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 others. 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. Showing weakness was not tolerated in way, shape or form.Hoplites ( / ˈ h ɒ p l aɪ t s/ HOP-lytes ) ( Ancient Greek: ὁπλίτης : hoplítēs) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Tradition tells us that the Spartans wore a red cloak so their enemy would never see them bleed. Due to their full time, professional army the Spartans provided each of their warriors with a red cloak ( 881001) that they wore into battle. It was said that the blade could be lengthened by taking a step closer to your enemy!įinally, most hoplites possessed a cloak of some sort to protect themselves from the elements while out campaigning. The Spartans had a specially designed blade that was similar to the common leaf shaped hoplite sword except the Spartan sword was barely over a foot long ( 401178). Also used were the falcata ( 500062) and the kopis ( 501207). Most commonly used was the two foot leaf shaped blade of iron or bronze ( 500734). Any way you look at it, you did not want to be a foe facing this relentless advance.Īs a secondary weapon, hoplites often carried a sword into battle. This two pronged attack was rarely countered successfully, because if you covered up your lower body you were skewered from above and if you covered the head you were skewered from below. The first rank would thrust from beneath the shield while the rank(s) behind would stab over it. The lines of the phalanx would stand shoulder to shoulder shields leading the way. Rarely thrown, the spear, between 7 and 9 feet long, was held onto providing great reach to the enemy. Their main weapon, not the sword as many books and movies would have you believe, was the spear ( 600074). Finally, a helmet ( 881002), usually a Corinthian style made of bronze, protected the head and completed the armor of a hoplite. A bronze breastplate, similar to our breastplate from The Eagle ( 888014), was worn as additional protection for the vital areas. Footwear was restricted to sandals ( 100958) and often times the feet of an enemy were sought after for a crippling blow. Bronze or leather greaves ( 881006, 200854) were worn to protect the lower legs as they were not covered by the shield. Legend says that a Spartan warrior was given his shield by his mother and instructed to “come back with it…or on it.” This meant come back in victory with your shield or dead and carried on it.Īs a shield covered a hoplite from the chin all the way to the knee, other armor was sparse. The shield was so important that the Spartans implemented a system where any Spartan warrior who lost his shield was severely punished and often killed. Because of this, the shield became a symbol of unity as each man both defended others and relied on others for defense. Worn on the left arm, it provided some protection for the owner while at the same time offering additional protection to the man to the left of the owner. Each shield was round and approximately 36” to 38” in diameter. This gave it incredible strength while at the same time not making it so heavy that it became unusable. The shield was made of overlapping planks of wood covered in leather, with the face of the shield covered completely in a thin sheet of bronze. A hoplite’s most important piece of equipment, and what gave the hoplite its name, is the hoplon, the shield ( 881004).
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