The term Sacred Band, also Sacred Company or Sacred Squadron (from Ancient Greek: Ἱερὸς Λόχος, Modern Greek: Ιερός Λόχος) can refer to one of the following military units:
In the ancient world:
- Sacred Band of Thebes
- Sacred Band of Carthage
In modern Greek history, the name has been used to denote several military units:
- Sacred Band (1821) of the Greek War of Independence
- Cretan Sacred Band during the Cretan Revolt of 1866–1869
- Cretan Student's Sacred Band, which participated in the Balkan Wars as a part of the Hellenic Army
- Epirote Sacred Band (1914), formed during the establishment of the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus.
- Sacred Band (World War II), a special forces unit composed entirely of officers
In fiction:
- the Sacred Band of Stepsons is a mythical Sacred Band of ancient cavalry fighters that eventually unites with the survivors of the Sacred Band of Thebes in a seven-novel saga
Famous quotes containing the words sacred and/or band:
“When a man’s life is destroyed or damaged by some wound or privation of soul or body, which is due to other men’s actions or negligence, it is not only his sensibility that suffers but also his aspiration toward the good. Therefore there has been sacrilege towards that which is sacred in him.”
—Simone Weil (1909–1943)
“There was a young lady called Gloria
Who was had by Sir Gerald Du Maurier
And then by six men
And Sir Gerald again
And the band of the Waldorf-Astoria.”
—Anonymous.