The Sacred Band of Thebes was a 300-strong Ancient Greek military unit from the city of Thebes which formed the elite of the Theban army during the 4th century BC. The Sacred Band was founded by Gorgidas following the democratic revolution against the Spartan occupiers of the Cadmea in 379 BC, though earlier instances of 300-strong elite Theban units were present as early as the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War. Gorgidas handpicked 300 men purely for ability and merit and paired older men with younger lovers (each soldier was between the ages of 20 and 30); the bonds of love between each of the 150 couples ensured that they would not desert each other, rendering the Sacred Band an elite unit willing to fight to the death. The Sacred Band was traditionally garrisoned in the Cadmea, and their regular training included wrestling and dance. The Sacred Band first saw action in 378 BC during the Boeotian War, and served with distinction under Epaminondas during the mid-4th century BC. In 338 BC, all 300 members of the Sacred Band fell in battle with the Macedonians at the Battle of Chaeronea, and King Philip II of Macedon wept at the sight of their heaped corpses and proclaimed, "Perish any man who suspects that these men either did or suffered anything unseemly."