It was named after the Sacred Band of Thebes, and composed of young Greek volunteers who rallied to Ypsilantis' call for revolutionary struggle. It was the first organized military unit of the revolution, with troops bearing a common outfit and equipment, plus a fair level of military discipline. The volunteers were mostly students coming from the Greek populations of the Black Sea, and the first core of the battalion had 500 people (later reaching up to 2,000). G. Kantakouzinos was the first commander of the Sacred Band, with Athanasios Tsakalov (one of the founders of the Filiki Eteria) as the second in command.