The Sacred Band

Three Hundred Theban Lovers Fighting to Save Greek Freedom

By: James Romm

Narrated by: Vivienne Leheny

From classicist James Romm comes a “striking…fascinating” (Booklist) deep dive into the last decades of ancient Greek freedom leading up to Alexander the Great’s destruction of Thebes—and the saga of the greatest military corps of the time, the Theban Sacred Band, a unit composed of 150 pairs of male lovers.

The story of the Sacred Band, an elite 300-man corps recruited from pairs of lovers, highlights a chaotic era of ancient Greek history, four decades marked by battles, ideological disputes, and the rise of vicious strongmen. At stake was freedom, democracy, and the fate of Thebes, at this time the leading power of the Greek world.

The tale begins in 379 BC, with a group of Theban patriots sneaking into occupied Thebes. Disguised in women’s clothing, they cut down the agents of Sparta, the state that had cowed much of Greece with its military might. To counter the Spartans, this group of patriots would form the Sacred Band, a corps whose history plays out against a backdrop of Theban democracy, of desperate power struggles between leading city-states, and the new prominence of eros, sexual love, in Greek public life.

After four decades without a defeat, the Sacred Band was annihilated by the forces of Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander in the Battle of Chaeronea—extinguishing Greek liberty for two thousand years. Buried on the battlefield where they fell, they were rediscovered in 1880—some skeletons still in pairs, with arms linked together.

From violent combat in city streets to massive clashes on open ground, from ruthless tyrants to bold women who held their era in thrall, The Sacred Band recounts “in fluent, accessible prose” (The Wall Street Journal) the twists and turns of a crucial historical moment: the end of the treasured freedom of ancient Greece.

Critic reviews

"Leheny's measured pace allows listeners to follow along with developments in regional politics and shifting allegiances."

Very educational

Loved it! Not enough light is shown on thebes contribution to the Greek story. Recommend

Felt like listening to the history channel

Felt like listening to the history channel for 9+ hours, it was not horrible, I’m not a big history book reader however.

More of a history of Thebes

More of a history of Thebes during the time of the Sacred Band. To me it is one of the most fascinating history’s of all time. I enjoyed this book.

Good

A little dry. But, overall, it was a very good listen. Very informative and nice to hear about this group.

For novices and know it alls

Whether you are a novice classical studies student or know it all military historian, or just someone like me who loves Landmark's, devours Durant, and scours today's scholars for the why behind the what, James Romm's The Sacred Band (elegantly performed by Vivienne Leheny) is for you.

SB offers yet another perspective of the 4th c city-state struggles for hegemony or independence, apart from the standard Athens-Sparta POVs, while offering unbiased counterbalance from the big two.

Specifically helpful were the fullness in which Romm introduced and continued the later king's, tyrants, and despots such as Dionysius, et al and their impacts of the Greek city states mercurial inter-relationships and dealings with non-Greek states.

The Sacred Band was recommended to me and I recommend it to you.

The Audiobook version is a solid and accessible listen for all. Vivienne Leheny's performance is steady and engaging. Look for her performances in other titles.

I listen at an increased speed that allows me to back up to re-listen to detailed or pivotal parts that warrant repetition, bookmarking, notation.

I'm looking forward to downloading the pdf while reviewing my bookmarks.

Thank you.