The Battle of Leuctra

The Theban army had won. And they had defeated the strongest army in Greece, the Spartans. The Theban soldiers erupted in cheers. The soldiers of the Sacred Band embraced their lovers and celebrated the victory. Without the Sacred Band, there would have been no victory. At the same time, it was also a victory achieved through the innovative tactics of Epaminondas, who led the Theban forces. For Epaminondas, that moment was the greatest of his life.

 

 

1. Background
The leader of the Peloponnesian League, Sparta, had gained supremacy over all of Greece following their victory in the Peloponnesian War. After this triumph, they became arrogant, imposing oligarchies on their allies and committing acts of tyranny. This behavior sparked rebellion among their allies. In Athens, a pro-Spartan oligarchy was established after their defeat in the war, but it collapsed within a year, and a democracy was restored. Meanwhile, Thebes, the leader of the Boeotian League, and Corinth, the second-in-command of the Peloponnesian League, allied with Athens. This alliance led to the outbreak of the Corinthian War, where they fought against Sparta.

 

2. The Spartan Army
At that time, the Spartan army was considered the most elite in Greece, and no army could match them on land. They devoted their youth to military training and lived as soldiers almost their entire lives. Though Sparta traditionally had a small population, nearly every male was a soldier, and each one was an exceptional warrior. It was with these soldiers that Sparta established its dominance over Greece. However, Thebes was not to be underestimated, as they had the Sacred Band.

 

3. The Sacred Band
The Sacred Band consisted of 150 pairs of male lovers, most of whom were aged 20 to 30. In ancient Greece, homosexual relationships between adult men and younger men were widespread, and these relationships often held both sexual and mentorship aspects. The Sacred Band was composed of these lovers and mentors, and they fought to protect one another. In other words, they converted the "power of love" into military strength. This was highly effective. Their morale was high, their camaraderie strong, and their combat abilities were formidable. Unlike other citizen soldiers, the members of the Sacred Band were professional soldiers who trained year-round and had their living expenses covered by the state. Their level of training was high, and their operational methods were diverse. In many ways, they were compared to the Spartan soldiers, but while Spartan soldiers underwent continuous military training from a young age, the Sacred Band was a small, elite force motivated by the "power of love," leading to greater efficiency in their training.

 

4. Greek Phalanx Formation
At the time, Greek hoplites used a phalanx formation where soldiers held shields in their left hands and spears in their right. This exposed their right side, which they protected by pressing their right side against the shield of the soldier next to them. As a result, the phalanx formation tended to shift to the right during an advance. This was true for both armies, and so when both sides moved forward, their phalanxes often rotated counterclockwise. Consequently, the right wing of each army would extend beyond the center and left. Greek commanders would place their elite troops on the right wing, as this was seen as the key to victory. If battle ensued, the goal was for the right wing to quickly defeat the enemy's left wing while the left wing of the army held off the enemy’s right wing for as long as possible. By doing so, the elite right wing could then surround and annihilate the enemy’s left wing.

 

5. The Diagonal Formation
However, the Theban commander Epaminondas turned this strategy on its head. Instead of strengthening the right wing, he reinforced the left wing by deploying a line of 50 ranks, four times the size of the Spartan right wing. At the same time, the Sacred Band was tasked with defending the left flank of the Theban left wing. Epaminondas placed relatively few soldiers in the center and right wing. By focusing on the left wing and arranging his forces diagonally, he aimed to delay the engagement between the Theban and Spartan center and left wings until the Theban left wing could defeat the Spartan right wing. Sparta soon realized Thebes' strategy and attempted to surround and defeat the left flank of the Theban left wing. However, this effort was thwarted by the Sacred Band, which fiercely defended the left flank of the Theban left wing. Had the Sacred Band not been there, the left wing of Thebes might have faced disaster. As a result, while the Theban left wing defeated the Spartan right wing, the Theban center and right wing engaged the Spartan center and left wing. The battle was decided when the Theban left wing, having defeated the Spartan right wing, struck the Spartan center and left wing from the side.

 

6. Battle Outcome
As a result of this battle, Sparta lost 500 hoplites, which accounted for 25% of their hoplite force. This loss was devastating for Sparta, whose population had traditionally been small. The defeat marked the end of Sparta's dominance and led to its decline into a minor power, from which it never recovered. Additionally, this battle marked a paradigm shift in military tactics, as Epaminondas' innovative strategy had a lasting influence on future generations.