While the story of the Sacred Band of Thebes is well known and the Band itself is mentioned in almost every history of Greece, there exists no complete chronological account of its formation, activities, and eventual destruction. Using the ancient sources, some of which refer only obliquely to the Sacred Band, the author attempts to present a linear history of this elite military unit (includes chapters on the Spartans, Greek warfare, the Delphic Oracle, and features an earthquake, a tidal wave, Halley's Comet, war, politics, religion, sex, violence, maps, illustrations, a massive pile of endnotes, a huge bibliography, a time-line, glossary, lists of personal and place names, etc.).