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Gorgidas (Ancient Greek: Γοργίδας) was the first known Theban military leader of the Sacred Band of Thebes around 378 BC.

Plutarch in his Life of Pelopidas mentions Gorgidas for the first time when the pro-Spartan polemarch Leontidas took over with a Spartan army and forced the pro-Athens aristocrats and supporters to leave Thebes for good in 382 BC. They later came back in 379–378 BC to take back their city and kill the tyrants. Also in Life of Pelopidas, Plutarch credits Gorgidas with the creation of the Sacred Band, which he dispersed at first throughout the front ranks of the regular infantry, with the idea that they would inspire valour. However, they were later arrayed by Pelopidas as a unit in order to make their gallantry more conspicuous.^[1]

Cultural references[edit]

In the Videssos Cycle by Harry Turtledove, there appears as a main character a Greek physician named Gorgidas, who has much in common with the men of the Sacred Band of Thebes.

In the book My Fair Captain by J. L. Langley, the society mainly featured is based on and draws its roots from the Sacred Band of Thebes mentioning Gorgidas.

References[edit]

^ Plutarch, Life of Pelopidas, 18.1 and 19.3

"The Theban Sacred Band". The Ancient World, XXIII.2, (1992), pp. 3-19.

[1] Plutarch, Life of Pelopidas, 18.1 and 19.3

[1]

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-'''Gorgidas''' ([[Ancient Greek]]: Γοργίδας) was a [[Thebes (Greece)|Theban]] military leader of the [[Sacred Band of Thebes]].
+{{Short description|4th century BC Theban military commander, leader of the Sacred Band}}
+'''Gorgidas''' ([[Ancient Greek]]: Γοργίδας) was the first known [[Thebes (Greece)|Theban]] military leader of the [[Sacred Band of Thebes]] around 378 BC.
+[[Plutarch]] in his ''Life of Pelopidas'' mentions Gorgidas for the first time when the pro-Spartan polemarch Leontidas took over with a Spartan army and forced the pro-Athens aristocrats and supporters to leave Thebes for good in 382 BC. They later came back in 379–378 BC to take back their city and kill the tyrants. Also in ''Life of Pelopidas'', Plutarch credits Gorgidas with the creation of the Sacred Band, which he dispersed at first throughout the front ranks of the regular infantry, with the idea that they would inspire valour. However, they were later arrayed by [[Pelopidas]] as a unit in order to make their gallantry more conspicuous.<ref>Plutarch, ''Life of Pelopidas'', 18.1 and 19.3</ref>
-[[Plutarch]] chronicled their exploits. Gorgidas, around 378 BC, first established the Sacred Band by choosing couples from his army. Plutarch in his ''Life of Pelopidas'' said this was Gorgidas' inspiration: "Since the lovers, ashamed to be base in sight of their beloved, and the beloved before their lovers, willingly rush into danger for the relief of one another."
-The Sacred Band was at first dispersed throughout the front ranks of the regular infantry, with the idea that they would inspire valour, but they were later arrayed as a unit in order to make their gallantry more conspicuous.
-After Thebes contributed to a Peloponnesian League victory in the [[Peloponnesian War]] in 404 BC, they allied themselves with Corinth, Argos, and Athens in the Corinthian War, fighting with  [[Sparta]]n troops, and becoming fierce warriors. [[Pelopidas]] recaptured the Theban Cadmea in 379 BC after a Spartan takeover in 381, and he assumed the command of the Sacred Band in which he fought alongside his good friend, General [[Epaminondas]].
-The Sacred Band under Pelopidas fought the Spartans in [[Tegyra]], vanquishing an army that was at least three times their number.
-The Sacred Band was also responsible for the victory of [[Battle of Leuctra|Leuctra]] in 371 BC, called by [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] the most decisive battle ever fought by Greeks against Greeks. Leuctra established Theban independence from Spartan rule, and laid the groundwork for the expansion of Theban power, though possibly also for Philip II's eventual victory.
-The Sacred Band was eventually destroyed by [[Philip II of Macedon]], who had been held as a hostage in Thebes, and had learned his military tactics there. The remainder of the Theban army fled when faced with the overwhelming forces of Philip and his son [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]], but the Sacred Band, surrounded, held their ground and died where they stood. Philip buried their bodies with honor, setting up the Lion of Chaeronea over them. The grave was excavated in 1890, confirming Plutarch's account, though only 254 skeletons were unearthed.
 == Cultural references ==
-In the [[Videssos]] Cycle by [[Harry Turtledove]], there appears as a main character a Greek physician named Gorgidas, who has much in common with the men of the Sacred Band of Thebes.
+* In the [[Videssos]] Cycle by [[Harry Turtledove]], there appears as a main character a Greek physician named Gorgidas, who has much in common with the men of the Sacred Band of Thebes.
+* In the book ''My Fair Captain'' by J. L. Langley, the society mainly featured is based on and draws its roots from the Sacred Band of Thebes mentioning Gorgidas.
-In the [[Thieves' World]] shared universe, [[Janet Morris]] introduced a mythical Sacred Band of Stepsons, interspersed with unpaired hoplites in the same way that Gorgidas used the Sacred Band of Thebes.  The Sacred Band of Stepsons, beginning with the novel ''Beyond Sanctuary'', ventures outside the shared universe in a multi-volume saga, including battles in [[Nisibis]], [[Mygdonia]] and [[Chaeronea]] under their polemarch, Tempus, and eventually rescuing the forty-six of the Sacred Band of Thebes whose skeletons are missing from their mass grave at Chaeronea and integrating them into the Sacred Band of Stepsons.
 ==References==
+{{reflist}}
 *"The Theban Sacred Band". ''The Ancient World'', XXIII.2, (1992), pp. 3-19.
+[[Category:4th-century BC Greek people]]
 [[Category:Ancient Theban generals]]
-[[Category:Ancient Greek generals]]
-[[Category:4th-century BC Greek people]]
 [[Category:Theban hegemony]]
-[[ca:Gòrgides]]
-[[el:Γοργίδας]]
-[[es:Górgidas]]
-[[it:Gorgida]]
-[[sh:Gorgida]]