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The Sacred Band

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This was an enjoyable read. I liked the level of detail the author provided with the various historical accounts mentioned. I will note that this is definitely more a chronicle of early Greek politics than it is a queer history (if that's what you're looking for). The writing itself was quite well done and wasn't as dry as a typical history might be. Definitely one of the more engaging history books I've picked up recently.

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3 stars, rounding up from 2.5. Serviceable. I think I was going to learn more about, be immersed more into the Sacred Band.

Many thanks to #NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this book incredibly interesting the author really kept me hooked until the end. very well written I highly recommend.

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As a lover of Greco-Roman history and mythology, this book was right up my alley! I skimmed through the digital copy that I received from NetGalley, but quickly made sure to put the copy I bought for the library on hold. The text is written relatively well and the content has obviously been thoroughly researched. If you are already a fan of history (especially Greek History), then I think readers should give this a try. It might be a little dense for just the casual reader though. If you are looking for a general history of Greece, you might find yourself a little disappointed. The content focuses heavily on Athens and Sparta - two important and dynamic power players of their day. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, I feel like a lot of texts that focus on Ancient Greece focus on these two civilizations.

All and all a great history read for those who are interested in pursing their curiosities in Greek history. I would probably recommend it to nonfiction buffs looking for something new and different to get interested in, but also to anyone looking to deepen their understanding of Greek history and dynamics.

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The Sacred Band is a well written, deeply researched monograph by Dr. James Romm on the Theban special army unit who fought for Greek freedom from tyranny (from pretty much everyone else) in ancient Thebes. Released 8th June 2021 by Simon & Schuster on their Scribner imprint, it's 320 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. It makes searching for info so much easier with the search function. This is a book where I spent a fair bit of time flipping back and forth to gain context and check names.

Modern readers interested in ancient Greece will find the available reading material heavily weighted to Athens and Sparta. There's relatively little on Thebes, yet for decades in the 4th century BCE, a small elite Theban strike force kept both Athens -and- Sparta at bay. One of the fundamental philosophies of this small band was that it was made up of bonded same sex male couples, who, it turned out, fought furiously to protect one another. It worked remarkably well and they remained successful until a final catastrophic defeat at the hands of Philip II (and son Alexander) at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BCE.

Although the material could (easily) have been very dry and academic, the author does a wonderful job of telling the story in a fascinating and accessible fashion for the average layperson. The book is bountifully and carefully annotated and there are numerous resources, including a solid bibliography, listed which are available for further reading. There are also contemporary photographs scattered throughout the text as well as facsimile illustrations, maps, and other aids to assist the reader with historical context. I found the line drawing taken from the original excavation notes (1880) at the discovery of the mass burial of these men to be particularly poignant. They were buried with fearsome battle injuries, a few of them still arm in arm with their compatriots and partners.

Five stars. This would be a superlative selection for public library acquisition as well as of interest to readers who are fans of military history, classics, and ancient history.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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James Romm’s The Sacred Band (thank you, NetGalley, for the review copy) is an engaging blend of 4th century BC Greek military history and anecdotes about notable public figures. The content revolves around the rivalries among Athens, Sparta, and Thebes (which has tended to be overlooked in favor of its flashier siblings) as they jockey for power and supremacy, bringing readers up to 335 BC and the ascension of Alexander of Macedon.

Between tracking the dizzying volley of alliances, counter-alliances, intrigues, and battles, readers learn about such legends as:

* Phocaean Aspasia (not to be confused with Peracles’ Aspasia), lover of two Persian kings
* Thessalian strongman Jason of Pherae, who ransomed his mother’s favorite servants to swindle her of cash, staged fake sacrifices to the gods to collect the offerings, and accidentally (and helpfully) had a boil lanced in battle
* Alexander of Pherae, who deified the spear he used to kill his uncle, who had killed his father, crowning it with garlands and offering it sacrifices.
* Philoxenus, poet at the court of Syracusan tyrant Dionysius, who was sent to the quarries after judging the tyrant’s poetry harshly. Brought back to listen again, Philoxenus replied in despair, “Take me back to the quarries.”
* Aeneas of Stymphalos, likely the author of a text called How to Survive Under Siege, and his ingenious methods for sneaking messages past enemies.
* The summer 364 Olympic Games, when battle broke out between the Eleans and the Arcadians as festival onlookers cheered as they would for wrestling matches.
* Praxiteles’ famous sculpture of Aphrodite bathing—inspired by his lover and muse Phrynê’s au naturel dip in the sea during the Eleusinia festival—and what became of it.

Woven through the military history and anecdotes, Romm shares the little that is known from ancient sources about the Sacred Band, an elite warrior group of 150 pairs of lovers. Romm also discusses the largest mass grave from antiquity uncovered in 1880 at Charonea. Chief excavator Panagiotis Stamatakis apparently made detailed drawings of each skeleton and its injuries as well as of the layout of the grave, which had never been previously published. Photos of Stamatakis’ notes are included in the book, along with a digital illustrator’s reconstruction of the grave.

The book’s subtitle, “Three Hundred Theban Lovers Fighting to Save Greek Freedom,” may set unrealistic expectations for readers expecting an in-depth study of Thebes’ Sacred Band, and at times, Romm seems to stretch his evidence to justify the title. That aside, if you’re interested in learning more about Thebes, its role, and its contributions, this is an absorbing and accessible read.

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I downloaded this mistakenly thinking it was a novel (my own fault for not reading the description more carefully), but decided to give it a try anyway. Ancient Greece has never been of significant interest to me, and unfortunately this book has not changed my mind. I quickly got bogged down in names of people and places, and the jumping around of the timeline within the narrative confused me. I imagine that for readers more familiar with the context it will be an interesting read, but I am clearly not in the audience for this book.

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The cover description and subtitle do an acceptable job detailing the topic of the book, but in brief, it claims to cover a period of approximately forty years (in this it fails, because there is a lot of material included which exceeds that era), from the Sacred Band’s establishment to its first and last defeat at the hands of Alexander the Great. The Sacred Band was a Theban unit of soldiers made up of pairs of male lovers during a period of struggle between Athens, Sparta, and Thebes. The idea was that the love between the partners would spur them to greater courageous feats in battle. Since they have a nearly perfect winning record, the tactic seems to have been sound.

I have to admit, imagining the recruitment posters has entertained me. What would they say? “Are you a gay man in a happy relationship that just needs a little excitement? Get a signing bonus if you and your partner join the Sacred Band. Previous military experience is desired but not required.” And what about the couples who answered it? “Honey, this is it! This is what our relationship has been missing! Sleeping rough with no real privacy and the constant possibility of violent death! Can we join?”

It’s great to see LGBTQ+ historical figures with actual proof of their LGBTQ+ status (as opposed to speculation based on modern sensibilities) brought to light, though efforts at erasure were certainly made, contemporaneously as well as in later eras. For instance, some of the detailed drawings from the dig where the Sacred Band were found, made by Panagiotis Stamatakis, are being published for the first time in this volume. This is significant because no photographs were taken when the gravesite was unearthed, which does have a hint of erasure about it, to my mind.

Following the main text there are extensive notes for further reading and works cited. Obviously Romm did a great deal of research in composing this book, based on this and the mountains of background information included, but most of his writing feels off-topic. Heaps of information detailing the animosity between Thebes, Sparta, Athens, and even Persia fills the text, to the point where a reader wonders when the Sacred Band will come in, and whether this might have been better as a paper than a book. There’s not really much written specifically about the Sacred Band except for its violent end.

Romm includes an interesting, though not-quite-relevant discussion of late nineteenth century attitudes toward sexual love between men at the opening of the third chapter, and the ways in which classicists of the time attempted to remove or reinterpret classical writings on the subject. Equally interesting, and potentially irrelevant, was the story of Aspasia, concubine to the Persian king Artaxerxes, which appears in the sixth chapter.

Each chapter (except for the final chapter) has a portion of the sketch of the Band’s gravesite with the number of soldiers shown equal to the chapter number. It’s a nice touch.

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I thought this was a very fitting tribute to the Sacred Band which was an army of 300 Theban lovers united to take on all of Greece.They were first conceived to combat Spartan supremacy and with their eventual win over them they soon discovered themselves pitted against their former allies of Athens and Macedonia.The book goes on to detail how this happened,what actually befell them and the very moving drawings of their final resting place on the plains of Chaeronea.Highly recommend if you enjoy Greek history.
Much thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for my honest review

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This is complicated for me. This book wasn’t what I expected going in but I don’t want to fault it for that. I thought this would focus more on the lives of these men that were coupled in war. But it tended to focus more on that Thebes was like at the time as a whole. This does make more sense now that I think about it because we don’t know much about these men in the Sacred Band. I found myself oscillating between very interested and bored. Sections that talked about art or LGBTQIA held my interest better than the history sections. All was well written though. I feel like I would get more out of this book when I’m in more of an academic mindset.

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Very, very interesting book. I loved reading about the topic, I had heard about the Band of Thebes and been intent not found much to read in depth about them so this book was an awesome find! Do give it a chance if you have any interest in the area.

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James Romm delivers another fascinating look at an often ignored piece of history. Very well researched but not written in a way that will bore the reader or give you flashbacks to high school history classes.

I didn't notice any filler material at all and I greatly appreciate the way Mr. Romm introduces individuals, instead of giving you all their back story as soon as they arrive on scene and muddying up the waters he waits and introduces them in a different spot which seems much more natural.

James Romm doesn't just focus on the military aspect of these men, but also provides heart warming and often tear inducing information in regards to the relationships these individuals had with each other.

Book Review: The Sacred Band - Three Hundred Theban Lovers Fighting to Save Greek Freedom
Author: James Romm
Publisher: Scribner
Publication Date: June 8, 2021
Review Date: May 28, 2021

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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James Romm attempts to tackle a topic mentioned by Xenophon, a contemporary, and in Plato's Symposium that is rarely talked about in the Classical word. There is so little on it mentioned, that, in retrospect, makes complete sense that this is a book mostly about the conflict between Thebes and Sparta, and less about the Band themselves. I will admit I had to skim a lot after the 1st half of the book to look for discussions on the Sacred Band specifically. As one who has training in Classical Archaeology, I was not convinced by this book. Not to say it wasn't as enjoyable or interesting at times, but it's a bit sensationalistic. What I thought would be a more in depth look at the Band itself, arguments and evidence from a variety of scholars, was a military history of the aegean.

I do not doubt the remains at Chaeronea were Thebans who were killed at Chaeronea, but using osteological data to support the nature of the soldier's relationship - the courageous unwillingness to die despite the brutality of the wounds (the insinuation being because of the nature of the sacred band) is odd and very unscientific and again, sensationalist. That was the nail in the coffin for me towards the end (pun intended).

That they were lovers bound together in this romanticized way feels almost mythological- a product popularized by Plato who was no doubt read by these later sources. The grouping of 300 (why is it always 300 with these legendary forces?) ) is almost a trope in the classics world, and the key sources writing about the Band themselves were writing hundreds of years after the fact, making it even more likely it may have been more romantic myth than fact. That is a fact that is not emphasized enough by the author in my opinion. I think most classical archaeologists would be extremely skeptical of this book.

If you're actually wanting to learn more about the sacred band itself, it's worth skimming the chapters, and looking at various sources with a critical eye. If you're thinking this will be a book to learn more about homoeroticism in the Greek world, this is definitely not the book. On that end, it's worth considering that if homoeroticism was as prevalent in the Greek world as we believe and it appears to be, than this "band of lovers" dynamic in the military setting likely was not as unique to just the Theban forces. If you enjoy Greek military history, you'll probably like this because that's largely what this book is.

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“Groups of three hundred, in the Greek mind at least, possessed a special cohesion and mutual strength.”

The Sacred Band recalls a fascinating part of history – the conflict-filled world of the ancient Greeks. Romm traces the origins and reasons behind the formation of the Theban sacred band; in broad terms, Thebes needed a mighty army to defend the state against constantly fluctuating allegiances. Indeed, alliances shift so much throughout the book (Athens against Thebes, Thebes against Sparta, Arcadia against Sparta, Philip against everyone) that it was challenging keeping track of who hated who at any given moment.

Nevertheless, Romm expertly weaves each historical event in a style that is compelling to read. Though the Sacred Band is the focus of the narrative, Romm introduces the reader to plenty of key figures and offers many interesting side stories (such as the rivalry of Persian kings Darius and Artaxerxes, father and son, over a Greek woman). I was also really interested in all the warlords, despots, and tyrants that sprang up during this time, making ancient Greece seem like a tumultuous land where one’s city could be completely overtaken or wiped out within a day.

Thebes’ unique acceptance of male “eros” (a focus of debate in the ancient world) gave life to the Sacred Band, which was composed of 300 male lovers fighting beside their partners. I liked the fact that Romm sticks to history without over-romanticizing the Sacred Band, ultimately illustrating the devastation of warfare. I came away from this book with a lot of appreciation for this heroic army, and for the men who gave their lives fighting for one of the highest principles: freedom.

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This was an excellent book. It was very well researched, and (from my non-expert perspective) did its best to offer both sides of a story (if there was more than one side available). The format was great: it followed the story of the Sacred Band chronologically, and provided very thorough context. This book is probably more about Thebes vs Greek than the Sacred Band, but given how the creation and success of that force affected Thebes’ success, it’s still fair to name the subject of the book after them.

I liked that the author stayed on topic. Occasionally a person or event would come up, but if it took place in the future the author waited to tell their story until it made sense chronologically. I don’t recall reading any part of this book that felt superfluous, which can sometimes happen in non fiction if an author feels the need for filler. But this book stayed on topic (which was, admittedly, wide ranging) very well.

The writing was also good. It was clear and concise, but it could also be very moving. Several of the passages about various couples were quite sweet, and I appreciated that the author honored the love shared by those men. And the author did a good job of defining terms that might not be familiar to the reader, including some Greek words that you may be familiar with but having the refresher right there was convenient.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It told a sweeping tale of Ancient Greece. It had fighting, covert ops, honor, glory, and love.

“Perish all those who suggest that these men did or endured anything shameful.”

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