It was during this time that Chabrias gave his most famous command. With scarcely 200 m (660 ft) separating the two armies, Agesilaus was expecting the Theban and Athenian forces to charge at any moment.[25] Instead, Chabrias ordered his men to stand at ease.[27] In unison, his mercenary hoplites immediately assumed the resting posture—with the spear remaining pointing upwards instead of towards the enemy, and the shield propped against the left knee instead of being hoisted at the shoulders.[7][28] Gorgidas, on seeing this, also commanded the Sacred Band to follow suit, which they did with the same military drill precision and confidence.[12][25] The audacity of the maneuver and the discipline of the execution was such that Agesilaus halted the advance.[12][29] Seeing that his attempts to provoke the Theban and Athenian forces to fight on lower ground were unsuccessful, Agesilaus eventually thought it wiser to withdraw his forces back to Thespiae.[7][26]
Another favorite:
The Spartans were composed of two morai led by the polemarchoi Gorgoleon and Theopompus.[38][note 3] They outnumbered the Thebans at least two to one.[37] According to Plutarch, upon seeing the Spartans, one Theban allegedly told Pelopidas “We are fallen into our enemy’s hands” to which Pelopidas replied, “And why not they into ours?” He then ordered his cavalry to ride up from the rear and charge while he reformed the Sacred Band into an abnormally dense formation, hoping to at least cut through the numerically superior Spartan lines. The Spartans advanced, confident in their numbers, only to have their leaders killed immediately in the opening clashes. Leaderless and encountering forces equal in discipline and training for the first time in the Sacred Band, the Spartans faltered and opened their ranks, expecting the Thebans to pass through and escape. Instead, Pelopidas surprised them by using the opening to flank the Spartans.[39] The Spartans were completely routed, with considerable loss of life.[20][40] The Thebans didn’t pursue the fleeing survivors, mindful of the remaining Spartan mora stationed in Orchomenus less than 5 km (3.1 mi) away. They stripped the dead and set up a tropaion (τρόπαιον, a commemorative trophy left at the site of a battle victory) before continuing on to Thebes.[19] Having proven their worth, Pelopidas kept the Sacred Band as a separate tactical unit in all subsequent battles.[6][20]
What a bunch of badasses! Just love these stories!
Theban hegemony was ideologically democratic too - while Sparta supported oligarchies, Thebes supported democratic city-states.
The Sacred Band was considered all-but-invincible, and only brought to an end by Philip II of Macedon, Alexander the Great’s father, using the novel sarissa (pike) phalanx. Philip II is said to have wept upon realizing the Sacred Band had fought to the last, and said “Perish any man who suspects that these men either did or suffered anything unseemly.”
It really is beautiful isn’t? Better than the Spartans as far as I’ve learned.
Not saying they have a better mythological history, with the incest and gouging of the eyes, but I really do appreciate the politics. Though Creon was maybe not the best…
Thank you for reminding me of this group!
