Pelopidas, the Leader of the Sacred Band of Thebes: Cornelius Nepos Pelopidas 4

Throughout this turbulent time period, Epaminondas spent his time at home away from the political drama, so the honor of being the liberator of Thebes belongs to Pelopidas alone. There are many other accolades, however, that he shared with Epaminondas.  For although Epaminondas was in charge during the battle of Leuctra,  it was Pelopidas who was the leader of the Sacred Band that first broke apart the Spartan battle lines. Pelopidas was there for all of these dangers, and even led a wing of the army during the attack on Sparta. He was sent as an ambassador to Persia in order to restore control of Messena. And so Pelopidas was one of the most important men of Thebes, but he still was second to Epaminondas in fame.

--Cornelius Nepos, Vita Pelopidae 4.1-3

 

Hoc tam turbido tempore, sicut supra docuimus, Epaminondas quoad cum civibus dimicatum est, domi quietus fuit. Itaque haec liberandarum Thebarum propria laus est Pelopidae: ceterae fere communes cum Epaminonda. 2 Namque in Leuctrica pugna imperatore Epaminonda hic fuit dux delectae manus, quae prima phalangem prostravit Laconum. 3 Omnibus praeterea periculis adfuit - sicut, Spartam cum oppugnavit, alterum tenuit cornu -, quoque Messena celerius restitueretur, legatus in Persas est profectus. Denique haec fuit altera persona Thebis, sed tamen secunda ita, ut proxima esset Epaminondae.

 

 

 Cornelius Nepos (110 - 25 BCE) was a Roman author who was born in Cisalpine Gaul (now Northern Italy). He is best known for a series of biographies of great men of Greece and Rome.

  

M/M: The Army of Theban Lovers, Maximus of Tyre, Diss. 8

The Army of Theban Lovers

Name: Maximus of Tyre [Cassius Maximus Tyrius] Date:   2nd century CE Region:   Tyre [modern Lebanon] Citation:    Dissertation 18.2.f-k

Epamonidas liberated Thebes from Sparta’s control by weaponizing love. In Thebes there were many young soldiers in love.  Epamonidas put weapons in their hands, and created a squadron of lovers who had incredible valor and were undefeatable. Whether in battle formation or in melee they easily repelled the enemy’s assault, the likes of which have never been seen, not even under the skillful leadership of the Trojan War hero Nestor, nor in the descendants of Heracles in the Peloponnesian campaign,  nor in the Peloponnesian campaign against Athens.

The reason for this was that each man had to prove themselves to their lover, either to fight well in their lover’s eyes, or out of necessity, since each man had to defend his own sweetheart. And in turn, a rivalry spurred on their bravery, so they could perform equally as well as their lover, just as the puppies of hunting dogs follow the bigger dogs in the pack.  

Ἐλευθεροῖ τὰς Θήβας Ἐπαμεινώνδας ἀπὸ Λακεδαιμονίων σρατηγήματι ἐρωτικῷ. Μειρακίων πολλῶν καλῶν ἐρασταὶ ἤσαν Θήβησιν πολλοὶ νεανίαι. ὅπλα δους Ἐπαμεινώνδας τοῖς ἐρασταῖς καὶ τοῖς ἐρωμένοις συνέταξεν λόχον ἱερὸν του ἔρωτος. δεινὸν καὶ ἄμαχον καὶ συνασπίζοντα ἀκριβῶς καὶ ἄῤῥηκτον οἷον ουτε ὁ Νέστωρ περὶ τὸ Iλιον συνεστήσατο ὁ δεινότατος τῶν σρατηγών, οὔτε Ἡρακλείδαι περὶ Πελοπόννησον ουτε Πελοποννήσιοι περὶ τὴν Ἀττικὴν. ἔδει γὰρ ἕκασον τῶν ἐραστῶν ἀριστεύειν, καὶ διὰ φιλοτιμίαν ἐν ὄψει τῶν παιδικῶν μαχόμενον καὶ δὶ ἀνάγκην ὑπερμαχούντα τῶν φιλτάτων. ἦν δὲ καὶ τὰ μειράκια ἐφάμιλλα ταῖς ἀρεταῖς τοῖς ἐραςταῖς, ὥσπερ ἐν θήρᾳ σκύλακες συμπαραθέοντες τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις τῶν κυνῶν.

Epamonidas amatorio stratagemate Thebas in liberatem a Lacedaemoniis vindicavit. Erant Thebis multi pulchri adolescentuli qui amabantur, multi pulchri iuvenes qui amabant. Utrisque arma in manum Epamonidas dat, et utrisque cohortem instruit amatoriam, quae mirae virtutis planeque inexpugnabilis cum esset, conferto simul agmine facile hostium impetum sustinuit. Qualem neque imperatorum solertissimus Nestor, in Troiano agro, neque in Peloponnesiaco Heraclidae, neque in Attico instruxere Peloponnesii Necesse enim fuit amatores singulos, vel existimationis suae causa, quod in oculis adolescentulorum pugnarent, vel necessitatis, quod singuli amicissimum defenderent, strenue rem gerere. Vehemens rursus aemulatio adolescentulos pungebat, ut cum amatoribus sibi suis paria facerent: sicut in venatione catuli, qui maiores canes sequuntur.  Translated into Latin by Claudius Larjot

Maximus of Tyre [2nd century CE, modern Lebanon] was listed as one of the most influential people in the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius’ life. He spent most of his life in scholarly pursuits; his Dissertations were a collection of philosophical treatises based on the works of Plato.