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James Romm, James H. Ottaway Jr. Professor of Classics at Bard College, contributed a presentation on the Sacred Band of Thebes as part of a group discussion hosted by Classical Wisdom Speaks Podcast on the ancient Greek city state. Romm discusses the mythical and factual aspects of the the Sacred Band, a troop of select soldiers consisting solely of pairs of male lovers which formed the elite force of the Theban army in the 4th century BC, in the aftermath of Thebes’s defeat of Sparta in the Battle of Leuctra. “This was an epochal event in Greek history,” Romm tells Classical Wisdom. “It was the first time the Spartans had been defeated in open field battle, it punctured the myth of Spartan invincibility, and led to an enormous shift in the balance of power among the Greek city states: Thebes essentially became the superpower of mainland Greece.” He continues, “The Thebans knew that Spartan retribution was coming… the Sacred Band was formed… as a way to protect the city and especially defend it against Sparta. We’re told by Plutarch, who supplies us really our only substantive information, that the Thebans drafted pairs of male lovers—150 couples, so 300 men—on the principle that male lovers would fight to defend one another.”