Boeotia was a region caught between the two dominant forces in Greek politics, Sparta and Athens. To counter this, the Boeotian League was formed between eleven of the city-states in the region, and based in Thebes, the largest of the cities, and found themselves allied with one or the other at different points between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. The two Boeotians on the left carry only helmets and shields, lacking any other armor. The Greeks in general were obsessed with the nude male form, but none more than the Boeotians, some of whom were reported to fight in the nude. The central power of the Boeotians were the Thebans, and it was they, led by Epaminondas, who finally brought an end to the hegemony that Sparta had enjoyed in the decades following the conclusion of the Peloponnesian War, breaking the Spartans at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE and marching on Sparta itself. The core of their force was the Sacred Band of Thebes, an elite unit of 300 men chosen from the best soldiers, and made up of 150 pairs of lovers. As with most male sexual relationships it was pederastic, with one older veteran - the erastai (lover) - and a younger man - the eromenos (beloved). The logic of the formation was that that there was nothing which would devote the men more to supporting each other in battle. Although homosexual behavior was common and accepted between soldiers in a number of the ancient Greek militaries, Thebes was one of the few to so integrate it into their military structure.