Epaminondas
(418 a.C. – 362 a.C.), together with his lover
Pelopidas, was one of the celebrated “Sacred Band of Thebes”, a military company of 150 pairs of lovers.
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Battle of Mantinea, Epar.Od. Mileas, Tripoli 221 00, Greece
Epaminondas
(418 a.C. – 362 a.C.), together with his lover
Pelopidas, was one of the celebrated “Sacred Band of Thebes”, a military company of 150 pairs of lovers.
Epaminondas was born at Thebes to a family of high standing, which, according to tradition, claimed descent from the mythical Spartoi. His year of birth cannot be determined with precision, and estimates have varied between 419 and 411 BC. What has been recorded of Epaminondas's immediate family is that his father was called Polymnis, he had a brother named Caphisias, and both parents lived to see his victory at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC. His education was regarded as excellent and comprehensive. He learned how to handle a cither, to play the flute, and to dance, and, while exercising in the gymnasium (traditionally a cornerstone of Theban education), he demonstrated a preference for agility over sheer strength. Epaminondas was taught philosophy by Lysis of Tarentum, a Pythagorean who had escaped persecution in Magna Graecia and allowed to settle in Epaminondas's father's own house. Lysis had a significant influence on Epaminondas, who grew devoted to his aged teacher, embraced his Pythagorean philosophy, and later reportedly took special care of his grave. Epaminondas was said to have displayed all the desirable virtues of the age, including patriotism, incorruptibility, selflessness, and modesty. In order to limit his needs and increase his independence, he led a frugal lifestyle and even seems to have lived in voluntary poverty. The ancient sources also draw attention to his skill in military matters and eloquence, as well as his taciturn demeanor, steadfast wit, and aptitude for crude humor.
Epaminondas never married and as such was subject to criticism from countrymen who believed he was duty-bound to provide the country with the benefit of sons as great as himself. In response, Epaminondas said that his victory at Leuctra was a daughter destined to live forever. He is known, however, to have had several young male lovers, a standard pedagogic practice in ancient Greece, and one that Thebes in particular was famous for; Plutarch records that the Theban lawgivers instituted the practice "to temper the manners and characters of the youth". An anecdote told by Cornelius Nepos indicates that Epaminondas was intimate with a young man by the name of Micythus. Plutarch also mentions two of his beloveds (eromenoi): Asopichus, who fought together with him at the battle of Leuctra, where he greatly distinguished himself; and Caphisodorus, who fell with Epaminondas at Mantineia and was buried by his side.
After Sparta had convincingly beaten Athens and her allies in the Peloponnesian War, the victors extinguished democracy in the vanquished cities, and placed their allies in command as local despots. In the case of Thebes, they met strong resistance from the defenders of democracy, in the form of the band of male lovers. Founded initially by Georgidas, on the principle that men never fight more bravely than when fighting to protect and support their loved ones alongside them, the founding proposition was soon confirmed. In their first engagement with the Spartan enemy, victors in the recent Peloponnesian war, the new company of Theban lovers overcame a Spartan army of two to three times their number, and were able to reinstate democracy in their city.
Epaminondas was initially somewhat hidden in the shadow of his friend and lover Pelopidas, who succeeded Georgidas as leader just a year after the band was founded. Together, they won many famous victories. Later, overshadowing his friend, he found the more enduring fame, and for many notable qualities beyond his illustrious military career. After assisting in the re-establishment of democracy in Thebes, he developed a career as an orator and statesman as well as a soldier. Although he was instrumental in defeating Sparta in establishing Thebes as the dominant greek power, he refused to use this power to to subject other cities to Theban domination and pillage, so that he was known as a military liberator, not a conqueror.
Many scholars have described him as Greece’s greatest warrior-statesman. Diodorus Siculus wrote that he excelled all the others in valour and military shrewdness – but also in “eloquence of speech, elevation of mind, contempt of lucre, and fairness…”. The Romans also admired him, although less enthusiastic about his cultural achievements. Cornelius Nepos included him in his Book of Great Commanders, but found it necessary to excuse his reputation as a musician and dancer on the grounds that the Greeks had a fondness for these pursuits. He “praises without reservation Epaminondas’ intellectual and athletic prowess, and finds he meets roman standards of temperance, prudence and seriousness….. and was such a lover of truth that he never lied, even in jest.” .
While pressing forward with the troops at Mantinea, Epaminondas was hit in the chest by a spear (or, in some accounts, a sword or large knife). Cornelius Nepos suggests the Spartans were deliberately aiming at Epaminondas in the hope of killing him, and thereby demoralizing the Thebans. The enemy who struck the killing blow was variously identified as Anticrates, Machaerion, or Gryllus, son of Xenophon. The spear broke, leaving the iron point in his body, and Epaminondas collapsed. The Thebans around him fought desperately to stop the Spartans taking possession of his body. When he was carried back to camp still living, he asked which side was victorious. When he was told that the Boeotians had won, he said "It is time to die." Diodorus suggests that one of his friends exclaimed "You die childless, Epaminondas" and then burst into tears. To this Epaminondas is supposed to have replied "No, by Zeus, on the contrary I leave behind two daughters, Leuctra and Mantinea, my victories." Cornelius Nepos, whose story is otherwise similar has the last words of Epaminondas as "I have lived long enough; for I die unconquered." When the spear point was withdrawn, Epaminondas quickly expired. In accordance with Greek custom, he was buried on the battlefield.
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