Why were spartans gay

But who were these brave-fighting people? In B. By this time, Sparta was officially at war with Thebes. [1] Although the primary example is the Sacred Band of Thebes, a unit said to have. The Spartans approached the battlefield in a familiar formation, boosting a powerful right wing, and the Thebans grouped themselves accordingly.

According to ancient sources and various historians, all of them were homosexual lovers, exceptionally well-trained pairs of them. Same sex relationships were considered morally acceptable in the times of ancient Greece and accounts testifying to this are numerous.

Xenophon, whose own sons were educated in the Spartan agoge, wrote that pederastic homosexual relationships were considered “on par with the act of incest,” and Aristotle bemoaned the fact that Spartan women had so much power, attributing Sparta’s problems to the lack of homosexual relationships in Spartan society.

They sent the Spartan cavalry in retreat, and the galloping horses left the scene foggy with dust. When Pelopidas took control of the Band, he reformed the faction of into an elite fighting unit. The two armies first clashed with their horsemen, and the Theban side proved to have greater merit.

Spartans Are Gay Heroes : The army of same-sex lovers who made up Sparta's biggest rivals 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

They broke the Spartan line, killing their leader rather quickly. Homosexuality in the militaries of ancient GreeceHomosexuality in the militaries of ancient Greece was a significant aspect across the ancient Greek city-states, ranging from being a core part of military life to being an accepted practice of some individual soldiers.

Again the Spartans were facing a bitter defeat. Among historians, however, one of the most hotly debated questions is whether these men were really all homosexuals. It was regarded as contributing to morale.

Was homosexuality compulsory in : The Spartans encouraged male-male relationships in the Agoge, the Spartan education program as it was thought lovers would fight more effectively to impress and protect their beloved

It was a glorious victory, and Pelopidas hired the Sacred Band for any military campaign that followed. 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 love.

The thinly numbered men were surprisingly met by the much larger Spartan unit, and at first, the situation looked desperate. But the profound connection between two males may well have been specifically perceived as battlefield-ready exclusively in the military circles of Thebes.

The establishment of this extraordinary force is credited to Gorgidas, a chief officer of Boeotia, in B. Each one of them was a skilled wrestler, dancer, and horseback rider, and selected on their ability to fight. As any great army that celebrated big victories, the Spartans witnessed some terrible debacles on the battlefield, too.

But instead of escaping the battlefield, Pelopidas engaged his men in another attack, and in a single swift move, another hoard of enemy soldiers were taken down. The clash of the warring city-states came near the village of Leuctra that year, hence how the name of the battle was conceived.

Vulnerable and without guidance, the Spartans held back to allow the much smaller Theban force to leave intact. Among the thousands who were killed in the assault was the Spartan king, Cleombrotus I. The demise of the Sacred Band came years later, at the hands of a new rivalry on the peninsula, one led by Philip II and his son Alexander the Great.

Bravely fighting, the Sacred Band seemed invincible. At the battle of Tegyra that played out in B. The clash unfolded near a shrine of Apollo in the region, where the Sacred Band was led by its then-leader Pelopidas.