Other Warriors Flashcards
Hoplite tactics pros/cons
Pros:
Effective Phalanx, good protection, well armoured
Cons:
Armour is heavy and hot, phalanx isn’t maneuverable
Other types of warriors
Horsemen
Light infantry
Archers and Slingers
Horsemen/Cavalry
- Almost absent in archaic Greek polis, except a few regions which had large plains (so they could raise horses – Thessaly & Boeotia)
- Long and specific training needed
- Between 5-4th C - used for patrol, pursuit, or attack of disorganized enemies
- Athenians had a large cavalry in mid 5th C
- Tradition of linking king and aristocracy to fighting on horseback – ie. coin of King Alexander I, Alexander the Great
Light infantry
- Presence of troops isn’t recorded before 5th C
- Since it isn’t likely archaic armies were only hoplites, we assume that non-hoplites were there too
- When needed, they were usually supplied by areas of Greece where polis were little developed (or foreigners)
- Looks like fully developed Greek poleis didn’t have these warriors
Peltasts -> armed with light crescent shaped shield (pelte), javelins and swords.
From Thrace, but became common in Greece (especially 4th C)
Archers/Slingers
- Scythian archers used for superior skill and better bows
- Archers and slingers were usually from peripheral areas like Crete, Malis, Elis, etc. where such weapons were used for hunting and defence
- Mercenaries
-Gastraphetes -> bow they used
‘War of hoplites’
Idealized representation of a gentlemen’s warfare
-Downplayed other players in war
Evolution of Greek Warfare from the 5th C Phalanx
-The phalanx was the main combat unit, but there were changes in the military gear (lighter material)
- Classical hoplites had lighter helmets and armor => phalanx mobile and flexible, less expensive
- Used linothorax (linen cuirass) – lighter
- Pileos helmet - a lighter/open type
Battle of Delium
- Athenians vs. Boeotians
- First major land battles in the Peloponnesian War
- The first documented use of tactical warfare in Greece – Pagondas vs. Hoppocrates
- Traditional hoplite tactics: elite troops and commander on the right wing to counter the natural tendency to shift to the right
Battle of Leuctra (371 BC)
-Theban tactics: the bulk of the army with the elite ‘sacred band’ and the commander on the left wing to meet the best enemy troops and their general; the rest of the troops avoid contact with the enemy
War with other warriors
- Long, permanent and waged campaigns in distant regions for conquest and destruction
- Battles more complex and armies are more numerous
- Generals use strategy, deception, intelligence
- Army is required to execute relative complex orders/maneuver
- Complex structure of command starts developing
- Large use of non-hoplite forces (LI, cavalry, etc.)
- Phalanx is not the more protagonist of warfare, other corps are as important
- New tactics need long/specialized training
- BUT the poleis never considered dissolving the citizen army
Mercenaries
- Some specialized mercenaries are archers, peltasts, etc. used in archaic age
- 5th C mercenary hoplites were hired in poorer regions of Greece like Arcadia
- Appreciated for their effectiveness and were considered more expendable than citizens but never replaced militia
- Typical army of the tyrants
- When they became impossible to ignore, they were represented in literature in a negative way – Aristotle considered them inferior to citizens in courage
- Mercenaries can observe, while the victim doesn’t know
- Skilled in using arms, equipped with the best
- Not a fair fight, armed vs. unarmed
- Cowards
New Great Factor - the Fleet
Athenian Fleet:
- Manned by lowest class of citizens (thetes) who increased their political role with great concern of upper classes
- Effectiveness is based on skills of crew and captain
- Requires $$$$
- Many oars on ship (trireme = 3 rows of oars)
Military reforms of Philip II
- ) Artillery and military engineers for siege-craft
- ) Skirmishers and special units of allies
- ) Reorganized infantry: phalanx on feet armed with long sarissa
- ) Siege-craft and foritifications
- Sieges long and expensive
- In late 5th and 4th C, siege technology improved, burrowing from Carthaginians and Persians. Mobile siege towers and artillery used
- Sieges long and expensive
483 BC Athenian Fleet
- Transferred to Piraeus (built in its shipyards)
- Piraeus had better fortification, natural harbors – Themistocles initiated fortification
- Persian wars
- Used permanently as navy base for developed powerful fleet
- Themistocles fortified 3 harbors
- Neosoikoi (ship shed) in 471 BC
- Turning Piraeus into a great military and commercial harbor
- 3 harbors: Kantharos, Zea, Mounichia
Crew of a Trireme
1 Trierarch
- Chosen by wealth
- Appointed/selected at beginning of year from number of nominees
- Could ask for exemption by using antidosis (wealth exchange)
- 12 months of service
10 Soldiers
16 Officers and assistants
4 archers
170 oarsmen
