Hoplite Warfare in Ancient Greece
Hoplite Combat in Classical Greece, 5th to 4th Centuries BC
A brief overview of a standard phalanx-to-phalanx engagement between opposing Hoplite armies in the age of the Greek City States.
The Hoplite Citizen Soldier
Warfare in Ancient Greece was dominated by the Hoplite, a class of citizen soldier that was called upon to fight in times of crisis. Hoplon is the ancient greek term for weapon; thus, Hoplite is translated as 'man-at-arms'.
Hoplites were required to provide their own equipment, each according to his means. Thus, equipment varied from soldier to soldier. Each man was required to have an aspis, the standard Hoplite shield. Made from wood with a leather backing and covered with a thin sheet of beaten bronze, it weighed as much as 6.2 kg (13.5 pounds), sometimes more.
Body armour was of bronze or linen. The linothorax was made from many layers of linen glued together to create a stiff, resilient breastplate. Helmets were of beaten bronze and many varieties impeded vision and hearing. The hoplite spear, the dory, was as long as 9 feet and crafted from ash, a tough, light wood capable of withstanding vast pressures.
There were a number of Greek swords. The most popular was the xiphos, a straight, double edged blade of iron, often no longer than a man’s forearm. Some soldiers favoured the kopis, or 'chopper', a recurved sabre capable of tremendous hacking blows.
Phalanx Warfare
Soldiers would deploy into a phalanx before battle. This could be 600 men wide by 8 files deep. The Greek General (strategos) Xenephon likened the structure of a phalanx to the construction of a city wall; the best and bravest men went to the front and rear whilst the worst occupied the middle. A watchword, usually consisting of a word with response, would be given to the men; this would serve as a rallying call and help members of the same army to recognise each other if they were forced to flee.
The advance, or ephedos, was made over level ground - the slightest dip could ruin the cohesion of the phalanx. Soldiers instinctively huddled behind the shields of their neighbour; this meant that the phalanx often drifted to the right. Only superbly disciplined troops, such as the Spartans, could overcome this tendency. Modern research based on ancient writings has revealed that most armies never actually came to grips; the sight of hundreds of yelling, marching men, clad in glittering armour, was often enough to frighten the opposition off the field.
At a distance of about one stadion (600) feet, Hoplites would begin chanting the paean, a song unique to their city-state. Some paeans sounded almost the same and this sometimes caused confusion. The charge, when it came, was accompanied by shrill warcries; the poet Aeschylus, who fought at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, likened it to the screaming of eagles.
The two lines would crash into each other; shields often buckled beneath the frightful impact. Spears frequently broke after the first thrust and the battle became a pushing match, those at the rear throwing their weight forward whilst the front ranks attempted to hack a gap in the enemy line with swords, a favoured target being an opponents groin. Opposing phalanxes could engage in this shoving match for as long as several hours or sometimes only a few minutes, until one side broke.
Most of the slaughter occurred when one army routed; soldiers would fling their shields away and the term rhipsaspis (shield flinger) was synonymous with coward. The victors would pursue them, killing as they went. The slaughter was often terrible, as surviving casualty lists indicate.
The victors would be recalled by a trumpet blast to take care of their slain and wounded. Bodies would be totally stripped and a trophy, or tropaion, erected from captured enemy armour. The defeated would send a herald requesting to bury their dead. Booty would be divided between the victors, with many generals frequently donating as much as a tenth to the temple of a particular deity.
Men frequently died from their wounds; the Hippocratic treatise On wounds in the head relates men dying of head wounds in 14 days in summer and 7 in winter. Most abdominal wounds were untreatable and the victim would die of peritonitis. Surviving Hoplites were proud of their battle-scars.
Sources:
Greek Hoplite 480 - 323 BC, Sekunda, Nicholas (2000, Osprey Publishing)
Warfare in the Classical World; An illustrated Encyclopedia of weapons, warriors and warfare in the Ancient Civilizations of Greece and Rome Warry, John (1995, University of Oklahoma Press)
