Sacred Band of Thebes
The Sacred Band of Thebes (Ancient Greek: Ἱερὸς Λόχος τῶν Θηβῶν, Hieròs Lóchos tôn Thēbôn) was an elite heavy infantry of select soldiers consisting of 150 pairs of male couples, 300 men total, organised by age that formed the elite force of the Theban army in the 4th century BC. It was first organised under commander Gorgidas in 378 BC and later Pelopidas, and played a crucial role in the Battle of Leuctra. It was annihilated by Philip II of Macedon and young Alexander the Great in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. == Formation == The earliest surviving record of the Sacred Band by name was in 324 BC, in the oration Against Demosthenes by the Athenian logographer Dinarchus.