The Sacred Band of Thebes [M/M] [Recruiting!]

[Montagne]

The Sacred Band of Thebes

The Sacred Band of Thebes was a troop of select soldiers, consisting of 150 pairs of male lovers which formed the elite force of the Theban army in the 4th century BC, ending Spartan domination.

According to Plutarch, 300 hand-picked men were chosen. It was composed of 150 male couples, each pair consisting of an older erastês ("lover"), a wealthy, older citizen of the theban elite with considerable experience, and a younger erômenos ("beloved"), his personally selected squire, partner and love.

They swore vows to one another at the sacred shrine of Iolaus, one of the male lovers of the city's devine hero Heracles. Promising to always defend their love, and to prefer the honour of death to the dishonor of defeat. They were the military elite of the city state of Thebes.

This RP aims to recreate the final days of the Sacred Band of Thebes, as they prepare to march off to war once again to combat Philip of Macedon, not knowing this would be their end.

Characters can be either an older erastês - at least 30+, a leading citizen of Thebes, with at least a decade of military service, wealthy, well educated, unmarried and bound for life to their -

erômenos - the other option for players: young (16-20), athletic, full of martial eagerness and pride, from a wealthy family, classically educated, married for life to their erastês.



Themes for the story are hopefully quite clear from the unit: M/M, Older/Younger male pairings, Dominance/Submission, Gay Relationships in the past, Muscles, Fighting, Nudity, Etc.

Players are encouraged to pair with each other before the IC starts into devoted couples, but no doubt the RP will allow for people to switch partners around.

It is important to note that these relationships, as far as we can tell from historical sources, were highly respected in Thebes (and they would have unlikely been seen as Thebes elite force if they weren't). It was standard practice for the older man to be the top in the relationship and the younger man the bottom in order for it not to be seen as deviant. However if your couple is reversed this could be an excellent opportunity for story, however most couples should conform to this.

The story of course is going to be pretty heavily sex focussed, but also allows for displaying gay relationships in the past. The IC will be focussed around the Sacred Band's camp. Wrestling, Training, Love-Making, etc. There is an assumption here that open public sexuality is normal for the group.


For anyone interested in the idea, please post your interest below, so others can see who is interested. Then feel free to fill in and post the below character sheet.

Code Select Expand


[float=right][img height=350 padding=3]Image here (preferably photos over art)[/img][/float]
[b]Name:[/b] Your characters name.
[b]Nicknames:[/b] Any nicknames.
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]erastês or erômenos?:[/b]

[b]Appearance:[/b]
A quick one or two paragraph description of your characters appearance. Height, weight, hair, build, distinguishing features, etc.


[b]Personality:[/b]
A quick paragraph or two describing your characters personality.


[b]History:[/b]



[center][img height=250 padding=5]Extra pictures here, if you have them.[/img][img height=250 padding=5][/img][img height=250 padding=5][/img]
[img height=250 padding=5][/img][img height=250 padding=5][/img][img height=250 padding=5][/img][/center]


[b]Likes:[/b] What your character likes, non-sexually.
[b]Dislikes:[/b] See Above.

[b]Character Ons:[/b] What your character gets off to.
[b]Character Offs:[/b] What your character doesn't get off to.

[b]Player O/o:[/b] Link to your Ons / Offs. Please highlight any key differences between your characters and your own tastes.

[b]Plot Hooks & Scenes[/b] please list at least two plot hooks or scenes you would like to play out (sexual or not) so players can get a feel for what you want to do in the RP and can approach you about these ideas.



More Historical Info

https://youtu.be/xWsZwlN1j3c

[WaitingCynicism]

I'm posting interest! Still working on my guy but I'm definitely interested.

[Intimate Ink]

Keeping an eye on this...

[icecradle]

tentative interest :)

[dicequeer]

interested!

[Levi]

I would be interested in making a younger male

[Fredasce]

I would also be interested in this! Count me in

[WaitingCynicism]

if anyone would be interested in playing my guy's erâstes (possibly two, I'm not sure how it would be viewed for one erômenos to have two lovers in the band) I'd be glad to brainstorm ideas with anyone, just send me a DM. :)

[Montagne]

Hey all,

After not getting many responses on this one for the first three weeks I assumed it wasn't of much interest to people and took it off my radar, but it seems like we've got quite a few people who posted their interest a week back or so.

Given that, I want to see if folks are still interested, and if we have a critical mass (say 8 players) then I'm still more than happy to GM this.

So just post up your interest again if you're still into this idea, and feel free to start putting character sheets together and posting below.

[WaitingCynicism]

I'd still be interested!

[Lockepick]

I'd be interested in an erômenos role!

[Montagne]

I'd still be interested!

Great! Can you also signal which role you're interested in just so I know we're not going to end up with 8 Tops or Bottoms!

[WaitingCynicism]

erômenos

[Levi]

Yeah I'm still up for this

[Fredasce]

I'm also still interested and I'd like to play an erastês ^^

[Montagne]

Yeah I'm still up for this

Great Levi, did you have a role in mind?

[Levi]

An erômenos? A young character anyways!

[Montagne]

Great we've got two older erastês and three younger erômenos partners at the moment.

[WaitingCynicism]

I saw that the year they fought was 371 BC, so I assumed that the rp took place that year. Other than finding pictures (and possibly changing the years for my character), I think he's done.

Name: Kleonides
Nicknames: N/A
Age: 16
erastês or erômenos?: erômenos

Appearance:
The first thing people will notice about Kleonides is his sheer size - broad-shouldered, and very tall as well at 6’2”. His curly hair is a dark brown. Kleonides has eyes the color of the wine-dark sea, a dark blue - almost royal blue. His hands are roughened, leathery from his time spent training . Kleonides prefers to dress simply, in a simple tunic with brown sandals. Occasionally in the winter he will wear a cloak simply to keep warm, but most of the time prefers to have his tunic on. The only real time he is ever dressed formally is for a martial ceremony or for a formal occasion.



Personality:
Kleonides is a humble, kind man. He does his best to try and make everyone happy, and tries to avoid conflict as much as he can. As much as he enjoys hearing intellectual debates both at court and between the philosophers, an actual argument or fight is not enjoyable for him.

Handling conflicts is not his strong suit, to say the least. He panics any time an argument breaks out, oftentimes leaving the scene altogether to avoid having to break up a fight between the two involved. He is also shy, and seems almost passive in a sense. He is willing to help most anyone with anything.


History:

Kleonides is no stranger to death, to put it politely. Born to a former soldier, Diokles, and his wife Myrrhina  in the middle of a particularly brutal summer on July 17, 387 BCE, he was but a six-year-old boy when his little sister Theophila was born and when she died several months after from an illness. His grief was hard, yet still he persevered, and grew closer with his father and mother during the time - particularly so with Diokles. The two would have an inseparable bond, as they say. Several years went by and Kleonides developed friendships, yet when he was ten, his father died - from a minor battle with the Peloponessians. He had grown very close to the man over the time since his sister died - why did it seem the gods wanted their family to suffer? Yes, he had bonded with the rest of his family as well, especially in their time of grief for Theophilia, yet now the one he looked up to the most as a mentor figure was gone, trapped in Hades most likely. Maybe he’d end up in Elysium, yet with all the things he had heard about the great heroes, it seemed impossible.

That year would turn out to be hell. Far too many people gone.

Diokles’ sister Asteria and Myrrhina’s siblings Pasiphaë and Triopas, all died within several months of each other. A particularly nasty plague throughout the fall and winter went through Thebes - or at least through Kleonides’ family. The winter chill ended up being one of the worst as well, or so it felt with so many gone.

“Why do the gods hate us?” Kleonides would find himself thinking on thoughts like these more and more frequently, lashing out more and more at the world around him for things they had no control over. It got to the point where some sort of training would be required. Maybe another comrade, a man who would be like his father in terms of personality. The Sacred Band was known for paring lovers together - even if Kleonides had never been in love before, especially not with another man, he felt camaraderie could help immensely. And so, Kleonides  joined the Sacred Band, even if he had first been reluctant to be paired with a "lover".

Having a figure like his father helped immensely. His unit's leader had originally been angry with him for being so… vulgar and undisciplined, angry at the world over the affairs of the gods, thinking Kleonides had only lost his father. Death was a constant in the world save for great heroes, so why let it bother you? Get control of your life, Iasonos would say at first.

Yet then he eventually found out how many Kleonides had lost in that one year, and something changed within the commander. Was it sympathy or kindness? Or had Iasonos been through something similar?

Kleonides couldn't say, but it was certainly nice seeing the Iasonos' change in personality towards him. Especially with how the captain seemed to be more understanding of why Kleonides felt this anger. He didn't agree with it, especially the references to the gods, but he understood.

Likes: What your character likes, non-sexually. Hunting, Sparring, Horseback Riding
Dislikes: See Above. Excessive cruelty, reflecting on his family (the ones who had passed)

Character Ons: Older men, his erastes, threesomes.
Character Offs: What your character doesn't get off to. Rough sex/bdsm.


Player O/o: https://elliquiy.com/forums/onsoffs.php?u=63933

Plot Hooks & Scenes please list at least two plot hooks or scenes you would like to play out (sexual or not) so players can get a feel for what you want to do in the RP and can approach you about these ideas.
Potentially some of his first times with his erâstes and his other lover (another erâstes in the order)
Hunting, and a fling in the stables after the hunt
Sparring

[WaitingCynicism]

If anyone is interested in playing an erâstes, I might have a character if you'd be interested - feel free to PM me if you would be.

[Fredasce]

Iasonas of Thebes

Name: Iasonas of Thebes.
Nicknames: Iasonas the Indomitable.
Age: 44 years old.
erastês or erômenos?: Erastês.

Appearance:
Iasonas stands at 180cm tall and always walks with his back perfectly perpendicular to the floor, which makes him look taller. He has a square jaw covered with a luscious black beard that matches his short, wavy hair. His face features a sharp, straight nose an unwavering grey eyes under a set of thin, blade-sharp eyebrows.

His physique is well-toned and hardened by training and battle with a few scars to show for it. He wears his military uniform whenever he is on duty, but as a civilian he wears simple and unassuming robes, appropriate for a practical man.

Personality:
His character characteristic is his notorious strictness. Anyone who has ever been under his watch knows that he expects great results and does not tolerate slacking off. He enjoys the sound of battle, but to him, nothing is better than the charged silence of a strategy meeting and the hushed silence right before an ambush on the enemy ranks.

He is quite patient and never has the intention to rush things, hoping to be thorough and not miss important details than to be rash and unprepared. This he always tries to implement in all aspects of his life.

History:
Iasonas comes from a long lineage of extraordinary soldiers, and his family expected him to be no different. He received a thorough education on military tactics and combat in order to bring glory to his house. His father, a general for the Greeks, saw to it that he had no time to dally around — a day was never over for a soldier of Greece, he used to say. This caused a closure in Iasonas’ heart which would take a long time to mend and would explain his strict personality.

However, the day before he was meant to be conscripted for the army, he broke his sword arm and was deemed unsuitable to join the most prestigious group of all: the Sacred Band of Thebes.

This rejection brought an immense disappointment. His father went to war “to defend the world he was too weak to protect” as he said, and ended up dying a warrior’s death on the battlefield. And there Iasonas was, physically and emotionally broken.

The days became weeks, and those became years and finally, his arm healed, but by then he was 20 already, and his recruitment long overdue. He made up for lost time by moving quickly through the ranks, but advancing at such pace could only lead to an eventual state of stagnation. He dreaded the position of General, and before anyone considered him, he moved away to the Sacred Band, vowing eternal love to a younger man named Anthiopos.

For a few years, he felt like he knew true bliss — that is, until the untimely death of his partner due to a tactical mistake on his part. He felt he should not deserve to have another partner, destined to die alone on the battlefield until he met Kleonides; a lost, beautiful soul that maybe needed someone to open up to. Iasonas saw too much of him in the young man to avoid him, and vowed to protect him no matter the cost.

Likes: wine, the sea, hunting, order, and quiet moments.
Dislikes: rebels, storms, arrogance, and superstition.

Character Ons: foreplay, kissing, teasing, soft touching, and groaning.
Character Offs: slapping/hitting, choking, or anything that would hurt him or his partner.

Player O/o: O/Os

Plot Hooks & Scenes

• I'd like to explore the tension of combat when both erâstes and erômenos fight besides each other.
• Iasonas has lost an erômenos before, and is learning how to cope with that. Maybe his new erômenos or someone else can help him?

[Montagne]

Name: Acroneos Gelo
Age: 52
erastês or erômenos?: Erastês

Appearance:
A man who now holds the dignified wisdom of his age on his face. His hair and short cropped beard are mostly grey, with just the occasional patch of remaining black to darken the effect. His chest and legs are hairy, and have yet to fully grey. He retains the majority of his musculature from his early days as a champion wrestler, now complimented from the bulk of 30 years of wine and wealth. He stands at 6'2", and has the symbol of a Thebes, the spiked club, tattooed across his left thigh, a remnant of his youth he now regrets.

Personality:
He tries to be a father figure to the Erômenos in the camp. His two loves are wrestling and philosophy, and he takes an active role in the tutorship of both to new young erômenos. He can be a kind hearted man when dealing with the interpersonal problems that inevitably arise in an environment full of lovers and the jealousy it can bring, when  behind the closed walls of barracks. However, he has also been devoted to the Sacred Band since his youth, and he expects all of its members to show both the most positive view of the band in public and to uphold the highest martial standards, which can lead him to being a strict disciplinarian should anyone step out of line or be found lacking.

History:
The third son of a wealthy Theban family, he was raised in all the high philosophical pursuits of a good Theban male. But he found his calling in the gymnasium, rather than the scholar's debate chamber. His first love was his wrestling tutor, who was a fellow nobleman and member of the Sacred Band. Before Acroneos joined the band permanently, he represented Thebes at the Olympiad as a twenty year old man, and returned home a hero after besting the Spartan champion and prior Olympiad winner.

Inducted into the Sacred band he continued his burning love affair with his tutor for the next decade, becoming a more refined and elevated figure as he aged, revisiting the more delicate mental arts as he matured. His greatest love finally passed from disease as he approached thirty-two, sending Acroneos into a deep morning for the man he had loved so dearly. It was the community of the band that helped him through the passing, and in a few years he was ready to become an erastês himself.

Since becoming an erastês he has had three young squires, one of whom fell in battle by his side, fighting the Spartans. This again was a difficult experience, although they had been together for only a few years, he felt a deep sense of responsibility for what happened. His next squire he met of whom fell from his horse and was so injured he would never be fit for the band again, retiring back to his family villa, and he still checks in on him regularly to ensure his life is comfortable. His newest erômenos has been paired with him for a year, and he loves and cares deeply for the young man.

In his advanced years, he has become a member of the inner circle of erastês who run the Sacred Band, as well as continuing to teach wrestling and philosophy to the new recruits.


Likes: Wrestling (really, give him a try, he's still got it), Ethics, Wine (red), love.
Dislikes: Cockiness, dishonourable behaviour, Spartans.

Character Ons: Athletically slender young men, Rough Sex, Discipline, Passion, Sweat, Pinning/Manhandling, Bondage, Being worshipped, Begging Erômenos.
Character Offs: Bottoming (anymore at least), Being Dominated.

Player O/o: (Really need to update my O/Os, for now, no major differences with my character.)

Plot Hooks & Scenes

- Organizing a wrestling competition between the Erômenos, with their Erastês cheering on. Opportunities for winners to top the losers?
- Being challenged by a young upstart on the gymnasium floor. Showing he can still wrestle a young buck to the ground (and fucking him afterwards for being so cocky).
- Providing guidance for a hot headed erômenos.
- Falling in deep, protective love for his erômenos.
- Dying in battle beside him.

[WaitingCynicism]

looking forward to this

[Lockepick]

Are we going to be starting with just our group of five? Or are we still waiting for more?

[WaitingCynicism]

I'd like to know that too.