, once the Thebans were in range, the stretched wing would then be brought back in an encircling movement. Acting under his own initiative, Pelopidas quickly led the Sacred Band ahead of the Theban left wing to intercept the Spartan maneuver before it could be completed.<ref name="buckler" /><ref group="note">Some historians believe that Epaminondas explicitly ordered Pelopidas to intercept the Spartan right wing. (Chrissanthos, 2008; Gabriel, 2001) Others believe that this action was pre-planned (perhaps even rehearsed) and independently performed as part of the Sacred Band's role in the battle. (Jones, 2000)</ref> They succeeded in fixing the Spartans in place until the rest of the Theban heavy infantry finally smashed into the Spartan right wing. The sheer number of Thebans overwhelmed the Spartan right wing quickly. The number of Spartan casualties amounted to about 1,000 dead, among whom were 400 Spartiates and their own king. The Spartan right flank were forced to retreat (after retrieving the body of Cleombrotus). Seeing the Spartiates fleeing in disarray, the Perioeci phalanxes also broke ranks and retreated. Although some Spartans were in favor of resuming the battle in order to recover the bodies of their dead, the allied Perioeci of the Spartan left wing were less than willing to continue fighting (indeed some of them were quite pleased at the turn of events). The remaining ''polemarchoi'' eventually decided to request a truce, which the Thebans readily granted. The Spartan dead were returned and a ''[[tropaion]]'' was set up on the battlefield by the Thebans to commemorate their victory.<ref name="seager" />

According to [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] (c. 2nd century AD), the Battle of Leuctra was the most decisive battle ever fought by Greeks against Greeks. Leuctra established Theban independence from Spartan rule and laid the groundwork for the expansion of Theban power, but possibly also for the eventual supremacy of Philip II of Macedon.

=== Battle of Chaeronea ===
{{Main article|Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)}}
Defeat came at the [[Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)]], the decisive contest in which [[Philip II of Macedon]], with his son [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]], extinguished Theban hegemony.<ref name="devoto"/> The battle is the culmination of [[Rise of Macedon#Philip's final campaigns (339–338 BC)|Philip's campaign into central Greece]] in preparation for a war against Persia. It was fought between the Macedonians and their allies and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Athens and Thebes. Diodorus records that the numbers involved for the two armies were more or less equal, both having around 30,000 men and 2,000 cavalry.<ref name=ab>{{cite web|title=Battle of Chaeronea|url=http://www.arsbellica.it/pagine/antica/Cheronea/Cheronea_eng.html|website=Ars Bellica: The Great Battles of History|access-date=27 March 2015}}</ref>

The traditional [[hoplite]] infantry was no match for the novel [[Sarissa|long-speared]] [[Macedonian phalanxes|Macedonian phalanx]]: the Theban army and its allies broke and fled, but the Sacred Band, although surrounded and overwhelmed, refused to surrender. The Thebans of the Sacred Band held their ground and Plutarch records that all 300 fell where they stood beside their last commander, [[Theagenes of Thebes|Theagenes]]. Their defeat at the battle was a significant victory for Philip, since until then, the Sacred Band was regarded as invincible throughout all of Ancient Greece. Plutarch records that Philip II, on encountering the corpses "heaped one upon another", understanding who they were, wept and exclaimed,

{{blockquote|Perish any man who suspects that these men either did or suffered anything unseemly.|Plutarch, ''Pelopidas'' 18<ref name="plutarchD">{{cite book|author=[[Plutarch]] (trans. [[John Dryden]], 1683)|title =Parallel Lives|chapter =Pelopidas|url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Lives_%28Dryden_translation%29/Pelopidas}}</ref>}}

Though the significance of the battle was well-documented by ancient scholars, there is little surviving information on the deployment of the armies involved. Most modern scholars (including [[N.G.L. Hammond]] and [[George Cawkwell]]) credit Alexander as having led a cavalry wing.<ref name=ab/> James G. DeVoto, likewise, says in ''The Theban Sacred Band'' that Alexander had deployed his cavalry behind the Macedonian hoplites, apparently permitting "a Theban break-through in order to effect a cavalry assault while his hoplites regrouped".<ref name="devoto"/> Other historians however argue that Alexander actually commanded hoplites armed with [[sarissa]]s (pikes), rather than cavalry, especially since Plutarch also mentions that the Sacred Band fell to "lances of the Macedonian phalanx". Plutarch and Diodorus both credit Alexander as being the first to engage the Sacred Band.<ref name=ab/>

== Archaeology ==
[[File:The victory monument of the Thebans at Leuctra (tropaion).jpg|thumb|The restored surviving base of the [[Battle of Leuctra]] ''[[tropaion]]'']]

=== Trophy of the Battle of Leuctra ===

After the defeat of Cleombrotus' forces in the Battle of Leuctra, a ''[[tropaion]]'' was set up on the battlefield by the Thebans to commemorate their victory.<ref name="seager"/> The ''tropaion'' was later replaced by a permanent monument, an unprecedented move by the Thebans as ''tropaia'' were designed to be ephemeral. The original appearance of the monument is attested by contemporary coins of the period and showed that it took the form of a tree trunk mounted upon a cylindrical pedestal carved with [[Metope (architecture)|metopes]], [[triglyph]]s, and a series of stone shields. On the tree trunk itself is affixed the shields, weapons, and armor of the defeated Spartans. The [[Socle (architecture)|base]] of the monument still survives to this day.<ref name="robins">{{cite book|author=Paul Robinson|title =Military Honour & Conduct of War: From Ancient Greece to Iraq|publisher =Taylor & Francis|year =2006|page=23|isbn =978-0-415-39201-3|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=29twpob8UyYC&q=Battle%20of%20Leuktra&pg=PA23}}</ref><ref name="odys">{{cite web|url=http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/eh251.jsp?obj_id=1829|title=Monument (Trophy) of The Battle of Leuktra|publisher=Odysseus, Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism|access-date=August 3, 2012}}</ref>

=== Lion of Chaeronea ===
{{See also|Chaeronea}}
Pausanias in his ''[[Pausanias (geographer)#Work|Description of Greece]]'' mentions that the Thebans had erected a gigantic statue of a lion near the village of [[Chaeronea]], surmounting the ''[[polyandrion]]'' ({{lang|grc|πολυάνδριον}}, common tomb) of the Thebans killed in battle against Philip.<ref name="paus9Lion">{{cite book|author=[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]]|title =Description of Greece|chapter =Book IX|url =http://www.theoi.com/Text/Pausanias9B.html|quote=As you approach the city you see a common grave of the Thebans who were killed in the struggle against Philip. It has no inscription, but is surmounted by a lion, probably a reference to the spirit of the men. That there is no inscription is, in my opinion, because their courage was not favoured by appropriate good fortune.}}</ref> The Greek historian [[Strabo]] (c. 64 BC–24 AD) also mentions "tombs of those who fell in the battle" erected at public expense in Chaeronea.<ref name="strabo">{{cite book|author=[[Strabo]]|title =Geographica|chapter =Book IV, Chapter 2|quote=Chaeroneia is near Orchomenus. It was here that Philip the son of Amyntas conquered the Athenians, Boeotians, and Corinthians in a great battle, and set himself up as lord of Greece. And here, too, are to be seen tombs of those who fell in the battle, tombs erected at public expense.|url =https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/9B*.html}}</ref>

In 1818, a British architect named [[George Ledwell Taylor]] spent a summer in Greece with two friends at [[Livadeia]]. On June 3, they decided to go horseback riding to the nearby village of Chaeronea using Pausanias' ''Description of Greece'' as a guidebook. Two hours away from the village, Taylor's horse momentarily stumbled on a piece of marble jutting from the ground. Looking back at the rock, he was struck by its appearance of being sculpted and called for their party to stop. They dismounted and dug at it with their riding-whips, ascertaining that it was indeed sculpture. They enlisted the help of some nearby farmers until they finally uncovered the massive head of a stone lion which they recognized as the same lion mentioned by Pausanias. Parts of the statue had broken off and a good deal of it still remained buried. They immediately reported their discovery when they returned to Athens.<ref name="taylor1">{{cite journal|year=1863|title=On the discovery of the Lion at Chæronea, by a party of English travellers in 1818|journal=Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature of the United Kingdom|volume=3|series=Second Series|pages=1–12|url=https://archive.org/details/essaysbydiversha08royauoft}}</ref><ref name="dodg">{{cite book|author=Campbell Dodgson|title =Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 55|chapter =Taylor, George Ledwell|url =http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Taylor,_George_Ledwell_%28DNB00%29}}</ref>

A common story, still often reported to this day, is that the lion was smashed to pieces during the subsequent [[Greek War of Independence]] (1821–1829), even using dynamite, by the [[klepht]] leader [[Odysseas Androutsos]], who supposedly hoped to find it filled with treasure.<ref name="crompton2"/><ref name="lethaby">{{cite journal|author=W. R. Lethaby|year=1918|title=Greek Lion Monuments|journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies|volume=38|pages=39–44|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KVPQAAAAMAAJ&q=Chaeronea%20lion%20restored%201902&pg=PA40|doi=10.2307/625674|jstor=625674|s2cid=163762670 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = The Companion Guide to Mainland Greece |author=Brian De Jongh |author2=John Gandon |author3=Geoffrey Graham-Bell | publisher = Companion Guides | year = 2000 | isbn = 978-1-900639-35-4 | page = 91 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bko8u2MQA5oC&pg=PA91}}</ref> This tale was current already in the 1830s, but has been strongly refuted. The five pieces  (head, neck, chest, and forelegs) into which the statue was divided for most of the 19th century, before its reconstruction in 1902, bore no evidence of an explosion, but were cleanly cut, likely being the original pieces that formed the statue. Androutsos is held to have been the one to unearth the statue during his tenure as local military governor by [[Ali Pasha of Yanina]] in 1819, but the statue had likely fallen apart due to the poor quality of the pedestal's material.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Gennadius|first=Joannes|title=The Lion of Chaeronea|pages=196–197|date=26 February 1876|journal=The Academy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SEZRAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA197|volume=IX|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Handbook for travellers in Greece|edition=Seventh|page=[https://archive.org/details/handbookfortra00lond/page/554 554]|url=https://archive.org/details/handbookfortra00lond|location=London|publisher=John Murray|year=1900}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Ma|first=John|title=Chaironeia 338: Topographies of Commemoration|journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies|volume=128|year=2008|pages=72–91|doi=10.1017/S0075426900000069|jstor=40651724|s2cid=160003601}}</ref>

[[File:Chaironeia lion (cropped).JPG|thumb|left|The Lion of Chaeronea in 2009. Excavation of the quadrangular enclosure brought to light 254 skeletons, laid out in seven rows]]
Offers in the late 19th century by the British archeologist [[Cecil Harcourt Smith]] to fund the restoration of Lion of Chaeronea were initially refused by the Greeks.<ref name="bosan">{{cite journal|author1=R.C. Bosanquet  |author2=M.N. Tod |name-list-style=amp |year=1902|title=Archaeology in Greece, 1901-1902|journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies|volume=22|page=380|url=https://archive.org/details/journalofhelleni22soci|doi=10.2307/623936|jstor=623936 |s2cid=162296569 }}</ref> In 1902, however, permission was granted and the monument was pieced back together with funding by the [[Order of Chaeronea]].<ref name="crompton2"/> The lion, which stands about {{convert|12.5|ft|m|abbr=on}} high, was mounted on a reconstructed pedestal about {{convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on}} high.<ref name="lethaby"/>

In the late 19th century, [[excavation (archaeology)|excavation]]s in the area revealed that the monument stood at the edge of a quadrangular enclosure.<ref name="lethaby"/> The skeletons of 254 men laid out in seven rows were found buried within it.<ref name="crompton2"/> A [[tumulus]] near the monument was also tentatively identified as the site of the Macedonian ''polyandrion'' where the Macedonian dead were cremated. Excavation of the tumulus between 1902 and 1903 by the archeologist Georgios Soteriades confirmed this. At the center of the mound, about {{convert|22|ft|m|abbr=on}} deep, was a layer of ashes, charred logs, and bones about {{convert|0.75|m|ft|abbr=on}} thick. Recovered among these were vases and coins dated to the 4th century BC. Swords and remarkably long spearheads measuring about {{convert|15|in|cm|abbr=on}} were also discovered, which Soteriades identified as the Macedonian [[sarissa]]s.<ref name="pritchLion">{{cite journal|author=William Kendrick Pritchett|year=1958|title=Observations on Chaironeia|journal=American Journal of Archaeology|volume=62|issue=3|pages=307–311|jstor=501959|doi=10.2307/501959|s2cid=191378872}}</ref><ref name="arch1">{{cite journal|author=Archaeological Institute of America|year=1904|title=General Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, December 29–31, 1903|journal=American Journal of Archaeology|volume=8|issue=1|pages=71–92|doi=10.2307/497019|jstor=497019|s2cid=245265285}}</ref><ref name="rahe"/>

The skeletons within the enclosure of the lion monument are generally accepted to be the remains of the Sacred Band,<ref name="rahe">{{cite journal|author=Paul A. Rahe|year=1981|title=The Annihilation of the Sacred Band at Chaeronea|journal=American Journal of Archaeology|volume=85|issue=1|pages=84–87|doi=10.2307/504975|jstor=504975|s2cid=193013636}}</ref><ref name="sabin">{{cite book|author=Philip Sabin|title =Lost Battles: Reconstructing the Great Clashes of the Ancient World|publisher =Hambledon Continuum|year =2007|isbn =978-1-84725-187-9|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=F-rbAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> as the number given by Plutarch was probably an approximation.<ref group="note">Other historians who accept the figure of 300 as literal instead assume that 26 members of the Sacred Band survived. (Ashley, 2004)</ref> However, historians such as [[N. G. L. Hammond|Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond]], [[Karl Julius Beloch]], and Vincenzo Costanzi do not believe that the lion monument marks the location of the Sacred Band dead. Hammond claims it was the place where Philip turned his army around during the Battle of Chaeronea and believes that it contains the members of the Macedonian right flank who perished. He argues that it is highly improbable that the Thebans would be able to commemorate their dead within Philip's lifetime with such a massive and obviously expensive monument.<ref name="pritchLion"/>

The historian [[William K. Pritchett]] criticizes Hammond's rationale as "subjective" and counters it with a passage from ''Historiarum Philippicarum Libri XLIV'' of the 3rd-century AD [[Roman Empire|Roman]] historian [[Justin (historian)|Justin]]. In addition to Pausanias and Strabo, Justin also clearly says that Philip forced the Thebans to pay for the privilege of burying (not cremating) their dead. Therefore, the cremated remains are likely to be Macedonian, while the remains around the lion were the Sacred Band. Philip, after all, was known for his ability to inflict unnecessary cruelty when it served a greater purpose. He further points out that questioning the honesty of Pausanias is unwarranted, as any well-informed Greek then would probably know the ascription of the monument even centuries after the battle; Pausanias' knowledge of topography was not second-hand and his testimony was echoed independently by other ancient sources such as Strabo and Justin.<ref name="pritchLion"/><ref name="sabin"/> Indeed, Pausanias' ''Description of Greece'' has proved to be an accurate and important guide to modern archeologists in rediscovering the locations of other ancient Greek monuments and buildings.<ref name="habicht">{{cite book|author=Christian Habicht|title =Pausanias' Guide to Ancient Greece|chapter =Pausanias as a Guide|publisher =University of California Press|year =1999|pages=28–63|isbn = 978-0-520-06170-5|chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=9cJYpYbScEUC&q=archaeology&pg=PA28}}</ref><ref name="rubin">{{cite book|author=Lene Rubinstein|editor1=Morgens Herman Hansen |editor2=Kurt Raaflaub |title =Studies in the Ancient Greek ''Polis'', Volume 1|chapter =Pausanias as a source for the classical Greek ''Polis''|publisher =Franz Steiner Verlag|year =1995|page=211|isbn =978-3-515-06759-1|chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=0xyNwS2q7CUC&q=Pausanias+Importance+Archaeology&pg=PA211}}</ref><ref name="elsner">{{cite journal|author=[[Jaś Elsner]]|year=2010|title=Special issue: Receptions of Pausanias: From Winckelmann to Frazer|journal=Classical Receptions Journal|volume=2|issue=2|pages=157–173|doi=10.1093/crj/clq012}}</ref>

== Historicity  ==
[[File:Plutarchs Lives Vol the Third 1727.jpg|thumb|[[Plutarch]]'s ''[[Parallel Lives|Lives]]'' (pictured: the 1727 edition of the English translation by [[André Dacier]]) is the main source for the most substantial surviving account of the Sacred Band. It is believed to be mostly based on the works of the Sacred Band's contemporaries [[Callisthenes]] and [[Ephorus]]. Unfortunately the works of the latter two have been lost to history.]]
The historicity of the Sacred Band is largely accepted by historians; it is detailed in the writings of numerous classical authors, especially [[Plutarch]]. Noted classical historians such as John Kinloch Anderson and [[George Cawkwell]] accept Plutarch's ''Life of Pelopidas'', which contains the most detailed account of the Sacred Band, as a highly reliable account of the events, in contrast to Xenophon's patchy treatment of Theban history.<ref name="anderson" /><ref name="cawk">{{cite book|author=George Cawkwell|title =Scripta Antiquitatis Posterioris Ad Ethicam Religionemque Pertinentia. Volume 16: Plutarch, On the Daimonion of Socrates|chapter =Between Athens, Sparta, and Persia: the Historical Significance of the Liberation of Thebes in 379 BC|publisher =Mohr Siebeck Tübingen|year =2010|pages=101–102|isbn =978-3-16-150137-1|chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=u6zl7g43cCIC&q=Sacred+band&pg=PA101}}</ref> Other noted classical scholars like [[F. W. Walbank|Frank William Walbank]] and [[Felix Jacoby]] have also defended Callisthenes' descriptions of land battles in the past. Walbank commented that his depictions of the [[Battle of the Eurymedon]], [[Battle of Gaugamela|Gaugamela]], and Tegyra (all surviving through Plutarch) are quite adequate. While Jacoby, responding to claims that Callisthenes was unreliable in accounts of land battles in contrast to Xenophon, pointed out that Callisthenes did accurately describe the details on the Battle of Tegyra. He summarized his opinion of Callisthenes' account with "''Sie ist panegyrisch gehalten, aber sachlich nicht unrichtig.'' [It is panegyrical, but it is not factually incorrect.]"<ref name="pritchett"/> This is echoed by the historians [[John Buckler (historian)|John Buckler]] and [[Hans Beck (historian)|Hans Beck]] who conclude that "In sum, Plutarch's description of the battle of Tegyra does justice both to the terrain of Polygyra and to the information gleaned from his fourth-century sources. There is nothing implausible or unusual in Plutarch's account, and every reason to consider it one of the best of his battle pieces." They also had the same opinion of his account on Leuctra, dismissing assertions that his accounts were confused or rhetorical.<ref name="buckler"/>

Historian [[David D. Leitao]], however, has claimed that the group was actually Macedonian, and did not consist of male lovers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leitao |first=David D. |date=September 28, 2016 |title=Did an Army of Lovers Really Dominate Ancient Greece? |url=http://ancientheroes.net/blog//did-an-army-of-lovers-really-dominate-ancient-greece}}</ref>

The historian Gordon S. Shrimpton further provides an explanation for Xenophon's silence on much of Theban history. He notes that all the surviving contemporary accounts of Thebes during the period of Theban hegemony between 371 and 341 BC were often highly critical; with their failures ridiculed and their accomplishments usually being downplayed or omitted altogether. For instance, the Athenian [[Isocrates]] (436–338 BC) in his ''Plataicus'' (which details the destruction of Plataea by the Thebans), makes no mention of the Theban victory in Leuctra, and harshly reviles Thebes throughout. His later work ''Archidamus'' mention Leuctra briefly, and only to criticize Thebans as being incompetent and incapable of capitalizing on their rise to power. The same sentiments are echoed by the Athenians [[Demosthenes]] (384–322 BC) and [[Antisthenes]] (c. 445–365 BC). Xenophon, another Athenian, is the only contemporary who grudgingly notes some Theban accomplishments, and even then, never in-depth and with numerous omissions. His only mentions of Pelopidas and Epaminondas by name, for example, were very brief and shed no light on their previous accomplishments.<ref name="shrimpton"/> Indeed, the historians [[Bruce LaForse]] and John Buckler have noted that the character and accomplishments of Epaminondas were so unassailable that there is no known hostile account of him in ancient sources. The most unfriendly writers like Xenophon and Isocrates could do was omit his accomplishments in their work altogether.<ref name="laforse">{{cite book|author=Bruce LaForse|editor =Konrad H. Kinzl|title =A Companion to the Classical Greek World|chapter =The Greek World, 371-336|publisher =John Wiley & Sons|year =2010|page=546|isbn =978-1-4443-3412-8|chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=loeWIRBo3isC&q=Leuktra%20city&pg=PA546}}</ref>

Shrimpton believes that the apparent indifference of earlier authors was due to the general hatred by other Greeks against the Thebans who had [[medized]] (i.e. allied with the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persians]]) in the [[Second Persian invasion of Greece|second Persian invasion]] in 480 BC and again in 368 BC. Athenians, in particular, held a special contempt for Thebes due to the latter's actions in the [[Peloponnesian War]]; as well as the Thebans' destruction of Plataea in 373 BC, and the invasion of the Athenian-allied Boeotian city of [[Oropus]] in 366 BC. Demosthenes records this sentiment very clearly in a disclaimer in his speech ''[[On the Navy]]'' (354 BC): "It is difficult to speak to you about [Thebans], because you have such a hearty dislike of them that you would not care to hear any good of them, even if it were true."<ref name="shrimpton"/><ref name="demSymm">{{cite book|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0072%3Aspeech%3D14%3Asection%3D33|title=On the Navy|chapter=On the Symmories|author=[[Demosthenes]]}}</ref>

This sentiment changed in 339 BC, when Thebes abruptly severed its alliance with Philip II (after being convinced by a speech from Demosthenes) and joined the Athenian-led Pan-Hellenic alliance against Macedonia, with the result being the annihilation of the Sacred Band in Chaeronea and the destruction of the city of Thebes itself in 335 BC by the Macedonians. In light of these actions, Athenians eventually changed their opinions on Thebes, now regarding it in a sympathetic light as a fallen ally. It was during this period that much of the accounts favorable to Thebans were at last written. Works by authors like [[Anaximenes of Lampsacus]], [[Aristoxenus]], Callisthenes, [[Daimachus]], Dinarchus, and Ephorus are believed to have been written between 330 and 310 BC. Except for Dinarchus, almost all of them have been lost to history or survive only in fragments. Among them are Ephorus and Callisthenes, who were contemporaries of the Theban hegemony and the Sacred Band.<ref name="shrimpton"/> The works of the latter two, however, survived long enough for later authors like Plutarch, Diodorus, and Polyaenus to base their works on.<ref name="anderson"/><ref name="buckler">{{cite book|author1=John Buckler  |author2=Hans Beck  |name-list-style=amp |title =Central Greece And The Politics Of Power In The Fourth Century BC|publisher =Cambridge University Press|year =2008|isbn =978-0-521-83705-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bn5Nz5yjGUIC&q=Phoebidas+Gorgidas&pg=PA91}}</ref><ref name="terry"/>

== See also ==
{{Div col}}
* [[Homosexuality in the militaries of ancient Greece]]
* [[Homosexuality in ancient Greece]]
* [[Blood brother]]
* [[The Sacred Band of Stepsons]]
* [[Sacred Band of Carthage]]
* [[Sacred Band (1821)]] – Greek battalion in the Greek War of Independence
* [[Sacred Band (World War II)]] – Greek special forces unit in World War II
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Sacred Band of Thebes}}

{{Ancient Greece topics|state=collapsed}}
{{LGBT military-related groups}}
{{Sexual orientation and gender identity in the military}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sacred Band Of Thebes}}
[[Category:4th-century BC establishments in Greece]]
[[Category:Alexander the Great]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek infantry types]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:Ancient LGBTQ history]]
[[Category:Gay history]]
[[Category:LGBTQ history in Greece]]
[[Category:LGBTQ military or paramilitary units]]
[[Category:Philip II of Macedon]]
[[Category:Same-sex couples]]
[[Category:Sexuality in ancient Greece]]
[[Category:Theban hegemony]]
[[Category:LGBTQ military history]]