In 1880, in the village of Chaironeia in central Greece, Greek archaeologists made a remarkable find: a largely undisturbed mass grave of 254 ancient soldiers, some of whom are buried arm in arm.
The men in this grave were clearly a special group, and it has generally been assumed that they were the dead of the Theban Sacred Band (hieros lochos) – an elite fighting unit made up of 150 pairs of male lovers, fighting side by side.
