When World War I broke out, the British Army faced a significant challenge – their small professional army was insufficient for a global conflict. To win the war, they would have had little alternative apart from mobilizing manpower to its fullest extent. Later, General Sir Henry Rawlinson (1864 – 1925) suggested that men would be more inclined to enlist in the Army if they understand that they were going to serve alongside their friends. This led to the idea of the “Pals” Battalions, where groups of men from the same city would join up together to serve alongside their peers. London stockbrokers were among the first to raise a battalion from their colleagues, which resulted in the formation of the “Stockbrokers’ Battalion” of the City of London on 21 August 1914. This patriotic fervor led to thousands of men volunteering for service in these new armies, and it was realized that local ties could be harnessed for national gain.  

Pals battalions were subsequently raised in various cities, including Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Hull, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, and Cardiff. Although the first Pals battalions began arriving on the Western Front from mid-1915, many did not see their first major action until the first day of the Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916. Many of these battalions suffered heavy casualties, which had a significant impact on their communities. Conscription was then implemented in 1916, and the Pals battalions’ close-knit nature would never be recreated.

The Pals battalions were far from being a new idea. Thousands of years prior, in the 4th century BC, King Philip II of Macedon erected a tribute at Chaeronea to commemorate the bravery of a battalion he conquered whose soldiers had ties to each other that were more intense and passionate. This memorial commemorates the Sacred Band of Thebes, marking the communal grave in which they were buried. The Sacred Band of Thebes was an elite force of the Theban army consisting of 150 pairs of male lovers, and they played a crucial role in ending Spartan domination.

Greece and Thebes in the Time of the Sacred Band

One of civilization’s great paradoxes is that periods of great intellectual and political achievement are often accompanied by war and turmoil. The fourth century BC saw a period of political and military upheaval in ancient Greece, marked by the rise of powerful city-states and the growing influence of Macedon, led by Philip II (382 – 336 BC). 

Following the end of the Peloponnesian War in 404, there was a noticeable shift in the creative vitality of Greek culture and civilization in a public context. It was not so much a decline in achievement as it was a loss of the public dimension that characterized the achievements in the city states. Despite the numerous achievements of this era, debate shifted from public spaces to the “schools” of Plato, Aristotle, and Hippocrates, to name only three examples. This would have made knowledge and oratory skills less accessible to the common people. This was also a time of intense conflict among city-states. Conflicts arose from tensions between individual cities, each of which hoped to control access to resources necessary for urban life such as agon (contests in athletics) or the theatre, and stronger autonomy for the citizens, especially citizens in the more vulnerable states.

All parties were exhausted by the Peloponnesian war. There was also an ever-changing set of alliances between the cities as various states, each with their own desires to gain or retain autonomy, banded together against any real or perceived imperialist. It was also clear to both the Persians and the Greeks that, if the Greeks could unite, they could easily destroy the Persian Empire. As a result, outsiders (first Persia, then Macedonia) stepped into the power vacuum and became the Greek world’s effective arbiters. Between 432 and 424, the Spartans and allies regularly invaded Attica and are attacked by the Athenians by sea. From 418 to 410, the Athenians tried and failed to conquer Sicily, but they held their own in the Aegean. Artaxerxes, the Persian Monarch, had taken all of Greece under his control. The legendary Peace of Antalcidas was then dictated to the Greeks by Artaxerxes. Antalcidas was a Spartan. He was the son of Leon, who induced the Lacedaemonians to submit to Artaxerxes all the Greek towns of Asia and all the nearby islands as a tribute – effectively betraying his own people.

The Sacred Band: An Elite Theban Military Force

Thebes, a significant city-state in central Greece, lived through this turbulent history marked by internal political strife and external conflicts with neighboring states. However, under the leadership of Epaminondas (c. 419 – 362 BC), a statesman and general who introduced radical military and political reforms to the city-state in the late 4th century BC, Thebes began to emerge as a formidable power.

The formation of the Sacred Band was critical to Thebes’ military triumph. Gorgidas, a Theban general, founded this regiment of 300 elite warriors in the early 4th century BC, and the regiment went unbeaten for almost forty years. In about 378 BC, Gorgidas became the leader of the Sacred Band of Thebes. The Sacred Band defeated far bigger Spartan armies at Tegyra in 375 BC and Leuctra  in 371 before being crushed by Philip’s army at Chaeronea in 338 BC.

Regular training for the Sacred Band included wrestling and dance, as well as equestrian training as Gorgidas, the founder, was himself a former cavalry officer. They were also trained in a variety of military techniques, including the famed phalanx formation, in which troops stood shoulder to shoulder with their shields linked. The Sacred Band were stationed at Cadmea as a permanent force, probably to guard the citadel against future foreign invasions. It was also known as the “City Band” because the Boeotian polis supplied military training and shelter for its soldiers.

It is helpful at this stage to look at the Sacred Band in its cultural context. Classical Thebes was known for its pederastic practices. Therefore, although allusions to the Sacred Band may have been found even before this time period, they cannot be conclusively linked. Historian Diodorus Siculus, in book XII of Bibliotheca historica (“Library of History”), portrayed a Theban troop of three hundred charioteers and footmen fighting at the Battle of Delium in 424 BC. Similarly, Apollo of Schoenus (a town near Thebes) and the “friendship of young men” are mentioned in a third-century epigram by Phaedimus of Ianthe. This could be a reference to the Sacred Band or a more general theme. Paidika (youths) were occasionally referenced in wars, but usually for non-combat objectives. An example of this is Xenophon’s tale in book IV of his Hellenica of the Spartan general Anaxibius and his “favorite youth” at Cremaste in 389 BC, where the youngster was supposed to have just remained by Anaxibius’ side rather than fight.

These references may be significant since, in addition to being made up of the most aristocratic and physically fit young men in Thebes, the Sacred Band was also made up completely of male couples. These men made a pact to remain loyal to one another and to Thebes. This was based on the belief that lovers would fight more fiercely and cohesively by each other’s sides than if they were to fight alongside of strangers. Plato was the first to propose such a troop in the Symposium, saying, “And if there were only a way to make a state or an army out of lovers and their loves, they would be the best governors of their own city, abstaining from all dishonor and emulating one another in honor; and when fighting at each other’s side, despite being only a handful, they would defeat the world.”

The idea was that the soldiers were assigned to pairs based on their physical and emotional compatibility, and they were expected to fight side by side in battle. This technique of pairing soldiers had many advantages as it fostered a strong sense of loyalty and comradery among the soldiers, making the Sacred Band a formidable fighting force. The partnering system also instilled in the soldiers a sense of responsibility and accountability, as they were expected to fight heroically and honorably to protect their companions. The Sacred Band, according to Athenaeus of Naucratis in Deipnosophists (5.56), was made up of “lovers and their favourites”. The Sacred Band were defined by Polyaenus in book II of his Stratagems as “men devoted to each other by mutual responsibilities of affection.”

But, there are evidence that suggest that even historiographical literature mentioning a non-erotic Sacred Band inflated their significance in the crucial battles of Tegyra, Leuctra, and Chaeronea. For example, Callisthenes dramatized the Battle of Tegyra 375 BC and attributed the Theban victory over the Spartans to Pelopidas and the Sacred Band, but Diodorus recorded Ephorus’ account of  a victory of 500 Theban troops against twice as many Spartans. Similarly, Callisthenes’ version of the Battle of Leuctra only mentions Pelopidas and the Sacred Band by name, while Ephorus attributes the entire victory to Epaminondas’ phalanx formation. While looking at the writings that clearly mention the Sacred Band, it is useful to note that the function of the Band at Tegyra, Leuctra, and Chaeronea is only addressed in one strand of Greek historical writing regarding Theban dominion. This could be due to hyperbole, as other tales of similar battles do not specifically mention the Sacred Band.  

Plutarch is perhaps the most important source for the tradition of the Sacred Band, although he seems unwilling to testify for its historicity. He gives four examples of how the bond between lovers fosters military valor at Thebes, such as the act of gifting armor to one’s lover upon their inscription to the citizen rolls, oaths of loyalty taken at the grave of Iolaus, and Epaminondas’ two beloveds and his death near one of them. However, even when Plutarch delivers his history in the Life of Pelopidas, he made sure to use qualifiers such as, “as they say,” “some say,” and “it is said” to distance himself from the Sacred Band’s erotic image. Furthermore, references to the Sacred Band in Dinarchus’ and Dio Chrysostom’s works also include qualifiers like as “tales” and “as they say.”

Because of this, we have less cause to believe Plato is referring to the Sacred Band specifically and in an especially erotic context. As there is no explicit reference to Thebes or Boeotia in Phaedrus’ speech in the Symposium, it is better to turn somewhere else for a framework for Phaedrus’ suggestion. Moreover, the idea that the presence of one’s beloved brings out the best in a man was a theme in fourth-century Athens moral discourse. Plato uses it in a more political context in Book V of the Republic, where Socrates proposes that men who distinguish themselves in battle should be given the privilege of kissing and be kissed by whomever they choose among the youths who accompany them on campaign. The scenario envisioned here is different from that envisioned in Plato’s and Xenophon’s Symposia, in that this relationship is supposed to encourage valiant behavior in the adult lover alone. The presence of youths on campaign in this imaginative Republic text does not imply that paides served in the Athenian or any other fourth-century army, unless we consider Plato’s reference to women on campaign in his Republic as a reflection of reality. In the Symposium, Plato considers the army to be a model of the polis as a whole, an equation prevalent in Greek utopian philosophy.

Phillip of Macedon and the Sacred Band of Thebes

Phillip II of Macedon was a powerful king who rose to prominence in the late 4th century BC. He was known for his military prowess and his ambitious expansionist policies, which threatened the independence of several Greek city-states, including Thebes.

Phillip’s rise to power began in 359 BC when he ascended to the Macedonian throne. Although he inherited a small and weak kingdom that was constantly threatened by its neighbors, he was a skilled military leader and a cunning politician who set out to transform Macedon into a powerful empire. He reorganized the Macedonian army, introduced new weapons and tactics, and established a strong navy. His policies were aimed at extending Macedonian influence over Greece and the wider Mediterranean world through the combination of diplomacy, bribery, and military force to achieve his goals. One of his main targets was the city-state of Thebes, which he viewed as a potential rival.

During his campaigns in Greece, Phillip had several encounters with the Sacred Band of Thebes. By this time, the Band had already established a reputation for its military prowess, and had positioned itself as a key part of the Theban army. In 338 BC, the Sacred Band fought against the Macedonian army at the Battle of Chaeronea but was ultimately defeated. The popular story is that, impressed by the courage and discipline of the Sacred Band, Philip remarked that it was a pity to see such brave soldiers perish.

This would have been a rather lovely ending to Philip’s encounters with the Sacred Band. However, this might not be the truth as Philip’s story relating to the Sacred Band was not without its literary precedent. Certain activities of the Sacred Band in the 370s had become rewritten as examples of resistance to tyranny. References by Hieronymus of Rhodes of the role of the Theban General Epaminondas suggests that he was at least partly thinking of the Sacred Band’s liberation of Boeotia from Spartan rule in the 370s. However, Hieronymus of Rhodes may also have had in mind another tyrannical adversary, because one of the other examples he gave of pederastic couples who resisted tyranny was the Chariton and Melanippus, a couple who attempted to assassinate Phalaris, Acragas’ sixth-century tyrant. When their plan was foiled, the pair impressed Phalaris so much with their loyalty to each other and bravery under torture that Phalaris released the two with praise. Athenaeus retold this story in book XIII of his Deipnosophists, which would have indicated that, even if the story was not particularly popular, it was at least quite well known.

This story is interesting because a structurally similar tale is told by Plutarch in connection with the Sacred Band, in which Phillip of Macedon was so moved at the sight of the fallen bodies of three hundred lovers at Chaeronea that he declared, “Anyone who believe these men did or suffered anything disgraceful deserve to perish!” (Plutarch, Pelopidas, 18.4) Here, Philip is presented as a sort of tyrant figure who, like the tyrant Phalaris, is moved by the sight of men joined together their love for freedom and for each other. It would be quite tempting to think that Hieronymus also had this stand of the Sacred Band against Philip at Chaeronea in mind when he referenced the Sacred Band in his tales of devoted couples who triumphed against tyranny. Hieronymus’ views about the political advantages of pederastic love have a long philosophical precedence. Plato also emphasized the idea that men linked together in love are the strongest and staunchest defenders of liberty in the Symposium. Pausanias theorized that tyrants dislike the institution of pederasty because they cannot accept the free thinking ways of men who are bound by love. It was Harmodius and Aristogeiton’s love for each other, for example, that brought the tyranny to an end in Athens. They were put to death for their assassination of Hipparchus, the brother of the Athenian ruler Hippias. A few years later, in 510 BC, the Spartan monarch Cleomenes I forced Hippias into exile. With this, he paved the way for Cleisthenes’ future democratic reforms. The Athenians later glorified Harmodius and Aristogeiton as national heroes and Cleisthenes famously commissioned the Tyrannicides statues.

The legend of the Sacred Band thus bears some resemblance to philosophical debates about the role of pederasty in Greek political life, though it is not clear why men and youths bound in love were thought to be uniquely qualified to resist tyranny, or why Plato’s Phaedrus might want to create an army or city of such pairs. The answer to this question is to be found in a tradition of utopian speculation about the best way to constitute the polis, and there are traces of this tradition in some of the texts that describe the Sacred Band. Plutarch says in the Lives of Pelopidas that Pammenes scolded Nestor for designing battle lines by tribe and phratry rather than by pairs of lovers and beloveds, arguing that men would desert their family members in a time of danger, but a lover would never abandon his beloved. The pederastic relationship was thus chosen as a metaphor for civic cohesion not because of its hierarchical nature, but in spite of it.