Sacred Band (1821)
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| Motto | ΕΚ ΤΗΣ ΚΟΝΕΩΣ ΜΟΥ ΑΝΑΓΕΝΝΩΜΑΙ (From my ashes I reborn) |
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| Formation | 1821 |
| Type | military force |
| Purpose | military |
| Location | |
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Key people
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Alexander Ypsilantis (founder) |
The Sacred Band (Greek: Ἱερὸς Λόχος) was a military force founded by Alexander Ypsilantis at the beginning of the Greek War of Independence, in the middle of March 1821 in Wallachia, now part of Romania. It was formed by volunteers students of the Greek communities of Moldavia, Wallachia and Odessa. It was the first organized military unit of the Greek War of Independence (1821) and of the Greek army in general. Ypsilantis thought that these young people could become the soul of his army. That was the reason that he borrowed the name of the Sacred Band of Thebes.
In Focșani, after the completion of the training of the Sacred Band’s members, oath taking ceremony was organized, according to the Tsarist etiquette. After the ceremony, Alexander Ypsilantis gave an enthusiastic speech and gave the flag of the Sacred Band to the commander of the Band, Georgios Kantakouzinos ( Athanasios Tsakalov, one of the founders of the Filiki Eteria was the second in command ). Thereafter the Sacred Band’s members conducted a military parade singing the military song "Asma Polemistirion" (Άσμα Πολεμιστήριον) that was written by Adamantios Korais 20 years ago for the “Brigade of skirmishers of the East” (“Ταξιαρχία των Ακροβολιστών της Ανατολής”) of Bonaparte that was fighting in Egypt and in which Greeks were participating. At the beginning there were 120 members of the Sacred Band and then it reached the number of the 400 members, while the organization of the force was completed in Târgoviște.
The men of the Sacred Band wore similar European type uniforms made by black wool felt. For that reason they were also called “melanophori” or “mavrophori”. The Sacred Band uniform consisted of a long tunic, spatter dash and tall headgear, that according to Konstantinos Rados' description the headgear was similar to that of the Hussars. The headgear had a white plume and a tricolor (red, white, cyan) national coat of arms. Under this (frontally) there was a skull with 2 crossed bones of white metal, which was meaning Freedom or Death. A Sacred Band’s member had a spearman rifle and a leather belt for the “palaska” (cartridge belt). The only known part of the Sacred Band’s member’s uniform is the one of Konstantinos Xenokratis (1803 – 1876), which is displayed in the National Historical Museum of Greece.
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Wikipedia