Were spartans gay lovers

According to Xenophon, the Spartans abhorred the thought of using the relationships as the basis of unit formation for placing too much significance on sexuality rather than talent. This was due to their founder Lycurgus who attacked lusts on physical beauty regarding it as shameful. Most likely, what they are referring to is the modern scholarly theory that pederastic relationships (that is, a homosexual relationship between a younger and an older man) are highly likely to have been essential to obtaining full citizenship at Sparta.

On the night of their wedding, Spartan wives were expected to lie in a dark room and dress as a man - presumably to help their husbands make the transition from homosexual to heterosexual. According to ancient sources and various historians, all of them were homosexual lovers, exceptionally well-trained pairs of them. The establishment of this extraordinary force is credited to Gorgidas, a chief officer of Boeotia, in B.C., about the same time the Spartans were banished from Thebes.

During their time in the Sacred Band of Thebes, the men were intimately involved in a dedicated same-sex relationship, where an older man was paired with a younger, less experienced lover. When it comes to elite fighting forces from ancient history, the Spartans seem to have a monopoly in modern consciousness. This is in part due to the oft-biased focus of historians on the achievements of Sparta and, in more recent terms, big-budget Hollywood movies such as and Rise of an Empire , which showcase the prowess of Spartan warriors.

Although their fearsome reputation is well established in the historical sources, they were by no means the only professional soldiers with a formidable reputation on the battlefield that arose from ancient Greece. Read more about Ancient History. For approximately forty years during the 4th century BC, a military unit known as the Sacred Band of Thebes was undefeated on the field of combat.

In fact, during this time they even defeated the Spartan army, crushing the image of Spartan invincibility and forever altering the balance of power. They were professional fighters, which was quite unusual in ancient Greece. Even more unusually, the Sacred Band was made up of pairs of male lovers, the only known fighting unit comprised in such a way that ancient Greece ever produced. Established around BC, the elite fighting division was formed as a branch of the Theban army by a man named Gorgidas.

The Thebans, with the help of the Athenians, had recently managed to expel a Spartan garrison occupying the Theban citadel of Cadmea. To prevent such an event from occurring again, they realised they needed to beef up their security, so to speak. Gorgidas handpicked the men, chosen for their physical attributes and military merit, as well as the fact they were all same-sex lovers.

Although debated by historians, the idea of such a fighting force could have been inspired by the earlier writings of the Greek philosopher Plato in his Symposium. In this text, Plato argued that a division made up entirely of male lovers could conquer the world. He would be ready to die a thousand deaths rather than endure this. Our modern world would define these men as gay.

However, ancient Greece was a different world to ours. The sexuality of ancient Greece was on a continuum. Read more about Popular Culture. During their time in the Sacred Band of Thebes, the men were intimately involved in a dedicated same-sex relationship, where an older man was paired with a younger, less experienced lover. The partnership was as much educational as it was sexual, with the elder man acting as a role model and protector for his younger partner.

According to the Greek historian Plutarch, who provides us with most of the information we have about the Sacred Band, the men swore a sacred vow to one another at the shrine of a divine Theban hero called Iolaus. Iolaus also happened to be one of the lovers of the famous Greek hero Hercules. Read more about Women's history. With the Sacred Band now formed, the Thebans continued their revolt against the Spartans leading to the outbreak of war.

First deployed onto the battlefield in BC, it was during the Battle of Tegyra in BC that they truly made their mark. Now under the command of a man named Pelopidas, they looked to seize Orchomenus, a city allied to Sparta. Believing it to be undefended, Pelopidas marched the Sacred Band towards the city only to find out Spartan reinforcements were on their way. Unwilling to face the Spartans in open combat, Pelopidas ordered his troops to retreat.

As the battle commenced, the outnumbered Sacred Band targeted the Spartan leadership, successfully killing them in the opening clashes.

did spartan soldiers sleep together

Leaderless and encountering a force equal in discipline for the first time in their history, the Spartans began to falter. In the end, they would be completely routed with significant loss of life. The Sacred Band had proven their worth and handed the Spartans their first defeat to a numerically inferior force.