Introducing the magnificent Theban Sacred Band
Regarded as invincible throughout all of Ancient Greece, the Theban Sacred Band (or The Sacred Band of Thebes) were specially selected and trained elite soldiers of the Theban army in the 4th century BC.
These wonderfully sculptured men form the basis of your Sacred Band of Thebes – with the full Band consisting of 150 pairs of male lovers.
Aged between 20 & 30 these 300 hand-picked men were chosen purely for ability and merit, regardless of social class. Each pair consisted of an older erastês (ἐραστής, “lover”) and a younger erômenos (ἐρώμενος, “beloved”) devoted to each other by mutual obligations of love (the “Sacred” appellation is claimed by Plutarch to be due to their exchange of sacred vows between lover and beloved at the shrine of Iolaus (one of the lovers of Hercules) at Thebes). Their regular training included wrestling and dance, it’s also quite likely equestrian training was provided.
The Sacred Band were originally used distributed among the front ranks of the phalanxes of regular infantry. In 375 BC, the command of the band was transferred to boeotarch Pelopidas, one of the original Theban exiles who had led the forces who recaptured Cadmea. Under Pelopidas, the Sacred Band was united as a single unit of shock troops. Their main function was to cripple the enemy by engaging and killing their best men and leaders in battle.
This pack contains 8 metal foot figures
Theban Sacred Band Command
The Sacred Band predominance began when led by the general Pelopidas, alongside Epaminondas who commanded the army of Thebes, in a crucial role where they were responsible for the defeat of the Spartans at the decisive Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC.
It was annihilated by Philip II, with his son Alexander, of Macedon in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. The decisive contest in which Philip II of Macedon extinguished Theban hegemony.
As the Theban army and its allies broke and fled, the Sacred Band, although surrounded and overwhelmed, refused to surrender. They held their ground, all 300 fell where they stood beside their last commander, Theagenes.
This pack contains 4 metal foot figures
Sacred Band of Thebes
Deploy your elite forces with this complete starting set:
This pack contains 20 metal foot figures
Prepare your army
Dan Hewitson
Josh Berridge