The Story of an Elite Army of 300 Gay Men
The elite team, founded by a general named Gorgidas, consisted of 150 gay couples.
During the era of ancient Greece, same-sex relationships were accepted in society. Same-sex couples (especially men) often showed such high loyalty towards each other that Plato (the famous philosopher) proposed the formation of an army unit composed entirely of gay couples.
In his account titled Symposium, written around 370 BC, Plato stated that an army composed entirely of gay couples would be a strong and invincible force.
He believed that each person in the army would fight tooth and nail to ensure their lover’s safety when fighting. He claimed that love would cause a person to have courage.
In fact, a few years before the Symposium was written, a similar elite army had already been established. Around 378 BC, an elite team known as “Hieros Lokhos” or in English, “The Sacred Band of Thebes,” was formed as one of the branches of the army of Thebes (a city in central Greece, now known as Thiva).
The elite team, founded by a general named Gorgidas, consisted of 150 gay couples. This brought the total number of members of the elite team to 300.
