The women of Thebes tried the same tactic, but it backfired. They wound up with the Sacred Band of Thebes, a warrior order made up of pairs of male lovers.
“And if there were only some way of contriving that a state or an army should be made up of lovers and their loves, they would be the very best governors of their own city, abstaining from all dishonour, and emulating one another in honour; and when fighting at each other’s side, although a mere handful, they would overcome the world. For what lover would not choose rather to be seen by all mankind than by his beloved, either when abandoning his post or throwing away his arms? He would be ready to die a thousand deaths rather than endure this. Or who would desert his beloved or fail him in the hour of danger?”
– Plato, Symposium
It worked for a while, anyway.
Fast-forward about 2400 years, and we can’t even get rid of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
The women of Thebes tried the same tactic, but it backfired. They wound up with the Sacred Band of Thebes, a warrior order made up of pairs of male lovers.
“And if there were only some way of contriving that a state or an army should be made up of lovers and their loves, they would be the very best governors of their own city, abstaining from all dishonour, and emulating one another in honour; and when fighting at each other’s side, although a mere handful, they would overcome the world. For what lover would not choose rather to be seen by all mankind than by his beloved, either when abandoning his post or throwing away his arms? He would be ready to die a thousand deaths rather than endure this. Or who would desert his beloved or fail him in the hour of danger?” – Plato, Symposium
It worked for a while, anyway.
Fast-forward about 2400 years, and we can’t even get rid of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”