[2] 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. I didn’t want to pull it down. [49] 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. The writing is lovely and colorful. 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. 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. I had just recently finished the Beyond novels before reading The Sacred Band. Two hours away from the village, Taylor's horse momentarily stumbled on a piece of marble jutting from the ground. [67] In 1902, however, permission was granted and the monument was pieced back together with funding by the Order of Chaeronea. [38] The Spartans were completely routed, with considerable loss of life. [6] It left a deep impression in Greece and boosted the morale among Boeotians, foreshadowing the later Battle of Leuctra. The battleground between them was about 900 m (3,000 ft) wide. The historian James G. DeVoto points out that Gorgidas previously served as a hipparch (cavalry officer), therefore equestrian training was also likely provided. Everyone who loves magic and mythology should love this book! [26] 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. As The Sacred Band begins, one of them, Queen Corinn, bestrides the world as a result of her mastery of spells found in the ancient Book of Elenet. [24], The Spartan forces were held up for several days by Theban forces manning the earthen stockades at the perimeter of Theban territory. 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. [62], In the late 19th century, excavations in the area revealed that the monument stood at the edge of a quadrangular enclosure. The exact number of the belligerents on each side varies by account. 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. Hammond and George Cawkwell) credit Alexander as having led a cavalry wing. Or who would desert his beloved or fail him in the hour of danger? 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. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. This was followed by Athens openly entering into an alliance with Thebes against Sparta. 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. "[2][77], 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. [47], 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. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2013. The Sacred Band of Thebes was a elite troop of selected soldiers, consisting of 150 lovers and beloveds, who formed the elite force of the Theban army in the 4th century BC. [48][51] 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. They dismounted and dug at it with their riding-whips, ascertaining that it was indeed sculpture. 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. [6][19] Their regular training included wrestling and dance. There is nothing implausible or unusual in Plutarch's account, and every reason to consider it one of the best of his battle pieces." Swords and remarkably long spearheads measuring about 15 in (38 cm) were also discovered, which Soteriades identified as the Macedonian sarissas. He summarized his opinion of Callisthenes' account with "Sie ist panegyrisch gehalten, aber sachlich nicht unrichtig. [59], In 1818, a British architect named George Ledwell Taylor spent a summer in Greece with two friends at Livadeia. Though the Athenians had by this time joined the Theban forces, they were still outnumbered by the Spartans. 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? It was initiated by either the Athenians or the Persians (perhaps at the prompting of the Spartans). 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. If you prefer to send in a form with check, money order, or your credit card information, click here to download the form, then mail it to Archdiocesan Music Program, P.O. On seeing this, Pelopidas withdrew his forces, recognizing that the Phocians would fight to the death to protect their loved ones. [18], Not long afterwards, Agesilaus mounted a second expedition against Thebes. [47] The tropaion was later replaced by a permanent monument, an unprecedented move by the Thebans as tropaia were designed to be ephemeral. Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2015. 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 Sacred Band of Thebes (Ancient Greek: Ἱερὸς Λόχος, Hieròs Lókhos) 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. Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2011. [19][39] The Thebans didn't pursue the fleeing survivors, mindful of the remaining Spartan mora stationed in Orchomenus less than 5 km (3.1 mi) away. The Spartan cavalry were quickly defeated by the superior Theban cavalry and were chased back to their own side. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 6, 2013. [56][57], 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 (πολυάνδριον, common tomb) of the Thebans killed in battle against Philip. [51] The rest of the Theban lines were reduced to depths of only four to at most eight men because of this. [19][20] Under Pelopidas, the Sacred Band was united as a single unit of shock troops. Please try again. [4][5] He records that the Sacred Band was originally formed by the boeotarch Gorgidas, shortly after the expulsion of the Spartan garrison occupying the Theban citadel of Cadmea. The generally accepted date of the Sacred Band's creation is between 379 and 378 BC. [18][19], The Sacred Band was stationed in Cadmea as a standing force, likely as defense against future attempts by foreign forces to take the citadel. The Sacred Band of Thebes lives on, a world away, in this mythic novel of love in war in ancient times. [18][note 2], As a single unit under Pelopidas, the first recorded victory of the Sacred Band was at the Battle of Tegyra (375 BC). Both Plato and Xenophon were Athenians. 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. It's a reflection of the authors' inclusion of the Sacred Band of Thebes in their story. Sacred Band of Thebes. 1. [31][36][41] In Plutarch's own words: 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. [6][19], An account of the battle was mentioned both by Diodorus and Plutarch, both based heavily on the report by Ephorus. At stake was freedom, democracy, and the fate … [76], 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. 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. Tempus Thales, long-time leader of the Sacred Band of Stepsons, intervenes at the heroic and historical battle of Chaeronea to ensure the survival of 23 pairs of fighters from the Scared band of Thebes. 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. The Thebans of the Sacred Band held their ground and Plutarch records that all 300 fell where they stood beside their last commander, Theagenes. [42][49] 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. Here, the massed Theban phalanx was arrayed into a highly unconventional depth of fifty men. [60][61], 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. (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. And the Sacred Band, of course. [18], According to Plutarch, Gorgidas originally distributed the members of the Sacred Band among the front ranks of the phalanxes of regular infantry. [45] Pelopidas is again mentioned as the commander of the abortive Theban siege of the Phocian city of Elateia (c. 372 BC). It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. 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. It was fought between the Macedonians and their allies and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Athens and Thebes. [55] 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". 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. These forty-six Thebans, whose bones will never lie in the mass grave that holds their two hundred and fifty-four brothers, join with the immortalized Tempus and his Sacred Band of Stepsons, consummate ancient cavalry fighters, to make new lives in a faraway land and fight the battle of their dreams where gods walk the earth, ghosts take the field, and the angry Fates demand their due. The Thebans however were committed to a fight. Her younger brother, Dariel, has been sent on a perilous mission to the Other Lands, while her sister, Mena, travels to the far north to confront an invasion of the feared race of the Auldek. 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. The base of the monument still survives to this day. [62] The skeletons of 254 men laid out in seven rows were found buried within it. The Spartans eventually breached the fortifications and entered the Theban countryside, devastating the Theban fields in their wake. [46] Cleombrotus' army crossed the Phocian-Boeotian border into Chaeronea then halted, perhaps hoping that the Thebans might change their mind. The Spartan dead were returned and a tropaion was set up on the battlefield by the Thebans to commemorate their victory.[47]. Agesilaus then commanded the entire Spartan army to advance. Its predominance began with its crucial role in the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC. [64][65][66], 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. Looking back at the rock, he was struck by its appearance of being sculpted and called for their party to stop. Section III Legendary Loves & Sometimes-Real Romances. This book is truly a page-turner. [43] The Plataean citizens were allowed to leave alive, but they were reduced to being refugees and sought sanctuary in Athens. [12][28] 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. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. Plutarch records that Philip II, on encountering the corpses "heaped one upon another", understanding who they were, wept and exclaimed. Her younger brother, Dariel, has been sent on a perilous mis­sion to the Other Lands, while her sister, Mena, travels to the far north to confront an invasion of the feared race of the Auldek. At 600 pages, this epic story is not for the faint-hearted, but for those who venture into the fantastic world of ancient gods, wars and battles, “The Sacred Band” is immensely rewarding. [35] His peltasts broke ranks and fled back to Thespiae pursued by Theban forces. I would highly recommend the book to anybody who asks for an epic read. Looking for tickets for 'bok center'? Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. For those familiar with classic history, this Fantasy version would be particularly exciting, but even for those of us who just like to enjoy a good book, The Sacred Band won’t disappoint. Her younger brother, Dariel, has been sent on a perilous mis­sion to the Other Lands, while her sister, Mena, travels to the far north to confront an invasion of the feared race of the Auldek. 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. 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 twenty-three pairs of Theban Sacred Banders, paired lovers and friends, to fight on other days. [22] They likely ended their service at age 30. Her younger brother, Dariel, has been sent on a perilous mis­sion to the Other Lands. His only mentions of Pelopidas and Epaminondas by name, for example, were very brief and shed no light on their previous accomplishments. The Spartans also sent a large force led by King Cleombrotus I (Sparta having two kings simultaneously for most of its history) to Phocis, ready to invade Boeotia if the Thebans refuse to attend the peace conference or accept its terms. [6] The 2nd century AD Macedonian author Polyaenus in his Stratagems in War also records Gorgidas as the founder of the Sacred Band. [18] While Athens and Sparta were busy fighting each other, Thebes resumed her campaigns against the autonomous pro-Spartan Boeotian poleis. The Spartan right flank were forced to retreat (after retrieving the body of Cleombrotus). With scarcely 200 m (660 ft) separating the two armies, Agesilaus was expecting the Theban and Athenian forces to charge at any moment. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. If your child attends one of the schools below, please contact your teacher for a copy of the form. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, Sacred Band of Stepsons: Sacred Band Tales. [7][27] Gorgidas, on seeing this, also commanded the Sacred Band to follow suit, which they did with the same military drill precision and confidence. Thespiae and Tanagra were subjugated and formally became part of the reestablished democratic Boeotian confederacy. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. It was annihilated by Philip II of Macedon in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. -- Robert W. Cape, Jr, in. Click here to sign up online with a credit card.. 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. Excavation of the tumulus between 1902 and 1903 by the archeologist Georgios Soteriades confirmed this. [6][11] 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. Therefore, the cremated remains are likely to be Macedonian, while the remains around the lion were the Sacred Band. At the center of the mound, about 22 ft (6.7 m) deep, was a layer of ashes, charred logs, and bones about 0.75 m (2.5 ft) thick. 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. 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. Most modern scholars (including N.G.L. Search at Ticketmaster.com, the number one source for concerts, sports, arts, theater, theatre, broadway shows, family event tickets on online. [7][18], By 371 BC, there was another attempt to revive the King's Peace to curb the rise of Thebes. 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. Instead, Pelopidas surprised them by using the opening to flank the Spartans. I was amazed how when reading The Sacred Band, the writing style or voice of the author so matched the way the Beyond novels I had just read which also matches my recollection of the tone in short stories too. 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. The Sacred Band is an epic story, based on Plato's Sacred Squadron, which consisted of pairs of male lovers that formed the elite force of the Theban army in the 4th century BC. [1] They were formed by the Theban commander Gorgidas in 378 BC and played a crucial role in the Battle of Leuctra. Unwilling to engage the new garrison, Pelopidas decided to retreat back to Thebes, retracing their northeastern route along Lake Copais. ]"[34] This is echoed by the historians John Buckler and 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. The Sacred Band of Thebes lives on, a world away, in this mythic novel of love in war in ancient times. Home on Gilgamesh since February 2014. [16] The lion, which stands about 12.5 ft (3.8 m) high, was mounted on a reconstructed pedestal about 10 ft (3.0 m) high. [7] However, Dio Chrysostom (c. 40–120 AD), Hieronymus of Rhodes (c. 290–230 BC), and Athenaeus of Naucratis (c. 200 AD) credit Epaminondas instead. Phoebidas was killed by the Theban cavalry. [25] Gorgidas disappears from history between 377 and 375, during which the command of the Sacred Band was apparently transferred to Pelopidas. [12][75] Other noted classical scholars like Frank William Walbank and Felix Jacoby have also defended Callisthenes' descriptions of land battles in the past. The Sacred Band: They were called “an army of lovers” Hardly anyone ever mentions Thebes, thirty-three miles northwest of Athens in the region of Boeotia, once a powerful urban center that dominated the rest of Greece. [16][62][63] This tale was current already in the 1830s, but has been strongly refuted. [2] The works of the latter two, however, survived long enough for later authors like Plutarch, Diodorus, and Polyaenus to base their works on.[12][42][45]. However, comparing them with the Spartan elite unit Hippeis (ἱππεῖς)[note 1] and the Athenian epheboi (ἔφηβοι) recruits, DeVoto estimates that trainees were inducted as full members to the Sacred Band at the ages of 20 to 21,[18] whereupon they were given a full set of armor by their erastai. One of the signs of a great book, for me at least, is the urge to continue reading it despite the fact it is very late or there is something else I really should be doing. The remaining polemarchoi eventually decided to request a truce, which the Thebans readily granted. In the summer of 378 BC, Agesilaus led a Spartan expedition against Thebes from the Boeotian city of Thespiae (then still allied to Sparta). [55], 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. [18] The exact ages of the unit's members are not recorded in ancient testimonies. [48] This is the first recorded instance of the military formation later known as the oblique order. They immediately reported their discovery when they returned to Athens. They are equipped and organized in the same fashion as Greek hoplites, with long spears, large shields, breastplates and helmets, and they can use phalanx tactics. The traditional hoplite infantry was no match for the novel long-speared Macedonian phalanx: the Theban army and its allies broke and fled, but the Sacred Band, although surrounded and overwhelmed, refused to surrender. [49] 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. This was one such book. Stylianou believes that only one Spartan, 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. The Sacred Band of Carthage was an infantry unit of Carthaginian citizens that served in Carthaginian armies during the fourth century BC. At the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC, these 300 gay warriors led the Theban army against the Spartan army. [49] The original position of the Sacred Band being led by Pelopidas is unknown. As I read this book I found myself emersed in a world of magic and mythology. [45][note 5], 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. Shortly after this, the Athenians initiated the Common Peace of 375 BC (Κοινὴ Εἰρήνη, Koine Eirene) among Greek city-states. 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 Elis, arguing that while the practice was acceptable to them, it was shameful for Athenians. 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