Army of Lovers documentary directed by Lefteris Charitos tells the untold epic saga of the Sacred Band, an elite force of 150 pairs of male lovers who became the most formidable warriors of the ancient world. As a team of international archaeologists and historians is re-examining the newly uncovered evidence and gaining unprecedented insight into the story of the Sacred Band, their findings challenge us to rethink our understanding of Ancient Greece and our perceptions of heroism, gender and love across time.

The film premieres on June 12 at Cotsen Hall. The screening is organized by CineDoc, co-organized by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and supported by the Museum of Cycladic Art.

The film will be screened with English subtitles. A Q&A will follow after the screening with director Lefteris Charitos and archaeologists Panagiotis Iossif and Maria Liston, followed by a wine reception.

Free entry on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors open at 18.00 and the screening starts at 19.00.

About the film:

The Sacred Band was formed by the city of Thebes in 379 BCE to end Spartan domination. Fighting for four decades undefeated, it was annihilated by the forces of Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander in the Battle of Chaeronea. Buried on the battlefield where they fell, the 300 were forgotten by history, until pioneer archaeologist Panayotis Stamatakis discovered the mass grave in 1880.

Stamatakis never published his findings, and the grave was covered up, leading some historians to claim that the Sacred Band never existed. It was only in 2019 that a missing skeleton was found in the basement of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, as well as the excavation logs with detailed drawings of the mass grave: they depicted an army of 300 men likely lying in pairs, their arms linked together.

A team of international archaeologists and historians re-examines the newly uncovered evidence, gaining unprecedented insight into the story of the Sacred Band. Their findings challenge us to rethink our understanding of Ancient Greece and our perceptions of heroism, gender and love across time.

Directed by Lefteris Charitos, Army of Lovers uses forensic archaeological research, unique archive, ancient artworks and animations to tell the story of the rise and fall of the Sacred Band and reveal the enduring relevance of antiquity in contemporary culture. The film’s central characters include archaeologist and skeletal biologist Maria Liston (University of Waterloo, Canada), historian James Romm (Bard College, USA) and contributors John Ma (Univ. of Columbia), Paul Cartledge (Univ. of Cambridge), Reine-Marie Berard (French National Centre for Scientific Research), Peter Krentz (Davidson College), Thierry Lucas (Collège De Marly), Jennifer Ingleheart (Durham University) and Panagiotis Iossif (Museum of Cycladic Art).

Credits:

Director: Lefteris Charitos
Writers:  Rea Apostolides, Yuri Averof, Ρέα Αποστολίδη, Danielle Proskar
Narration: Jean-Marc Barr
Animations: Effie Pappa, Pan Pan, Benjamin Swiczinsky
Cinematography: Carlos Muñoz Gómez-Quinter, Harald Staudach, Alexandros Stigas
Editing: Yuri Averof
Music composer: Christof Unterberger
Consulting Producer: James Romm
Producers: Rea Apostolides, Yuri Averof, Heinrich Mayer-Moroni

The film is produced by Anemon (Greece) and Epo-Film (Austria) and is a co-production with ERT, ZDF / ARTE and ORF in association with SBS, Hearst Networks, History Italy, TV5 Québec and with the support of the Hellenic Film & Audiovisual Centre – Creative Greece (Tax Rebate and NextGenerationEU programme), Fernsehfonds Austria and Creative Europe. It is distributed by ZED.