Sebastian Castro, “Theban”
The Sacred Band of Thebes (Hieròs Lókhos) was a troop of picked soldiers, consisting of 150 pairs of male lovers which formed the elite force of the Theban army in the 4th century BC. Its predominance began with its crucial role in the Battle of Leuctra in 371BC. It was annihilated by Philip II of Macedon in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC.
According to Plutarch, the 300 hand-picked men were chosen by Gorgidas purely for ability and merit, regardless of social class. It was composed of 150 male couples, each pair consisting of an older erastês (ἐραστής, “lover”) and a younger erômenos (ἐρώμενος, “beloved”). Athenaeus of Naucratis also records the Sacred Band as being composed of “lovers and their favorites, thus indicating the dignity of the god Eros in that they embrace a glorious death in preference to a dishonorable and reprehensible life”; while Polyaenus describes the Sacred Band as being composed of men “devoted to each other by mutual obligations of love”.
The origin of the “sacred” appellation of the Sacred Band is unexplained by Dinarchus and other historians. But Plutarch claims that it was due to an exchange of sacred vows between lover and beloved at the shrine of Iolaus (one of the lovers of Hercules) at Thebes. He also tangentially mentions Plato’s characterization of the lover as a “friend inspired of God”.
After the success of his previous video, “Bubble” earlier this year, über-hot Manila-based popster Sebastian Castro is back with a new clip entitled “Theban”, skillfully directed by Ian Galsim, featuring a tribe of scantily-clad dancers but sans actor Enchong Dee. Openly gay, the Peruvian-Japanese artist stated that the Sacred Band of Thebes was an ancient Greek army composed entirely of gay men. “It was believed that if you fought next to the person you loved, you would fight much harder to keep them alive. This led the generals to have the lovers fight alongside one another in battle. I can’t think of anything more beautiful -beautiful and sexy… I love the idea of dragging my followers, or any LGBT for that matter, into this world where you are fighting with, fighting for and possibly dying for the one you love. The ultimate message : you belong. Two words gay kids don’t hear enough. Two words they don’t feel enough”, he said.