In ancient Greece, specifically Thebes, there was a military unit called the Sacred Band.  150 pairs of queers formed the unit and it was one of the most formidable hoplite units in Greece.

In fact, the Sacred Band defeated the Spartans, and guaranteed that Thebes would remain independent. Phillip of Macedon defeated them, but legend has it they stood and fought to the bitter end, with every one of the 300 men dying on the battlefield.

Hoplites looked something like this:



I suspect that Frank Herbert may have read Plato and Plutarch, because a variation of the Sacred Band was used in his book "God, Emperor of Dune."

Emperor Leto's army was composed entirely of women who would form relationships with one another rather than take out their sexual frustrations by pillaging and raping civilians (men are barbarians, doncha know).

I can see why Leto's army would be so formidable.  I imagine his typical soldier looked something like this:

Posted by: roggowj at 05:27 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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