The Persians are betting on Sparta. More than 100 years have passed since the Persian invasion of Hellas was repelled. A lot has changed since then. The brilliant rise of Athens has sunk into the past, the ruins of majestic structures remained silent witnesses. The long war between Athens and Sparta, the defeat of Athens and the disintegration of their sea power were gradually forgotten. Sparta also enjoyed the fruits of victory for a short time - not only Athens, but also her former allies, supported by Persia, opposed her.
When the exhausted Sparta ceased to instill fear in the Persian king, he forced the Greeks to make peace with each other and dictated his terms to the Greek ambassadors who arrived in the Persian capital. Sparta again began to impose its will on the Greeks, but now by the grace of the Persian king. The Spartans unceremoniously interfered in the affairs of the rest of the Greeks, overthrowing democracy where they could, putting their supporters-oligarchs in power and deploying garrisons. Compatriots hated the oligarchs, but they were supported by the Spartan garrisons, whose chiefs were the real rulers.
Where are the homosexuals here?
Wait a little …
Even in Thebes, their old ally, the Spartans planted their garrison and partly executed, partly expelled the supporters of democracy. Those who managed to survive found shelter with their neighbors - in Athens. The Athenians have always competed with the Thebans, often fought against them, but now they were united by a common hatred of the Spartans, whose rudeness and arrogance had become unbearable.
Sparta was still considered the most militarily powerful state in Greece. Meanwhile, the situation in the country gradually changed not in favor of the Spartans.
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The Spartans, although they were not superhumans, as they are described in mass culture, were the strongest warriors of Greece. Yes, they were sometimes defeated, but in an open battle "wall to wall" the Spartan phalanx was impenetrable. At least it was considered as such until 371 BC. e.
Epaminondas and his new military tactics. The Theban democrats, with the support of the Athenians, secretly returned to their hometown, killed the oligarchs and expelled the Spartan garrison. Epaminondas became an outstanding military leader of the Thebans. He introduced new military tactics, which he applied brilliantly when the Spartans tried to re-establish their dominance in Boeotia by force.
This was during the reign of Leuctra on August 5, 371 BC, where 10 thousand Spartans, led by King Cleombrotus, and 6 thousand Thebans Epaminondas, met. The enemy troops met near the city of Leuktra. The Theban general Epaminondas decided to use (for the first time in history) the tactics of an oblique formation.
Usually, in wars between the Greeks, the outcome of the battle was decided by the head-on collision of two phalanxes of hoplites. The winner was the side whose phalanx was more numerous and, accordingly, had more rows in depth, its blow was therefore more powerful. The fortitude of the warriors meant a lot in battle, the ability of each to keep his place in the ranks and to help the comrades standing side by side, in this the Spartans had no equal for a long time. The tallest and strongest warriors were built on the right flank, so he was considered the strongest and usually decided the outcome of the battle.
In the battle of Leuctrah, the Thebans first used the so-called "slanting wedge" tactic: Epaminondas was the first general in world history to discover the principle of concentration of forces in the direction of the main attack. If the Spartans lined up for battle as usual, then the Thebans placed their formation not parallel to the Spartan one, but at an angle, pushing the right flank away from the enemy and strengthening the left, which stood against the right flank of the Spartans.
This flank, with its numerical superiority, breaks through the enemy's formation and goes to the rear, which is fatal for the phalanx. Epaminondas gathered a select Theban force on the left flank, just opposite the Spartans. The center and right flank were supposed to hold back the Spartan allies, weaker troops.
The cavalry began the battle. The Theban cavalry quickly put the enemy to flight, and the defeated cavalry crushed their own ranks. Epaminondas took advantage of the confusion in the formation of the enemy and moved the infantry into battle. At first, the Spartans won, but during the battle they were simply physically destroyed by the superior number of Thebans (in depth, the Spartans had no more than 12 nearby, while the Thebans had 50). Especially distinguished was the Sacred Detachment, 300 selected soldiers of Thebes. After losing about 400 of the 700 soldiers, the Spartans began to retreat, and soon less disciplined units followed suit. They retreated to their original camp. We must pay tribute to the Lacedaemonians: even when they were defeated, they did not allow to take the camp by storm. The fight was over.
The right wing of the Spartan army was defeated, and the losses amounted to about a thousand people, among whom was the Spartan king Cleombrotus, who belonged to the same dynasty as Leonidas. After calculating their losses and sensing the mood of the allies, the polemarchs unanimously decided to ask for peace from Thebes.
The Theban general Epaminondas revolutionized the history of military art. He developed tactics to concentrate superior forces in the direction of the main attack. The order of battle of the Thebans, which Epaminondas used in the battle of Leuctra and in the battle of Mantinea, made it possible to crush the Spartan hegemony in Greece. The Boeotians tried to use deep construction even before Epaminondas, in the battle of Delia.
And now the most interesting thing about the Sacred Unit. These were the chosen Theban warriors who were bound together … by love. Moreover, homosexual love. Epaminondas himself was distinguished by his love for his neighbor, this was not considered something shameful (he once defended his wounded friend at the cost of his life). The detachment was divided into 150 pairs of men who stood shoulder to shoulder. It was believed that a warrior would not be cowardly if his beloved was next to him.
Sacred Squad
The Sacred Squad from Thebes presents an unexpected and one-of-a-kind incident in military history. This select military unit consisted of homosexual couples and became one of the most formidable military formations of antiquity, because, as Plutarch said, "the alliance of lovers increased its fighting capacity." In fact, the detachment did not know defeat until the battle of Chaeronea, when the Macedonian king Philip II and Alexander the Great inflicted a crushing defeat on it.
For the first time, the Sacred Detachment is mentioned in connection with the Battle of Tegir, which took place in the early spring of 375 BC, although this military unit existed before that. At the origins of its creation was the Theban aristocrat Gorgid. The detachment consisted of 150 homosexual male couples. Gorgid took over the creation and recruitment of people for the Sacred Battalion. His fighters were young aristocrats who were educated in a gymnasium, where same-sex relationships were commonplace.
It should be noted that the concept of homosexuality in ancient Greece was different from that of today. Sometimes homosexual relationships between adults, which were severely condemned in the Greek people, are confused with pederasty, that is, the relationship between an adult man and a young man. In some cities, such relationships were part of the education system for adolescents from aristocratic families. Something similar happened in Thebes, where male pairs consisted of an adult and a youth. The elder was responsible for the training and education of his ward, primarily in matters of morality, instilling in him such values as devotion, loyalty and moderation.
After a period of strict education, a close personal and professional bond was established between them. The ancient Greek historian Plutarch argued that homosexual relationships were the strength of the detachment, since "the system, united by mutual love, is indissoluble and indestructible, since lovers, ashamed to reveal their cowardice, in case of danger, invariably remain next to each other."
The idea was that the detachment would fight extremely selflessly, since the fighters did not want to disgrace themselves in front of each other, and in the event of the death of one of the lovers, the second would fight to the death in order to avenge him and bury his body with dignity. The authors of Theban legislation were well aware of all the advantages of the detachment and in every possible way encouraged homosexual relations in order to maintain the combat readiness of their troops at a high level.
The fighting spirit of the members of the Sacred Squad was strengthened by numerous mythological examples in which they saw their reflection. The Theban aristocracy cited the mythical hero Iolaus, a young athlete, a horse charmer, an inseparable friend and beloved Hercules, as an example to emulate. It got to the point that male lovers took an oath of allegiance to each other before Iolaus's grave. Moreover, the main myth of the city was the story of the Theban king Lai, who kidnapped his teenage stepson Chrysippus and raped him. It was from this episode that pederasty began to be worshiped in Greece.
In 33 years, the Sacred Force became the most victorious foot force in Greece. The city authorities provided them with food and a cash salary even in peacetime, and military affairs were their only occupation. In peacetime, this professional army of constant readiness was garrisoned in the city of Cadmee.
The sacred detachment participated as the vanguard of the Theban troops in the battles of Levtrach and Mantinea, during which the power of the Spartans was thoroughly undermined. Before these battles, Thebes were under the rule of Sparta, and only thanks to the military talent of General Epaminondas it was possible to increase the combat capability of the Theban troops. He is considered one of the greatest military geniuses of antiquity, and the Roman orator Cicero called him "the main man of Greece."
Philip II and Alexander the Great against Thebes and Athens
The Thebans defeated the Spartans, who were considered invincible warriors, but their rule lasted only until the moment when Macedonia reached maturity. The Macedonian king Philip II spent several days in Thebes as a hostage as a child. Returning home, he set out to reform the Macedonian army, building on the traditional Greek phalanx, but adding some tactical elements to make it more flexible. Thus, he hoped to subjugate those Greek cities that continued to view the Macedonian kingdom as a country of barbarians. He borrowed much of these tactics directly from the Thebans.
Having subjugated all the main Greek city-states and having achieved from Athens a favorable union for Macedonia, in the middle of the 4th century BC. Philip II went to Sparta and sent a message to its leaders, which at another time would only provoke the formidable Spartans: “I hereby offer you to obey my will without delay, for otherwise my army will invade your lands, and I will destroy your estates, destroy the population and I will erase the city itself from the face of the Earth. But the Spartan warriors were no longer the same as before, and preferred to yield to Philip II than to enter into war with him.
So, in 340 BC. Athens became convinced that the only way to moderate the unrestrained appetites of Philip II was direct military action. Together with his teenage son, Alexander, Philip II invaded Central Greece and, in the battle of Chaeronea (338 BC), won a victory over the Thebans and Athenians.
Little information has survived about that battle, but it is known that the young Alexander, who commanded the Macedonian cavalry, wrote the first lines in his brilliant military biography. While on the left flank the Macedonian infantry pressed the troops of the Athenians, Alexander the Great sent a cavalry squad of Getaira against a select detachment of Theban infantry deployed on the far right flank.
When defeat was already inevitable, the Sacred Detachment stood firm to the last warrior and was brutally exterminated. Plutarch writes that all 300 soldiers died that day. But, according to the remains found in the mass grave in Chaeronea, in reality 254 people died, the rest were wounded or taken prisoner.
It is Plutarch who claims that, having seen the mountain of bodies, Philip II respectfully said: "Let the one who suspects that they did something wrong die."
During that battle, Thebes and Athens lost about 2,000 fighters. More than 4,000 soldiers were taken prisoner. The Battle of Chaeronea became one of the most decisive battles of antiquity. After that, Alexander the Great established his rule over Greece and created the Corinthian League, which included all the Greek states, with the exception of Sparta. The most interesting thing is that Macedonia used some of the tactics of the Thebans to take their throne.