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100-464: Thrasyllus was only a hoplite (heavy infantryman) in the ranks in 410 BC, when Athenian oligarchic revolutionaries conspired with their counterparts at Samos in a coup at both locations, but was one of four Athenians (the others were Thrasybulus , Leon, and Diomedon) who the Samian democrats trusted for protection from the plot. These leaders were able to thwart the coup at Samos, but the coup at Athens

200-436: A doru , or dory . It was held with the right hand, with the left hand holding the hoplite's shield. Soldiers usually held their spears in an underhand position when approaching but once they came into close contact with their opponents, they were held in an overhand position ready to strike. The spearhead was usually a curved leaf shape, while the rear of the spear had a spike called a sauroter ("lizard-killer") which

300-494: A Persian army in battle, but could not take the city. The newly united Athenian army did, however, succeed in retaking Chalcedon , Byzantium, and other cities in the Hellespont in the summer of 408 BC; Thrasyllus commanded detachments in several operations during this period. He then returned, along with most of the fleet and its commanders, to Athens, where Alcibiades , fresh from these victories, made his triumphal return to

400-413: A bear made a furious rush at him, and without wincing he grappled with her, and was pulled from his horse, receiving wounds the scars of which were visible through life; but in the end he slew the creature, nor did he forget him who first came to his aid, but made him enviable in the eyes of many. In 408 BC, after the victories of Alcibiades leading to an Athenian resurgence, Darius II decided to continue

500-400: A command would be given to the phalanx or a part thereof to collectively take a certain number of steps forward (ranging from half to multiple steps). This was the famed othismos . At this point, the phalanx would put its collective weight to push back the enemy line and thus create fear and panic among its ranks. There could be multiple such instances of attempts to push, but it seems from

600-647: A development of the hoplite, the Macedonian phalanx was tactically more versatile, especially used in the combined arms tactics favoured by the Macedonians . These forces defeated the last major hoplite army, at the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC), after which Athens and its allies joined the Macedonian empire. While Alexander's army mainly fielded Pezhetairoi (= Foot Companions) as his main force, his army also included some classic hoplites, either provided by

700-434: A few years earlier. The king had only been warned at the last moment by Tissaphernes and gathered an army in haste; Cyrus advanced into Babylonia before he met with an enemy. In October 401 BC, the battle of Cunaxa ensued. Cyrus had 10,400 Greek hoplites (citizen-soldiers), 2,500 peltasts (light infantry), and an Asiatic army of approximately 10,000 under the command of Ariaeus . According to Xenophon, Cyrus saw that

800-487: A forward-curving blade. The scabbard of the sword was called koleos (κολεός). Dark Age warfare transitioned into hoplite warfare in the 8th century BC. Historians and researchers have debated the reason and speed of the transition for centuries. So far, 3 popular theories exist: Developed by Anthony Snodgrass , the Gradualist Theory states that the hoplite style of battle developed in a series of steps as

900-461: A great number of Athenians—estimates as to the precise figure have ranged from near 1,000 to as many as 5,000—drowned. Soon after the news of this public tragedy reached Athens, a massive controversy erupted over the apportionment of blame for the botched rescue. The public was furious that the dead from the battle had not been recovered for burial (in the religious atmosphere of ancient Greece, this failing may have been almost as serious as abandoning

1000-444: A headstrong and vehement character; Artaxerxes, on the other side, was gentler in everything, and of a nature more yielding and soft in its action." Xenophon spoke more highly of Cyrus' excellence as a child: In this courtly training Cyrus earned a double reputation; first he was held to be a paragon of modesty among his fellows, rendering an obedience to his elders which exceeded that of many of his own inferiors; and next he bore away

1100-399: A large concave shield called an aspis (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a hoplon ), measuring between 80 and 100 centimetres (31 and 39 inches) in diameter and weighing between 6.5 and 8 kg (14 and 18 lb). This large shield was made possible partly by its shape, which allowed it to be supported on the shoulder. The shield was assembled in three layers: the center layer

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1200-482: A phalanx was only as strong as its weakest elements. Its effectiveness depended on how well the hoplites could maintain this formation in combat, and how well they could stand their ground, especially when engaged against another phalanx. The more disciplined and courageous the army, the more likely it was to win. Often engagements between various city-states of Greece would be resolved by one side fleeing after their phalanx had broken formation. As important as unity among

1300-407: A result of innovations in armour and weaponry. Chronologically dating the archeological findings of hoplite armour and using the findings to approximate the development of the phalanx formation, Snodgrass claims that the transition took approximately 100 years to complete from 750 to 650 BC. The progression of the phalanx took time because as the phalanx matured it required denser formations that made

1400-494: A shield for the sake of the whole line". The phalanx is an example of a military formation in which single combat and other individualistic forms of battle were suppressed for the good of the whole. In earlier Homeric , Dark Age combat, the words and deeds of supremely powerful heroes turned the tide of battle. Instead of having individual heroes, hoplite warfare relied heavily on the community and unity of soldiers. With friends and family pushing on either side and enemies forming

1500-481: A short sword. The Athenian general Iphicrates developed a new type of armour and arms for his mercenary army, which included light linen armour, smaller shields and longer spears, whilst arming his Peltasts with larger shields, helmets and a longer spear, thus enabling them to defend themselves more easily against hoplites. With this new type of army he defeated a Spartan army in 392 BC. The arms and armour described above were most common for hoplites. Hoplites carried

1600-448: A solid wall of shields in front, the hoplite had little opportunity for feats of technique and weapon skill, but great need for commitment and mental toughness. By forming a human wall to provide a powerful defensive armour, the hoplites became much more effective while suffering fewer casualties. The hoplites had a lot of discipline and were taught to be loyal and trustworthy . They had to trust their neighbours for mutual protection, so

1700-555: A solution to the armed clashes between independent city-states. As Greek civilization found itself confronted by the world at large, particularly the Persians , the emphasis in warfare shifted. Confronted by huge numbers of enemy troops, individual city-states could not realistically fight alone. During the Greco-Persian Wars (499–448 BC), alliances between groups of cities (whose composition varied over time) fought against

1800-480: A strong arm." According to Xenophon, his efforts to reward uprightness earned Cyrus the loyalty and love of many followers: Many were the gifts bestowed on him, for many and diverse reasons; no one man, perhaps, ever received more; no one, certainly, was ever more ready to bestow them upon others, with an eye ever to the taste of each, so as to gratify what he saw to be the individual requirement. Many of these presents were sent to him to serve as personal adornments of

1900-773: A treaty made with Cyrus was a guarantee sufficient to the combatant that he would suffer nothing contrary to its terms. Therefore, in the war with Tissaphernes, all the states of their own accord chose Cyrus in lieu of Tissaphernes, except only the men of Miletus, and these were only alienated through fear of him, because he refused to abandon their exiled citizens; and his deeds and words bore emphatic witness to his principle: even if they were weakened in number or in fortune, he would never abandon those who had once become his friends. He made no secret of his endeavour to outdo his friends and his foes alike in reciprocity of conduct. The prayer has been attributed to him, "God grant I may live along enough to recompense my friends and requite my foes with

2000-437: A vein behind his knee with a dart, making him fall and strike his head on a stone, whereupon he died. Unwisely, Mithridates boasted of killing Cyrus in the court, and Parysatis had him executed by scaphism . She likewise got vengeance on Masabates, the king's eunuch, who had cut off Cyrus' hand and head, by winning him from her son Artaxerxes in a game of dice and having him flayed alive. The Persian troops, instead of attacking

2100-528: A wing of the fleet in this battle and the later Athenian victory at Abydos , but then left on other detachments; after his departure Thrasybulus, Theramenes , and Alcibiades destroyed Mindarus and his fleet at Cyzicus . Later in 410 BC, Thrasyllus returned home to Athens to raise more troops for further campaigning in the Aegean and elsewhere. While he was there, the Spartan king Agis led his army toward

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2200-562: Is just one example of an ancient historian giving credit to a few individual soldiers and the individuality of phalanx warfare. Each hoplite provided his own equipment. Thus, only those who could afford such weaponry fought as hoplites. As with the Roman Republican army it was the middle classes who formed the bulk of the infantry. Equipment was not standardized, although there were doubtless trends in general designs over time, and between city-states. Hoplites had customized armour ,

2300-611: Is known to have served as supreme commander. The Athenian fleet, bolstered by 55 ships from allied cities, met a Spartan fleet of 120 ships under Callicratidas at the Arginusae islands, just south of Lesbos. In the resulting battle, the Athenians divided their fleet into 8 autonomous divisions, with Thrasyllus commanding the forward right wing; by limiting the opportunities for the Spartan crews to exercise their superior seamanship,

2400-822: The First 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 of the phalanx formation. 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 word hoplite ( Greek : ὁπλίτης hoplítēs ; pl. ὁπλῖται hoplĩtai ) derives from hoplon ( ὅπλον  : hóplon ; plural hópla ὅπλα ), referring to

2500-486: The Hellespont with the Spartan fleet in what historian Donald Kagan considers to be an error in strategic judgement. Thrasyllus pursued Mindarus with his fleet, and combined with other Athenian detachments at Sestos . From there, the Athenians (with Thrasybulus now in overall command) sailed into the Hellespont and defeated Mindarus's fleet at Cynossema , putting an end to the immediate crisis. Thrasyllus commanded

2600-681: The Italian Peninsula until the early 3rd century BC, employed by both the Etruscans and the Early Roman army , though scutum infantry had existed for centuries and some groups fielded both. The Romans later standardized their fighting style to a more flexible maniple organization, which was more versatile on rough terrain like that of the Apennines . Roman equipment also changed, trading spears for heavy javelins ( pilum ). In

2700-590: The League of Corinth or from hired mercenaries. Beside these units, the Macedonians also used the so-called Hypaspists , an elite force of units possibly originally fighting as hoplites and used to guard the exposed right wing of Alexander's phalanx. Hoplite-style warfare was influential, and influenced several other nations in the Mediterranean. Hoplite warfare was the dominant fighting style on much of

2800-787: The Machimoi of the Ptolemaic army . The Greek armies of the Hellenistic period mostly fielded troops in the fashion of the Macedonian phalanx. Many armies of mainland Greece retained hoplite warfare. Besides classical hoplites Hellenistic nations began to field two new types of hoplites, the Thureophoroi and the Thorakitai . They developed when Greeks adopted the Galatian Thureos shield, of an oval shape that

2900-796: The Sacred Band of Carthage . Many Greek hoplite mercenaries fought in foreign armies, such as Carthage and Achaemenid Empire , where it is believed by some that they inspired the formation of the Cardaces . Some hoplites served under the Illyrian king Bardylis in the 4th century. The Illyrians were known to import many weapons and tactics from the Greeks. The Diadochi imported the Greek phalanx to their kingdoms. Though they mostly fielded Greek citizens or mercenaries, they also armed and drilled local natives as hoplites or rather Macedonian phalanx, like

3000-580: The Theban general Epaminondas . These tactics inspired the future king Philip II of Macedon , who was at the time a hostage in Thebes, to develop a new type of infantry, the Macedonian phalanx . After the Macedonian conquests of the 4th century BC, the hoplite was slowly abandoned in favour of the phalangite , armed in the Macedonian fashion, in the armies of the southern Greek states. Although clearly

3100-467: The phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The formation discouraged the soldiers from acting alone, for this would compromise the formation and minimize its strengths. The hoplites were primarily represented by free citizens – propertied farmers and artisans – who were able to afford a linen or bronze armour suit and weapons (estimated at a third to a half of its able-bodied adult male population). They also appear in

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3200-485: The Athenians were able to wear their enemies down, and the day ended in a decisive Athenian victory. The remnants of the Peloponnesian fleet fled southward, leaving some 70 ships behind, and the blockading force at Mytilene, upon hearing of the result, also fled. In the wake of this remarkable victory, the eight generals met and decided that all of their number, with the larger part of the fleet, would sail against

3300-639: The Greco-Persian Wars inspired the Persians to introduce scythed chariots . Sparta is one of the most famous city-states, along with Athens, which had a unique position in ancient Greece. Contrary to other city states, the free citizens of Sparta served as hoplites their entire lives, training and exercising in peacetime, which gave Sparta a professional standing army. Often small, numbering around 6000 at its peak to no more than 1000 soldiers at lowest point, divided into six mora or battalions ,

3400-693: The Greeks via a direct assault, decoyed them into the interior, beyond the Tigris , and then attacked through trickery. After their commanders had been taken prisoners, the Greeks managed to force their way to the Black Sea . Xenophon wrote that all who knew Cyrus well considered him the most worthy of being king of all those born since Cyrus the Great and describes him with great praise: After he had been sent down by his father to be satrap of Lydia and Great Phrygia and Cappadocia, and had been appointed general of

3500-490: The Ionian countryside, but was defeated outside Ephesus by a combined Ephesian, Persian , and Syracusan force, and withdrew his troops first to Notium and then later to Lampsacus , where they joined the larger Athenian force operating in the Hellespont. Kagan has again criticized Thrasyllus' capabilities as a general in this campaign, arguing that Thrasyllus wasted time plundering when more decisive action could have led to

3600-489: The Persian throne. The history of Cyrus and of the retreat of his Greek mercenaries is told by Xenophon in his Anabasis . Another account, probably from Sophaenetus of Stymphalus , was used by Ephorus . Further information is contained in the excerpts from Artaxerxes II's physician, Ctesias , by Photius ; Plutarch ’s Lives of Artaxerxes II and Lysander ; and Thucydides ' History of Peloponnesian War . These are

3700-531: The Persians. This drastically altered the scale of warfare and the numbers of troops involved. The hoplite phalanx proved itself far superior to the Persian infantry at such conflicts as the Battle of Marathon , Thermopylae , and the Battle of Plataea . During this period, Athens and Sparta rose to a position of political eminence in Greece, and their rivalry in the aftermath of the Persian wars brought Greece into renewed internal conflict. The Peloponnesian War

3800-419: The Spartan army was feared for its discipline and ferocity. Military service was the primary duty of Spartan men, and Spartan society was organized around its army. Military service for hoplites lasted until the age of 40, and sometimes until 60 years of age, depending on a man's physical ability to perform on the battlefield. Later in the hoplite era, more sophisticated tactics were developed, in particular by

3900-472: The Spartans specifically chose a narrow coastal pass to make their stand against the massive Persian army. The vastly outnumbered Greeks held off the Persians for seven days. When battles occurred, they were usually set piece and intended to be decisive. The battlefield would be flat and open to facilitate phalanx warfare. These battles were usually short and required a high degree of discipline. At least in

4000-449: The accounts of the ancients that these were perfectly orchestrated and attempted organized en masse . Once one of the lines broke, the troops would generally flee from the field, sometimes chased by psiloi , peltasts , or light cavalry. If a hoplite escaped, he would sometimes be forced to drop his cumbersome aspis , thereby disgracing himself to his friends and family (becoming a ripsaspis , one who threw his shield). To lessen

4100-518: The aid of the Persian prince. Thus, Cyrus put all his means at the disposal of Lysander in the Peloponnesian War . When Cyrus was recalled to Susa by his father Darius , he gave Lysander the revenues from all of his cities of Asia Minor. Around that time, Darius fell ill and called his son to his deathbed; Cyrus handed money over to Lysander and went to Susa . Plutarch wrote that Cyrus's mother, Parysatis, favored him and wanted him on

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4200-641: The assembly the next day, the assembly, following the lead of the aggressive Callixenus , tried the generals en masse and condemned them all to die. Although the Athenians soon came to regret their rash decision, it was too late for Thrasyllus and his comrades; all six were dead before the assembly had a chance to reconsider. Hoplite Hoplites ( / ˈ h ɒ p l aɪ t s / HOP -lytes ) ( Ancient Greek : ὁπλῖται , romanized :  hoplîtai [hoplîːtai̯] ) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields . Hoplite soldiers used

4300-409: The blockading force at Mytilene, while the trierarchs Thrasybulus and Theramenes remained with 47 ships to rescue the survivors of disabled Athenian ships. Shortly after the main force had departed, however, a severe storm blew up, and the detachment assigned to rescue duty was unable to carry out its responsibility. The result, for the sailors clinging to disabled and sinking ships, was a disaster;

4400-547: The body or for battle; and as touching these he would say, "How am I to deck myself out in all these? To my mind a man's chief ornament is the adornment of nobly-adorned friends." Indeed, that he should triumph over his friends in the great matters of welldoing is not surprising, seeing that he was much more powerful than they, but that he should go beyond them in minute attentions, and in an eager desire to give pleasure, seems to me, I must confess, more admirable. Frequently when he had tasted some specially excellent wine, he would send

4500-402: The campaign season being restricted to one summer. Armies generally marched directly to their destination, and in some cases the battlefield was agreed to by the contestants in advance. Battles were fought on level ground, and hoplites preferred to fight with high terrain on both sides of the phalanx so the formation could not be flanked. An example of this was the Battle of Thermopylae , where

4600-436: The campaign. All hoplites were expected to take part in any military campaign when called for duty by leaders of the state. The Lacedaemonian citizens of Sparta were renowned for their lifelong combat training and almost mythical military prowess, while their greatest adversaries, the Athenians, were exempted from service only after the age of 60. This inevitably reduced the potential duration of campaigns and often resulted in

4700-579: The city found itself facing a desperate situation. To challenge the superior Peloponnesian fleet, the Athenians had only 40 ready triremes, and most of the experienced crews were at sea with Conon. To rebuild their fleet, the Athenians were forced to melt down golden religious statues from the acropolis, and the 110 ships the city possessed after this construction were crewed by a mix of less-experienced rowers, farmers, wealthy cavalrymen, and emancipated slaves. All eight generals who remained at Athens, Thrasyllus among them, sailed out with this scratch fleet; none

4800-513: The city that had exiled him. Thrasyllus did not hold a generalship in 407-6 BC, but was swept back into office in the following year, when Alcibiades and his political associates fell from power after the Athenian defeat at Notium . Thrasyllus remained home during the early part of his generalship, while Conon , another general, went out to Samos to take command of the fleet. He experienced some initial success in raiding enemy-held territory, but

4900-403: The early classical period, when cavalry was present, its role was restricted to protection of the flanks of the phalanx, pursuit of a defeated enemy, and covering a retreat if required. Light infantry and missile troops took part in the battles but their role was less important. Before the opposing phalanxes engaged, the light troops would skirmish with the enemy's light forces, and then protect

5000-524: The eldest son Arsicas was proclaimed king, his name being changed into Artaxerxes; and Cyrus remained satrap of Lydia, and commander in the maritime provinces." Soon after Darius died, around the time of Artaxerxes II's accession in 404 BC, Tissaphernes (Ciθrafarna) denounced Cyrus' plan to assassinate his brother, and Cyrus was captured, but by the intercession of Parysatis, Cyrus was pardoned and sent back to his satrapy. According to Plutarch, "his resentment for [his arrest] made him more eagerly desirous of

5100-418: The elite warriors recruit Greek citizens. The large amounts of hoplite armour needed to then be distributed to the populations of Greek citizens only increased the time for the phalanx to be implemented. Snodgrass believes, only once the armour was in place that the phalanx formation became popular. The Rapid Adaptation model was developed by historians Paul Cartledge and Victor Hanson . They believed that

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5200-475: The end only the triarii would keep a long spear ( hasta ) as their main weapon. The triarii would still fight in a traditional phalanx formation. Though this combination or similar was popular in much of Italy, some continued to fight as hoplites. Mercenaries serving under Pyrrhus of Epirus or Hannibal (namely Lucanians) were equipped and fought as hoplites. Early in its history, Ancient Carthage also equipped its troops as Greek hoplites, in units such as

5300-486: The extreme right of the phalanx were only half-protected. In battle, opposing phalanxes would exploit this weakness by attempting to overlap the enemy's right flank. It also meant that, in battle, a phalanx would tend to drift to the right (as hoplites sought to remain behind the shield of their neighbour). The most experienced hoplites were often placed on the right side of the phalanx, to counteract these problems. According to Plutarch's Sayings of Spartans , "a man carried

5400-447: The first lines ( protostates ) would stab at their opponents, at the same time trying to keep in position. The ranks behind them would support them with their own spears and the mass of their shields gently pushing them, not to force them into the enemy formation but to keep them steady and in place. The soldiers in the back provided motivation to the ranks in the front being that most hoplites were close community members. At certain points,

5500-460: The flanks and rear of the phalanx. The military structure created by the Spartans was a rectangular phalanx formation. The formation was organized from eight to ten rows deep and could cover a front of a quarter of a mile or more if sufficient hoplites were available. The two lines would close to a short distance to allow effective use of their spears, while the psiloi threw stones and javelins from behind their lines. The shields would clash and

5600-481: The forces, whose business it is to muster in the plain of the Castolus , nothing was more noticeable in his conduct than the importance which he attached to the faithful fulfillment of every treaty or compact or undertaking entered into with others. He would tell no lies to any one. Thus doubtless it was that he won the confidence alike of individuals and of the communities entrusted to his care; or in case of hostility,

5700-474: The foundation of the phalanx formation was birthed during this time. Specifically, he uses an example of the Chigi Vase to point out that hoplite soldiers were carrying normal spears as well as javelins on their backs. Matured hoplites did not carry long-range weapons including javelins. The Chigi vase is important for our knowledge of the hoplite soldier because it is one if not the only representation of

5800-455: The gaps. Cyrus the younger Cyrus the Younger ( Old Persian : 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 Kūruš ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Κῦρος Kyros ; died 401 BC) was an Achaemenid prince and general. He ruled as satrap of Lydia and Ionia from 408 to 401 BC. Son of Darius II and Parysatis , he died in 401 BC in battle during a failed attempt to oust his elder brother, Artaxerxes II , from

5900-482: The generals were deposed from their offices and recalled to Athens. Two fled, but Thrasyllus and five others returned to the city. Their defense initially met with a sympathetic response, but the festival of the Apaturia , on which families were supposed to meet for celebrations, provided an opportunity for their political enemies to remind the populace of the loss it had suffered. In a vicious and emotional meeting of

6000-464: The half remaining flagon to some friend with a message to say: "Cyrus says, this is the best wine he has tasted for a long time, that is his excuse for sending it to you. He hopes you will drink it up to-day with a choice party of friends." Or, perhaps, he would send the remainder of a dish of geese, half loaves of bread, and so forth, the bearer being instructed to say: "This is Cyrus's favourite dish, he hopes you will taste it yourself." Or, perhaps, there

6100-471: The helmets shall abide the rattle [of war unbowed]". At no point in other texts does Tyrtaios discuss missiles or rocks, making another case for a transitional period in which hoplite warriors had some ranged capabilities. Extended Gradualists argue that hoplite warriors did not fight in a true phalanx until the 5th century BC. Making estimations of the speed of the transition reached as long as 300 years, from 750 to 450 BC. The exact time when hoplite warfare

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6200-472: The hoplite formation, known as the phalanx, in Greek art. This led Van Wees to believe that there was a transitional period from long-range warfare of the Dark Ages to the close combat of hoplite warfare. Some other evidence of a transitional period lies within the text of Spartan poet Tyrtaios , who wrote, "…will they draw back for the pounding [of the missiles, no,] despite the battery of great hurl-stones,

6300-596: The hoplite's equipment. In the modern Hellenic Army , the word hoplite ( Greek : oπλίτης  : oplítîs ) is used to refer to an infantryman . 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. Limited manpower did not allow most Greek city-states to form large armies which could operate for long periods because they were generally not formed from professional soldiers. Most soldiers had careers as farmers or workers and returned to these professions after

6400-628: The kingdom than before." In 405 BC, Lysander won the battle of Aegospotami , and Sparta became more influential in the Greek world. Cyrus managed to gather a large army by beginning a quarrel with Tissaphernes, satrap of Caria , about the Ionian towns; he also pretended to prepare an expedition against the Pisidians , a mountainous tribe in the Taurus , which was never obedient to the Empire. In

6500-525: The man next to you is practically touching. One piece of evidence of this is the picking of individual champions after each battle was fought. This is most evident in Herodotus' account of the Battle of Thermopylae. "Although great valor was displayed by the entire corps of Spartans and Thespians, the man who proved himself best was a Spartan Officer named Dienekes ". The brothers Alpheos and Maron were also honored for their battlefield prowess as well. This

6600-401: The number of casualties inflicted by the enemy during battles, soldiers were positioned to stand shoulder to shoulder with their aspis . The hoplites' most prominent citizens and generals led from the front. Thus, the war could be decided by a single battle. Individual hoplites carried their shields on their left arm, protecting themselves and the soldier to the left. This meant that the men at

6700-629: The number of casualties. In the Persian war, hoplites faced large numbers of skirmishers and missile-armed troops, and such troops (e.g., peltasts ) became much more commonly used by the Greeks during the Peloponnesian War. As a result, hoplites began wearing less armour, carrying shorter swords, and in general adapting for greater mobility. This led to the development of the ekdromos light hoplite. Many famous personalities, philosophers, artists, and poets fought as hoplites. According to Nefiodkin, fighting against Greek heavy infantry during

6800-404: The only early sources of information on Cyrus the Younger. According to Xenophon, Cyrus the Younger was born after the accession of his father in 424 BC. He had an elder brother, Arsicas (whose name changed to Artaxerxes II when he ascended the throne), and two younger brothers named Ostanes and Oxathres. About Cyrus' childhood, Plutarch wrote, "Cyrus, from his earliest youth, showed something of

6900-438: The outcome depended on the fate of the king; he therefore wanted Clearchus , the commander of the Greeks, to take the centre against Artaxerxes. Clearchus, afraid of the army's encirclement, disobeyed and remained on the flank. As a result, the left wing of the Persians under Tissaphernes was free to engage the rest of Cyrus' forces; Cyrus in the centre threw himself upon Artaxerxes but was slain. Tissaphernes claimed to have killed

7000-427: The palm for skill in horsemanship and for love of the animal itself. Nor less in matters of war, in the use of the bow and the javelin, was he held by men in general to be at once the aptest of learners and the most eager practiser. As soon as his age permitted, the same pre-eminence showed itself in his fondness for the chase, not without a certain appetite for perilous adventure in facing the wild beasts themselves. Once

7100-460: The passes of the Amanus into Syria and conveyed to him a Spartan detachment of 700 men under Spartan General Cheirisophus . Cyrus the Younger had obtained the support of the Spartans after having asked them "to show themselves as good friend to him, as he had been to them during their war against Athens", in reference to the support he had given the Spartan in the Peloponnesian War against Athens

7200-409: The phalanx was created individually by military forces, but was so effective that others had to immediately adapt their way of war to combat the formation. Rapid Adoptionists propose that the double grip shield that was required for the phalanx formation was so constricting in mobility that once it was introduced, Dark Age, free flowing warfare was inadequate to fight against the hoplites only escalating

7300-419: The phalanx". Anagnostis Agelarakis , based on recent archaeo-anthropological discoveries of the earliest monumental polyandrion (communal burial of male warriors) at Paros Island in Greece, unveiled a last quarter of the 8th century BC date for a hoplitic phalangeal military organization. The rise and fall of hoplite warfare was tied to the rise and fall of the city-state . As discussed above, hoplites were

7400-414: The press that occurred when two lines of hoplites met, capable of being thrust through gaps in the shieldwall into an enemy's unprotected groin or throat, while there was no room to swing a longer sword. Such a small weapon would be particularly useful after many hoplites had started to abandon body armour during the Peloponnesian War . Hoplites could also alternatively carry the kopis , a heavy knife with

7500-492: The ranks was in phalanx warfare, individual fighting skill played a role in battle. Hoplites' shields were not locked all of the time. Throughout many points of the fight there were periods where the hoplites separated as far as two to three feet apart in order to have room to swing their shields and swords at the enemy. This led to individual prowess being more important than previously realized by some historians. It would have been nearly impossible to swing both shield and sword if

7600-423: The rebel himself, and Parysatis later took vengeance upon the slayer of her favourite son. According to Plutarch 's Life of Artaxerxes , a young Persian soldier named Mithridates unknowingly struck Cyrus the Younger during the Battle of Cunaxa ( Greek : Κούναξα), making him fall from his horse, dazed. Some eunuchs found Cyrus and tried to bring him to safety, but a Caunian among the king's camp followers struck

7700-458: The regular citizen infantry. These existed at times in Athens , Sparta , Argos , Thebes , and Syracuse , among other places. Hoplite soldiers made up the bulk of ancient Greek armies. In the 8th or 7th century BC, Greek armies adopted 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

7800-467: The shield was decorated with family or clan emblems, although in later years these were replaced by symbols or monograms of the city states. The equipment might be passed down in families, as it was expensive to manufacture. The hoplite army consisted of heavy infantrymen. Their armour, also called panoply , was sometimes made of full bronze for those who could afford it, weighing nearly 32 kilograms (70 lb), although linen armor now known as linothorax

7900-483: The shoulder for maximum stability. An overarm motion would allow more effective combination of the aspis and doru if the shield wall had broken down, while the underarm motion would be more effective when the shield had to be interlocked with those of one's neighbours in the battle-line. Hoplites in the rows behind the lead would almost certainly have made overarm thrusts. The rear ranks held their spears underarm, and raised their shields upwards at increasing angles. This

8000-478: The side after being struck, and as a result soldiers rarely lost their shields. This allowed the hoplite soldier more mobility with the shield, as well as the ability to capitalize on its offensive capabilities and better support the phalanx. The large shields, designed for pushing ahead, were the most essential equipment for the hoplites. The main offensive weapon used was a 2.5–4.5-metre (8.2–14.8 ft) long and 2.5-centimetre (1 in) in diameter spear called

8100-464: The spear overarm or underarm. Held underarm, the thrusts would have been less powerful but under more control, and vice versa. It seems likely that both motions were used, depending on the situation. If attack was called for, an overarm motion was more likely to break through an opponent's defence. The upward thrust is more easily deflected by armour due to its lesser leverage. When defending, an underarm carry absorbed more shock and could be 'couched' under

8200-473: The speed of the transition. Quickly, the phalanx formation and hoplite armour became widely used throughout Ancient Greece. Cartledge and Hanson estimate the transition took place from 725 to 675 BC. Developed by Hans Van Wees , the Extended Gradualist theory is the most lengthy of the three popular transition theories. Van Wees depicts iconography found on pots of the Dark Ages believing that

8300-420: The speedy capture of Ephesus, a major strategic prize. At Lampsacus, Thrasyllus' troops, coming straight from an embarrassing defeat, were at first rejected by the troops who had served at Cynossema and Abydos, who forced them to camp apart. The tension between the groups was eventually dissolved after the Athenians launched an attack on Abydos , in which Thrasyllus commanded thirty ships; the Athenians defeated

8400-415: The spring of 401 BC, Cyrus united all his forces into an army now including Xenophon's " Ten Thousand ", and advanced from Sardis without announcing the object of his expedition. By dexterous management and large promises, he overcame the misgivings of the Greek troops over the length and danger of the war; a Spartan fleet of 35 triremes under the command of Pythagoras the Spartan sent to Cilicia opened

8500-499: The stories of Homer , but it is thought that their use began in earnest around the 7th century BC, when weapons became cheap during the Iron Age and ordinary citizens were able to provide their own weapons. Most hoplites were not professional soldiers and often lacked sufficient military training. Some states maintained a small elite professional unit, known as the epilektoi or logades (means "the chosen") since they were picked from

8600-467: The survivors in the eyes of the Athenian populace); the generals suspected that Thrasybulus and Theramenes, who had already returned to Athens, might have been responsible for stirring up the assembly against them, and so Thrasyllus and his colleagues wrote letters to the people denouncing the two trierarchs as responsible for the failed rescue. The trierarchs were called before the assembly to account for their actions, but they defended themselves capably, and

8700-451: The throne, "And therefore, his father Darius now lying ill, he, being sent for from the sea to the court, set out thence with full hopes that by her means he was to be declared the successor to the kingdom. For Parysatis had the specious plea in his behalf, which Xerxes on the advice of Demaratus had of old made use of, that she had borne him Arsicas when he was a subject, but Cyrus when a king. Notwithstanding, she prevailed not with Darius, but

8800-499: The tremendous financial support that the Spartans were receiving from the Persian prince Cyrus enabled them to expand their fleet until the Athenians were heavily outnumbered. Forced to sally forth from Samos with only 70 triremes to match the Spartans' 170, Conon was defeated in battle and bottled up in Mytilene , barely managing to send a trireme to Athens with the news of his predicament. When news of this crisis reached Athens,

8900-485: The walls of Athens, seeking to frighten the city into capitulating. Thrasyllus marched out with an Athenian army, which, although it did not challenge the Spartans away from the protection of its own walls, did succeed in picking off a number of stragglers when the Spartans withdrew. The next summer, Thrasyllus sailed out from Athens with a sizable force to campaign in Ionia . There, he quickly captured Colophon and raided

9000-541: The war against Athens and give strong support to the Spartans . He sent Cyrus the Younger into Asia Minor as satrap of Lydia and Phrygia Major with Cappadocia , and commander of the Persian troops, "which gather into the field of Castolos", i.e. of the army of the district of Asia Minor. There, Cyrus met the Spartan general Lysander . In him, Cyrus found a man who was willing to help him become king, just as Lysander himself hoped to become absolute ruler of Greece by

9100-476: Was also used, as it is tougher and cheaper to produce. The linen was 0.5-centimetre (0.20 in) thick. By contrast with hoplites, other contemporary infantry (e.g., Persian ) tended to wear relatively light armour, wicker shields, and were armed with shorter spears, javelins , and bows . The most famous are the Peltasts, light-armed troops who wore no armour and were armed with a light shield, javelins and

9200-503: Was an effective defence against missiles, deflecting their force. Hoplites also carried a sword, mostly a short sword called a xiphos , but later also longer and heavier types. The short sword was a secondary weapon, used if or when their spears were broken or lost, or if the phalanx broke rank. The xiphos usually had a blade around 60 centimetres (24 in) long; however, those used by the Spartans were often only 30–45 centimetres long. This very short xiphos would be very advantageous in

9300-574: Was at first standardized and was a successful design. Later variants included the Chalcidian helmet , a lightened version of the Corinthian helmet, and the simple Pilos helmet worn by the later hoplites. Often the helmet was decorated with one, sometimes more horsehair crests, and/or bronze animal horns and ears. Helmets were often painted as well. The Thracian helmet had a large visor to further increase protection. In later periods, linothorax

9400-485: Was developed is uncertain, the prevalent theory being that it was established sometime during the 8th or 7th century BC, when the "heroic age was abandoned and a far more disciplined system introduced" and the Argive shield became popular. Peter Krentz argues that "the ideology of hoplitic warfare as a ritualized contest developed not in the 7th century [BC], but only after 480, when non-hoplite arms began to be excluded from

9500-404: Was made of thick wood, the outside layer facing the enemy was made of bronze, and leather comprised the inside of the shield. The revolutionary part of the shield was the grip. Known as an Argive grip, it placed the handle at the edge of the shield, and was supported by a leather fastening (for the forearm) at the centre. These two points of contact eliminated the possibility of the shield swaying to

9600-483: Was more common since it was cost-effective and provided decent protection. The average farmer-peasant hoplite could not afford any armor and typically carried only a shield, a spear, and perhaps a helmet plus a secondary weapon. The richer upper-class hoplites typically had a bronze cuirass of either the bell or muscled variety, a bronze helmet with cheekplates, as well as greaves and other armour . The design of helmets used varied through time. The Corinthian helmet

9700-515: Was on a scale unlike conflicts before. Fought between leagues of cities, dominated by Athens and Sparta respectively, the pooled manpower and financial resources allowed a diversification of warfare. Hoplite warfare was in decline. There were three major battles in the Peloponnesian War, and none proved decisive. Instead there was increased reliance on navies, skirmishers, mercenaries, city walls, siege engines , and non-set piece tactics. These reforms made wars of attrition possible and greatly increased

9800-578: Was similar to the shields of the Romans, but flatter. The Thureophoroi were armed with a long thrusting spear, a short sword and, if needed, javelins. While the Thorakitai were similar to the Thureophoroi, they were more heavily armoured, as their name implies, usually wearing a mail shirt. These troops were used as a link between the light infantry and the phalanx, a form of medium infantry to bridge

9900-578: Was successful, leaving the democratically controlled fleet in opposition to its oligarchically controlled mother city. In the turmoil following these events, the generals at Samos were deposed by the soldiers and sailors of the fleet, and Thrasybulus and Thrasyllus were among those elected to replace them. Thrasyllus continued to hold the position of strategos for several years, over a number of campaigns. Later in 410 BC, he led an Athenian fleet to attack rebellious cities on Lesbos . However, in doing so, he allowed Spartan Admiral Mindarus to slip past him into

10000-414: Was used to stand the spear in the ground (hence the name). It was also used as a secondary weapon if the main shaft snapped, or for the rear ranks to finish off fallen opponents as the phalanx advanced over them. In addition to being used as a secondary weapon, the sauroter doubled to balance the spear, but not for throwing purposes. It is a matter of contention, among historians, whether the hoplite used

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