![]() ![]() The fragmented political structure of Ancient Greece, with many competing city-states, increased the frequency of conflict, but at the same time limited the scale of warfare. Hoplites shown in two attack positions, with both an underhand and an overhand stance In the modern Hellenic Army, the word hoplite ( Greek: oπλίτης : oplítîs) is used to refer to an infantryman. ὁπλῖται hoplĩtai) derives from hoplon ( ὅπλον : hóplon plural hópla ὅπλα), referring to the hoplite's equipment. The word hoplite ( Greek: ὁπλίτης hoplítēs pl. The phalanx was also employed by the Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC and at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC during the Second Greco-Persian War. The Persian archers and light troops who fought in the Battle of Marathon failed because their bows were too weak for their arrows to penetrate the wall of Greek shields that comprised the phalanx formation. The formation proved successful in defeating the Persians when employed by the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC during the First Greco-Persian War. In the 8th or 7th century BC, Greek armies adopted the phalanx formation. Hoplite soldiers made up the bulk of ancient Greek armies. These existed at times in Athens, Argos, Thebes, and Syracuse, among other places. Some states maintained a small elite professional unit, known as the epilektoi ("chosen") since they were picked from the regular citizen infantry. Most hoplites were not professional soldiers and often lacked sufficient military training. The hoplites were primarily represented by free citizens – propertied farmers and artisans – who were able to afford a linen armour or a bronze armour suit and weapons (estimated at a third to a half of its able-bodied adult male population). ![]() The formation discouraged the soldiers from acting alone, for this would compromise the formation and minimize its strengths. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. They persisted during the middle ages as the buckler and the last use of a shield in battle by westerners was the Scottish Highlander targe which was a small round shield.Hoplites ( / ˈ h ɒ p l aɪ t s/ HOP-lytes ) ( Ancient Greek: ὁπλίτης : op-li-tēs) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Whatever the reason, the shield came full circle by the end of the western Roman Empire and round shields became the norm again. It also needs to be considered that finances played a role in ancient battles as much as today and attempts to keep costs down were undertaken so some societies only had a greave on the left leg as that was the leg most likely to be forward. Something else to consider is that a common method of fighting was the spear held over the head and used in a downward stabbing motion, the legs wouldn't be in much danger in mass combat. How that influenced the famous Greek shield we can only speculate.Įlongated or oval shields did become very common during the iron age and the Greeks themselves adopted a type they called the thyreos which they possibly copied from the Romans. The bronze age saw the dominance of geometric art which was squares, lozenges, zigzags and also concentric circles. Smaller flatter round shields do appear in other parts of Europe during the bronze age and it could be something as simple as you can trace the outline of a shield with a simple compass made of a scribe attached to a piece of string. It can't be answered with any certainty as it likely had a cultural reason, the same way the earlier figure of 8 shields used by the Mycenaeans might seem an odd choice. The gladius' short reach, combined with the necessity to get up close and personal to use the shield as a primary weapon, means a larger shield (curved to fit around the body, works better. The gladius is strictly a thrusting weapon, so restriction of arm movements is no longer of significance. The opponent is mauled by the shield, it's top edge and boss in particular used to wear an opponent down until his guard drops and the gladius can be slipped under his ribs. The greater reach of the spear also keeps the opponent at bay, so less defensive coverage is necessary.įor Roman Legionnaires of the classic period, the shield is actually the primary weapon, the gladius (short sword) secondary. Because of the many different ways in which a spear was used by a hoplite in offence, in and out of formation, a lighter round shield was more suitable by providing less interference with the spear use. For a hoplite, the spear is the primary weapon and the shield only a secondary weapon, being primarily defensive. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |