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:
“There is a sacred horror about everything grand. It is easy to admire mediocrity and hills; but whatever is too lofty, a genius as well as a mountain, an assembly as well as a masterpiece, seen too near, is appalling.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
“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)