batallón sagrado 8
Hieros lochos . Theban military elite formed by 150 pairs of hoplite lovers (erastés-eromenus) who swore fidelity in combat and in life before the tomb of Iolao, charioteer and lover of Hercules. Led by Epaminondas, they ended Spartan rule at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC. C . However they were eliminated by the Macedonian army of Philip and Alexander in 338 BC. C . near the city of Chaeronea.