Theban Sacred Band, were an elite hoplite unit of Thebes, and they were a picked force of 150 male couples (300 soldiers), forming the elite of the Theban army in the 4th century BCE. Their finest hour came at the Battle of Leuktra, under the Theban general Epaminondas. Sacred Band was on the front line of the left flank, leading a oversized phalanx which broke through and defeated the Spartan citizen units. The Spartan allies, with their overlords vanquished, lost the will to fight and fled the field. This victory was decisive, bringing Spartan hegemony to an end. The Sacred Band was finally all but wiped out by Phillip of Macedon's cavalry, commanded by his son Alexander, in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC.