Inside Plato’s philosophical dialogue the fresh new Symposium, a small grouping of Athenian aristocrats sits up to during the a meal discussing an interest which was as vital towards Greeks as it will be to you: love. One of many tourist, Phaedrus, waxes lyrical concerning the loyalty that spouse needs to his beloved. He alludes to, because proof, new mythological champion Achilles, exactly who sacrificed himself to possess his precious Patroclus about Virus War. The guy speculates into courage that instance troops you’ll exhibit toward the fresh new battleground:

If because of the some contrivance a district, otherwise a military, regarding couples and their more youthful loves you will have been in becoming . . . up coming, fighting near to each other, such as for instance guys, though quite few, you’ll beat practically all people. For a guy in love would like to keeps anybody except that their lover see him exit their input the brand new range otherwise throw out their weapons, and often prefer to die for the main one he likes.

Plato published brand new Symposium probably doing 380 BCE . At the time, of many Greek claims was exposed to the fresh hegemony of your Spartans, who had been watching a period of prominence after defeating the latest Athenians inside 404 about disastrous Peloponnesian War. But one of them states, Thebes, stood to this new armed forces might away from Sparta. Inside the this, brand new Thebans realized Phaedrus’s sight: It written an elite corps regarding 3 hundred troops, known as the Sacred Band of Thebes, spanning 150 sets of male couples exactly who battled front side-by-front on the identity from freedom.

Within the Athens and you will Sparta, homosexuality are skilled to different levels, as well as updates was a little “tricky,” predicated on Plato’s Pausanias

Because of the uncertainty of your accurate go out out of composing, Plato might have been it comes clearly into Sacred Band, that has been formed during the 379 BCE. Continue reading →