EPISODE 82: The Other 300 (Part 2)

“Take me back to the quarries.” — Philoxenus

“Pelopidas died as he’d lived, a freedom fighter who rushed fearlessly into the fray.” — James Romm

“As one approaches Chaeronea, there is a tomb of the Thebans who died in the battle with Philip. No inscription adorns it, but a monument stands over it in the form of a lion, the best emblem of the spirit of those men. It seems to me the inscription is lacking because their fortunes were not equal to their courage.” — Pausanias

In this second and final episode in this series, we see the age of Thebes’ Sacred Band coming to an end, as a new power rises in Macedon. As we tackle this fundamentally important period in Greek history, we’ll run into Dionysius of Syracuse and his horrendous poetry, the rise of Philip of Macedonia and Alexander (soon to be ‘The Great’), the badass sayings of Pelopidas and his heroic death, the rise of wealthy dictators and their bloody ends, the Sacred Wars, the career of Phyrne—the greatest hetaera of the age, and the end of Thebes.

EPISODE 81: The Other 300 (Part 1)

“There was no uproar, and no silence either, but that certain type of noise that results from anger and battle. Clashing shield on shield, they were shoving, fighting, killing, dying.” — Xenophon

“Pelopidas, after receiving seven wounds in front, sank down upon a great heap of friends and enemies who lay dead together; but Epaminondas, although he thought him lifeless, stood forth to defend his body and his arms, and fought desperately, single-handed against many, determined to die rather than leave Pelopidas lying there.” — Plutarch

“Urgent matters tomorrow!” — Archias

“If by… an army, of lovers and their young loves could come into being . . . then, fighting along- side one another, such men, though few in number, could defeat practically all humankind. For a man in love would rather have anyone other than his lover see him leave his place in the line or toss away his weapons, and often would rather die on behalf of the one he loves.” — Plato

“If we are to have peace. it must be on the basis of equality and justice. If we aren’t all equal, then peace won’t endure.” — Epaminondas

Following the end of the Peloponnesian War, Sparta emerged as the dominant military power in ancient Greece. Seemingly, no one could stop them. But someone did. The rising power of Thebes would challenge Sparta as no one had done before. Thebes’ main heroes, Pelopidas and Epaminondas, radically changed military tactics, and risked it all in the name of freedom from Spartan imperialism. Their secret weapon against Sparta was The Sacred Band, an elite group of 300 soldiers destined to become the most feared infantry unit in the entire Greek world. Something peculiar characterized this legendary unit. The Sacred Band was made up of 150 homosexual couples. And it was these 150 couples who broke the myth of Spartan military invincibility.

In this episode, we follow the rise of Thebes from the ashes of the end of the Peloponnesian War in 401 BCE, through the Theban revolution of 379—when Pelopidas led 11 men to reclaim their city, to the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE, when the Sacred Band had its chance to demonstrate its valor against the Spartans. And in the course of narrating all this, we will grapple with one central question: what force can allow people to defeat their natural fears and fight like heroes?

EPISODE 43 The Melian Dialogue (The Peloponnesian War and Morality in History)

“The strong do what they want, and the weak suffer what they must.” — Athenian embassy to Melos via Thucydides 

“As far as right and wrong are concerned, our people think there is no difference between the two—that those who still preserve their independence do so because they are strong, and that if we fail to attack them it is because we are afraid.” — Athenian embassy to Melos via Thucydides 

“This is no fair fight, with honor on one side and shame on the other. It is rather a question of saving your lives and not resisting those who are far too strong for you.” — Athenian embassy to Melos via Thucydides 

“Don’t quote laws to men who carry swords.” — Pompey the Great 

“The present policy of the Government is but a continuation of the same progressive change by a milder process. The tribes which occupied the countries now constituting the Eastern States were annihilated or have melted away to make room for the whites.” — Andrew Jackson 

“And do you know what “the world” is to me? Shall I show it to you in my mirror? This world: a monster of energy, without beginning, without end… This world is the will to power—and nothing besides!” — Friedrich Nietzsche 

In the midst of The Peloponnesian War (431-401 BCE), the Athenians paid a visit to the inhabitants of the island of Melos and tried to make them an offer they couldn’t refuse. The dialogue that emerged from their negotiations is a classic in political philosophy, and raises fascinating questions about the nature of morality in history. In this episode, Darryl Cooper (from “The Martyrmade Podcast”) and I tackle them all, and leave no stones unturned. 

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