Sacred Band

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:

    “Cruel with guilt, and daring with despair,
    The midnight murderer bursts the faithless bar;
    Invades the sacred hour of silent rest
    And leaves, unseen, a dagger in your breast.”
    —Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)

    “Nothing makes a man feel older than to hear a band coming up the street and not to have the impulse to rush downstairs and out on to the sidewalk.”
    —Robert Benchley (1889–1945)