In the reckoning of Sanctus George Cecil Ives, today would be the first day of the year 2340, since he counted years from the Battle of Chaeronea, which fell on this day in 338 BCE. You can read a bit more about this occasion here. The army of Alexander the Great and Philip II of Macedon (for he was still alive then) vanquished the one-hundred-fifty members of the Sacred Band of Thebes in this last battle before Greece was under the hegemony of the Macedonians. They were much lamented by Alexander himself, and have never really been forgotten. And, all those years later, George Cecil Ives’ Order of Chaeronea (the specifically spiritual effort within “the Movement” for full equality for queer people that he and many others took part in during the late 19th century) was founded specifically in their honor and memory, hence his dating schema mentioned earlier.
It seems that this particular story is becoming very popular for books (particularly in the gay historical fiction category), as well as some performances, and even a proposed film…one would hope that it is better than the film about a similar number of Spartans that was put out a few years ago…
It is somewhat opportune that their date of commemoration falls the day before the Lion Hunt, because to recall their story is to recall what is, in essence, a colossal failure. It is intriguing to think of how many epic heroes and tales which are also failures become major legends in their own right…
So, remember them today–not only the original one-hundred-fifty pairs of lovers, but also their latter-day Order of Chaeronea counterparts, whose names we are equally uncertain of…
Ignis Corporis Infirmat; Ignis sed Animae Perstat!
