12. A Badass Ancient Gay Group of Warriors
The Sacred Band of Thebes was formed sometime around 379 BC. It was reasoned that gay couples in an elite military unit would be devoted to each other, and would fight ferociously to protect their lovers and avoid dishonor or cowardice in their presence. They were spread out along the front ranks of the phalanx, or concentrated into a shock unit. The Sacred Band lived up to expectations, and spearheaded a series of Theban victories that shattered Sparta’s power and the myth of Spartan invincibility. For decades, Thebes’ gay warriors were acknowledged as ancient Greece’s most elite fighters. Their run of victories finally ended at the Battle of Chaeronea, 338. There, Thebes was decisively defeated by Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander.
The Sacred Band stayed true to its fierce reputation, refused to surrender, and fought to the last man until all its members were killed. The Thebans eventually erected a statue of a huge lion, nearly thirteen feet tall, at Chaeronea to honor their fallen heroes. Its presence was attested to by various ancient historians, but then it vanished. It was eventually rediscovered, broken and buried near the village of Chaeronea, in the nineteenth century. Further excavations revealed that the monument stood at the edge of an enclosure, in which were buried the bodies of 254 men, laid out neatly in seven rows. They were the remains of Thebes’ Sacred Band. The statue was eventually pieced back together in 1902, and today, the Lion of Chaeronea can be seen near the site of the heroic last stand of the ancient world’s famous gay unit.