In Ancient Sparta there were very few cavalry, since the inhabitants considered this branch of the army insignificant. The main force was the infantry (hoplites). Their weapons consisted of a heavy shield, a sword and a long spear.
Greek hoplites: who is it?
It is no secret that the history of the Ancient World almost entirely consists of armed conflicts and brutal wars. Each state sought to have its own combat-ready armies, and Greece was no exception. The bulk of its troops were hoplites - heavily armed foot soldiers. They first appeared in the army of Ancient Sparta. The Greek hoplites, in fact, were citizen soldiers and served for the good of the city-state in which they lived.
In those days, military service was the duty of every man. Therefore, any of the gatherings of citizens inevitably turned into a gathering of either veterans who had already served theirs or soldiers who were still in the service at this time. It turns out that every citizen of a free policy sooner or later became a hoplite.
It must be said that these heavily armed foot soldiers, starting from the 7th century and over the next four centuries, dominated the battlefields. It is known that before the father of Alexander the Great, Tsar Philip II, hoplites were the basis of the classical phalanx.
In ancient Greece, infantry was divided into several tactical units. Higher were pestilence, then suckers, who, in turn, were divided into smaller units. The chiefs who commanded the morae were called polemarchs, and the suckers were called suckers.
Armament
Greek hoplites always carried with them Argiv shields, or hoplons. They had a round shape and weighed more than 8 kg. An interesting fact is that when fleeing, warriors first threw their shields because of their exorbitant severity, so the loss of a hoplon was considered shameful for any hoplite. They were used not only to cover the body during the battle, but also as a stretcher on which wounded or dead comrades were placed.
Historians often associate the origin of the famous expression “with or on a shield” with this particular Greek equipment. Most often, the hoplone consisted of a wooden base, which was covered on the outside with an iron or bronze sheet, and on the inside it was covered with leather. It had convenient handles on which the warrior's hand was threaded. The main weapon of the hoplites was the ksiphos - short straight or mahirs - crooked swords with a reverse bend. In addition, they were also supposed to wear xistons - three-meter throwing spears.
Weapon production
Initially, the state did not care about providing its warriors with weapons, and even adopted a law according to which each Greek hoplite (5th century BC) was obliged to equip at its own expense, although full uniforms were expensive (about 30 drams). This amount was comparable to the monthly income of the artisan. Usually such an expensive weapon was inherited.
By the way, its production in Ancient Greece flourished mainly in policies, and in small settlements it was imported from other places. During the time of Pericles, a rather large workshop worked in Athens, where they were engaged in the manufacture of shields. Perhaps this was the largest production in ancient Greece. About 120 slaves and a fairly large number of free citizens worked on it.
Greek hoplite armor
Initially, warriors wore Illyrian helmets, or pins, on their heads. They were made of bronze and decorated with a horsehair comb. They were in use from the VII to VI century. BC e., until they were replaced by Corinthian. The new helmets were completely closed and had openings only for the mouth and eyes. Outside of battle, they were usually moved to the back of the head. Later Chalkidic helmets appeared, which also left their ears open. In the second century BC e. the Thracian ones were considered the most popular - with a relatively small crest, supplemented by curly cheeks and a visor.
The front and back of the warrior's torso were protected by an anatomical cuirass - hippothorax. Most often, she weighed about 1 talent (about 34 kg), but some soldiers had armor and were twice as heavy. Over time, hippothorax was gradually replaced by an easier option - flaxseed carapace, called linothorax.
Other parts of the body were protected. So, the Greek hoplites were equipped with greaves - knimids, as well as bracers, which were used until the very middle of the 5th century. BC e. The proof of this fact is the numerous archaeological finds discovered by scientists on the Peloponessian Peninsula. On many amphoras and other household items, images quite often met where the Greek hoplite (a photo of a fragment of such a vessel is presented below) is fighting with weapons in its hands against another enemy.
Army Conversion
In the VII – V century. BC e. a reform was carried out to increase the weight of the hoplite armor. Most likely, such measures were taken with the aim of preserving the life of soldiers, since the Spartan army at that time consisted of only 8 pestilence, which is a little more than 4 thousand soldiers.
However, starting from the middle of the fifth century. BC e. the equipment of the Greek soldiers began to lighten: linen shells began to displace the anatomical cuirasses. The bracers almost completely disappeared. The reason for this was a change in the formation of troops. It became denser and deeper, and the number of soldiers in units doubled. Only the number of Spartan formations remained unchanged - 144 soldiers in each. Because of changes in the construction, chopping blows were made less and less, so the hands of the soldiers were not in danger of being cut off. Now, piercing weapons were increasingly used , so the spears extended from 3 to 6 meters. So the Greek hoplites began to turn into sarissophores - foot soldiers who formed the basis of the phalanges.
Traditions
Usually the Spartans went on a campaign on the full moon, and before that their ruler always made a sacrifice so that they would be lucky. Before the army they always carried fire taken from Sparta, which was necessary for lighting bonfires now for camp sacrifices. In addition, they took with them the image of the embraced Dioscuri. They personified the fraternal union of comrades in arms and were ideals for the Spartan warriors.
The Greek army camp almost always had the shape of a circle and was well guarded by the helots. I must say that during the campaigns the Spartans dressed very elegantly. Instead of a usual cloak of coarse cloth, they wore purple robes, and instead of a parka, polished weapons to shine. Entering the battle, the soldiers put on wreaths, as if gathering for some kind of holiday.
Army structure
The troops served not only Greek hoplites. Who are the peltasts and slingers who helped the Spartans in the battle, you will learn further. Since the Greeks considered the cavalry completely useless, horses were often used only to transport wealthy warriors to the battlefield. Therefore, in those days, in addition to heavy infantry (hoplites), there was also a light one, consisting of the poorest citizens and slaves. The latter, despite their involuntary existence, were fairly reliable people devoted to their masters.
Each hoplite always had its own slave, which helped him put on equipment. In battle, slaves were slingers who carried with them cloth bags with a dozen clay or stone cores up to 40 cm in diameter. They also had a special belt loop equipped with a thickening. It was a sling. She expertly spun over her head, and then released. The nucleus flew out and overtook the enemy with great speed, inflicting serious wounds on open parts of the body.
Throwers
Peltas were called light infantrymen armed with darts. They were recruited from among the poorest citizens who were called up for service, who did not have the opportunity to acquire weapons and armor of the hoplite. It happened that some of them acquired such uniforms at the expense of the city.
The Peltasts threw their weapons at a distance of about 15 m. They did not need a large supply of darts, since they managed to use only a few in the short time before the enemy came close. I must say that the dart as a weapon was much more dangerous than the arrow, because, getting into the enemy’s shield, stuck in it, making it difficult to carry out any protective manipulations.
Physical training and education
As you know, the Greek hoplites are militias who could hardly keep their ranks while moving, and there was no question of hand-to-hand fighting skills. Of course, it can be assumed that free citizens were engaged in some kind of physical exercise, but to work constantly to improve their bodies, especially after reaching a more mature age, and even to the peasants, was neither an opportunity nor strength.
Another thing the Spartans. From childhood, each of them was taught the art of war. They knew how to fight properly, and rightly were proud of it. The Spartan hoplites not only knew how to impeccably hold the order, which they were helped by flutists, but also competently fought hand-to-hand combat. They were almost the best warriors of the ancient world.
300 Spartans
It is safe to say that it was the Greek hoplite that played the main role in protecting their cities from enemy troops. 480 BC e. - this is the time when the huge army of King Persia Xerxes crossed the strait and invaded someone else's territory. Greece was forced to defend itself. Her allied army consisted of detachments of hoplites sent from eleven cities, including Sparta. To prevent further advancing of the enemy inland, the Greeks tried to block the narrow Thermopilsky passage. For two days they managed to beat off the superior strength of the Persians, but the betrayal of one of the local residents, who had led enemy detachments bypassing the defenders, did not give a single chance of victory. The entire Greek army retreated, except for three hundred Spartans and two more detachments - Thebans and Thespians, who, however, surrendered in speed to the mercy of the enemy.
The Spartans knew that they could not win the battle, but the law and honor did not allow them to retreat. Here, in Thermopylae, they defended their land - Opunta Lokrida and Boeotia, through which the Persian army was supposed to go. The courageous hoplites did not retreat and died, taking an unequal battle.
Time inexorably runs forward, but history nevertheless has preserved irrefutable evidence of the existence of the free city of Sparta and its brave warriors who defended their land from enemies. Many people still admire their heroism, and eminent directors make films about them. In addition, in almost any store where there is a souvenir department, there is sure to be at least one rather realistic figure of the Greek hoplite in an unusually beautiful outfit.