Sacred Battalion of Thebes

Kylix attic (5th century BC) representing a lover (ἐραστής) kissing his beloved (ἐρώμενος). The representations of pederasty scenes are abundant in Greek art. The Sacred Battalion of Thebes (in ancient Greek ἱερὸς λόχος / hieròs lókhos) was a Greek elite unit made up of 150 pairs of lovers, all male. According to Plutarch, it was created by the Theban commander Gorgidas. Couples consisted of an older member or "heniochoi" (driver) and a younger or "paraibatai" (companion) member. The motivation for the use of the "army of lovers" in battle is expressed by Plutarch:

For males of the same tribe or family, there is little value to one when danger threatens; but a battalion founded by friendship based on love will never be broken and invincible; since lovers, ashamed of not being worthy in the sight of their loved ones and loved ones before the eyes of their lovers, are willing to throw themselves into danger for the relief of one another. According to Plutarch, Gorgidas initially distributed the Holy Battalion of Thebes along its battle lines as an elite corps to strengthen the resolve of others, but then Pelopidas, after the Battalion had fought successfully in the battle of Tegira, he used it as a sort of personal guard. The Holy Battalion of Thebes was an important part of the Greek infantry for about 33 years. He participated, as a strong point of the Theban formation, in the battles of Leuctra and Mantinea that humbled the power of the Spartans, blows of those who never recovered, even ended up as a force to consider in Greece, the diminished army of the Homoi.

His only defeat came at the battle of Queronea, in 338 BC. C., decisive battle in which Filipo II of Macedonia and his son Alexander Great ended with the independence of the Greek city-states. Philip had been captive in Thebes, where he learned his military tactics. The rest of the Theban army fled when it faced the overwhelming forces of Philip II and Alexander, but the Sacred Battalion, surrounded, stood firm and fell where they were. Plutarch tells that Philip, at the sight of the corpses piled up in a pile and understanding who they were, exclaimed:

"Perish whoever suspects that these men either suffered or did something improperly."

Although Plutarco claims that the 300 battalion components died that day, other writers claim that 250 perished and that the rest were only wounded. These data were verified in his communal tomb in Queronea, where 254 skeletons were found, aligned in seven rows.

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