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Sacred Band of Thebes
The Sacred Band of Thebes was an elite unit of the Theban army comprised of 150 gay male couples totaling 300 men. They were formed under the leadership of Gorgidas but first achieved fame under the general Pelopidas. They remained invincible...
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Turkana Boy
Turkana Boy, also called Nariokotome Boy, is a rare nearly complete skeleton of a youth who lived near Lake Turkana, Kenya, around 1,6-1,5 million years ago. He belongs to the species Homo erectus (or Homo ergaster, depending on which theories...
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The Origin of Game and Corn
The Origin of Game and Corn is a Cherokee origin myth explaining how wild game first began to run free and corn came to be cultivated. The central figures of Kenati (also given as Kana'ti) and Selu are the embodiment of the Lucky Hunter and...
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The Boy Who Was Sacrificed
The Boy Who Was Sacrificed is a legend of the Pawnee nation highlighting the belief that everything happens for a reason according to the will of Ti-ra'wa ("Father Above"), the supreme creator, and how even the smallest creatures have an...
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What's Left of Big Foot's Band - Wounded Knee Massacre Survivors
Photo known as "What's Left of Big Foot's Band" by John C. H. Grabill, January 1891, showing the surviving members of the people of Lakota Sioux Chief Spotted Elk (also known as Big Foot, l. 1826-1890) after the Wounded Knee Massacre of 29...
Definition
Pelopidas
Pelopidas (c. 410 - 364 BCE) was a gifted Theban general and leader of the elite Sacred Band who, along with Epaminondas, is credited with helping Thebes rise to its greatest power. Defeating the mighty Spartans in several battles Pelopidas...
Definition
Thebes (Greece)
Thebes is a town in central Greece which has been continuously inhabited for five millennia. It was an important Mycenaean centre in the middle to late Bronze Age and was a powerful city-state in the Classical period, participating in both...
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Battle of Leuctra
The Battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE gave Thebes a decisive victory over Sparta and established Thebes as the most powerful city-state in Greece. The victory was achieved through the daring and brilliant pre-meditated tactics of the Theban general...
Definition
Hoplite
A hoplite (from ta hopla meaning tool or equipment) was the most common type of heavily armed foot-soldier in ancient Greece from the 7th to 4th centuries BCE, and most ordinary citizens of Greek city-states with sufficient means were expected...
Definition
Carthaginian Army
The armies of Carthage permitted the city to forge the most powerful empire in the western Mediterranean from the 6th to 3rd centuries BCE. Although by tradition a seafaring nation with a powerful navy, Carthage, by necessity, had to employ...