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![[Image: elon-musk.jpeg]](https://tradersunion.com/uploads/articles/271108/elon-musk.jpeg)
When Elon Musk recently announced his intention to launch a new political party aimed at influencing next year's mid-term elections, he drew a notable comparison to a figure from 4th Century BC Greece.
"The way we’re going to crack the uniparty system is by using a variant of how Epaminondas shattered the myth of Spartan invincibility at Leuctra: Extremely concentrated force at a precise location on the battlefield,” Musk posted on X on Saturday.
This reference points to Epaminondas, a significant but perhaps less commonly known general from antiquity.
Who Was Epaminondas?
Born around 420 BC, Epaminondas lived during a period when his home city of Thebes was under the influence of Sparta, having been defeated in the Corinthian War. The terms of their surrender obliged Thebes to support Sparta militarily. Though Thebes operated as an oligarchy, a desire for change among its younger population, who sought to challenge both their ruling families and Spartan dominance, began to stir.
Epaminondas emerged as a key figure among these reformers. He is recognized as one of history's great military strategists and played a crucial role in the formation of the Sacred Band of Thebes – a unique and elite fighting unit composed exclusively of male couples.
Following a successful uprising against Thebes' oligarchs in 379 BC, Epaminondas anticipated Spartan retaliation. Sparta's military strength lay in its professional, full-time army, a significant advantage over other Greek city-states.
![[Image: Cup_-_Terracotta_-_1.jpg]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Cup_-_Terracotta_-_1.jpg)
Depiction of Male Homosexuality on an Ancient Greek Kylix (c. 450 BC)
The Genesis of the Sacred Band
Having observed the Spartan military first-hand, Epaminondas understood Thebes' need for its own dedicated, high-calibre force to effectively counter Sparta. He gathered men in same-sex relationships from Thebes' warriors and initiated rigorous, full-time training, with their living costs supported by the city. This group of 150 male pairs formed solemn vows of love and allegiance to each other, thus becoming known as the Sacred Band of Thebes.
Epaminondas recognized that Thebes would likely be outnumbered by Sparta and its allies. His strategy, therefore, needed to be innovative to overcome this disparity.
A Tactical Innovation on the Battlefield
For centuries, Greek battles had largely followed a consistent pattern. Armies would divide their forces equally into opposing phalanxes. The front ranks would form a shield wall, while those behind would project their spears forward. Engagements typically devolved into a chaotic struggle until one side broke and retreated. Spartan tradition involved concentrating their most skilled fighters in their right-most phalanx, with allied forces making up the rest.
Aware of Spartan expectations, Epaminondas adopted a daring new approach at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC. He arranged his forces into three shallow, seemingly decoy phalanxes, but crucially, he formed one very deep, extended phalanx on his left flank, with the Sacred Band positioned at its leading edge.
From the Spartan king Cleombrotus's perspective across the battlefield, only the front ranks of Thebes' formations were visible. He did not redistribute his forces to counter Epaminondas's unconventional alignment. When the battle commenced, Epaminondas launched this deep phalanx directly into the Spartan lines, achieving a decisive breakthrough. The Sacred Band then engaged the fleeing Spartans, effectively neutralizing their formidable core. Witnessing the Spartans' unexpected collapse, their allies withdrew from the battle without significant engagement with Epaminondas's other phalanxes.
This victory instantly propelled Thebes to become the dominant city-state in Greece, a position it maintained until Thebes and its Sacred Band were ultimately overcome by Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC.
The Legacy of the Sacred Band
The belief that these pairs of lovers, without wives and children, would fight with unparalleled dedication to defend one another proved accurate. This resolve was evident at their final stand. After the battle, Philip II reportedly erected a monument honouring the bravery of the Sacred Band. When their mass grave was unearthed in the 19th century, archaeologists discovered 127 pairs of male skeletons, providing a tangible link to their story.
Epaminondas himself had died years earlier, in 362 BC, at the Battle of Mantinea. He was childless and unmarried, and his beloved companions and designated successors, Iolaidas and Daiphantus, also perished in that battle, where Epaminondas secured a final, significant victory for Thebes.
Musk's Contemporary Application
The homosexuality of Epaminondas and the Sacred Band of Thebes is likely incidental to Musk's strategic analogy; it's improbable he was aware of it when making his statement. His invocation of Epaminondas likely signals a plan to target specific Republican-held seats, aiming to diminish their majority in Congress and consequently weaken the party ahead of the next US Presidential Election.
The practical impact of Musk's "America Party"—whether it will secure its own victories or inadvertently benefit Democrats by fragmenting the vote in Republican strongholds—remains to be seen. Regardless, it offers an interesting opportunity to re-examine this compelling, often overlooked, chapter from ancient history.
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