Greek hoplites: armor, photo. Who are the Greek hoplites?

In Ancient Sparta, the cavalry was very small, as the inhabitants considered this kind of troops insignificant. The main force was the infantrymen (hoplites). Their weapons consisted of a heavy shield, a sword and a long spear.

Greek hoplites: who is this?

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 battle-worthy 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. Greek hoplites, in fact, were soldiers-citizens and served for the benefit of the city-state in which they lived.

In those days, the carrying of military service was the duty of every man. Therefore, any of the citizens' meetings inevitably turned into a meeting of either veterans who had served their time or were still serving in the service of soldiers at the 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 infantrymen, from the 7th century and for the next four centuries, dominated the battlefields. It is known that before the father of Alexander the Great, King Philip II, hoplites were the basis of the classical phalanx.

In Ancient Greece infantry was divided into several tactical units. The highest were the pestilence, then the suckers, which, in turn, were broken up into smaller units. Chiefs, commanders of the Moras, were called Polomarchs, and Lohs - Lohagi.

Armament

Greek hoplites always carried arghive shields, or goplons. They had a round shape and weighed over 8 kg. An interesting fact is that when the soldiers fled the first thing they threw their shields because of their excessive gravity, so the loss of the hoplon was considered shameful for any hoplite. They were used not only to cover the body during the battle, but also as stretchers, on which wounded or dead comrades were placed.

Historians often connect the origin of the famous expression "with a shield or on a shield" with this Greek outfit. Most often the hopplon consisted of a wooden base, which was on the outside with an iron or bronze sheet, and with the inner one - covered with leather. On it there were convenient handles, where the hand of the soldier was passed. The main weapon of hoplites were Xiphos - straight short or mahayrs - crooked swords with a reverse bend. In addition, they still had to wear xychons - three-meter spears for throwing.

Production of weapons

Initially, the state did not care about providing its soldiers with weapons, and even passed a law according to which every Greek hoplite (5th century BC) had to be equipped at its own expense, although the full uniform cost was not cheap (about 30 drachmas). This amount was comparable to the monthly income of the artisan. Usually such expensive weapons passed by inheritance.

By the way, its production in Ancient Greece flourished mainly in policies, and in small settlements it was imported from other places. At the time of Pericles, a rather large workshop was working in Athens, where they were engaged in the manufacture of shields. Perhaps it was the largest production in ancient Greece. It employed about 120 slaves and quite a large number of free citizens.

Armor of the Greek hoplite

Initially, the soldiers wore Illyrian helmets or skittles on their heads. They were made of bronze and adorned with a comb of horsehair. They were in use from VII to VI century. BC. E., Until they were replaced by Corinthian ones. The new helmets were completely closed and had holes only for the mouth and eyes. Outside of combat, they were usually shifted to the back of the head. Later, chalcid helmets appeared, which left ears open too. In the II century. BC. E. The most popular were Thracian - with a comparatively small crest, complemented by figured nashchechnikami and visor.

The torso of the warrior in front and behind was protected by an anatomical breastplate - hippothorax. Most often it weighed about 1 talent (about 34 kg), but some soldiers had armor and twice as heavy. Over time, hippothorax gradually began to be replaced by a lighter version - a linen shell called linotorax.

Other parts of the body were also protected. So, the Greek hoplites were equipped with leggings - knimids, as well as with handcuffs, which were used until the middle of the 5th century. BC. E. Proof of this fact are numerous archaeological finds, discovered by scientists on the Peloponnesian Peninsula. On many amphorae and other objects of everyday life images were often vomited, where the Greek hoplite (the photo fragment of such a vessel is presented below) fights with a weapon in hand against the next enemy.

Transformations in the Army

In the VII-V century. BC. E. Reform was carried out to weight the armor of the hoplites. Most likely, such measures were taken with the goal of preserving the life of the soldiers, since the Spartan army at that time consisted of only 8 seas, and this is slightly more than 4 thousand soldiers.

However, since the middle of the 5th century BC, BC. E. The equipment of Greek soldiers became easier: linen armor began to displace anatomical cuirasses. Almost completely disappeared and the bracers. The reason for this was the change in the construction of troops. It became denser and deeper, and the number of soldiers in the detachments doubled. Only the number of Spartan units remained unchanged - 144 soldiers each. Due to the changes in the construction, the cutting blows were applied less and less, so the soldiers' hands were not in danger of being cut off. Now, more and more often, piercing weapons were used, so spears lengthened from 3 to 6 meters. So the Greek hoplites began to turn into sarissofors - foot soldiers, who formed the basis of phalanges.

Traditions

Usually the Spartans marched on a full moon, and before that their ruler always sacrificed, so that luck would accompany them. Before the army always carried fire, taken from Sparta, which was necessary to kindle the bonfires now for marching sacrifices. In addition, they took with them a picture of the embraced Dioscuri. They personified the fraternal alliance of comrades in arms and were ideals for the Spartan warriors.

The Greek army camp almost always had the form of a circle and was well guarded by helots. I must say that during the campaigns the Spartans dressed very elegantly. Instead of the usual cloak of coarse cloth, they wore purple clothes, and instead of the park - to shine a cleaned weapon. Entering the battle, the soldiers wore wreaths, as if going to some holiday.

Structure of the army

The troops were not only Greek hoplites. Who are the peltasts and slingers who helped the Spartans in battle, you will learn further. Since the Greeks considered cavalry completely useless, horses were often used only to bring rich warriors to the battlefield. Therefore, in those days, besides the heavy infantry (hoplites), there was also a light one, consisting of the poorest townspeople and slaves. The latter, despite their servile existence, were quite reliable people, devoted to their masters.

Each hoplite had his own slave, who helped him to put on his equipment. In battle slaves were slingers who wore cloth bags with a few dozen clay or stone kernels up to 40 cm in diameter. They also had a special belt loop equipped with a thickening. This was the sling. Her masterfully untwisted over his head, and then released. The core flew off and overtook the enemy at great speed, causing serious injuries to the open parts of the body.

Throwers

Peltasts called the light infantry, armed with darts. They were recruited from among the poorest townspeople who had not been able to purchase weapons and armor of hoplite. It used to happen that some of them bought such outfits for a city account.

Peltasts were throwing their weapons at a distance of about 15 meters. They did not need a large supply of darts, since they managed to use only a few in a short time, until the enemy approached closely. I must say that the dart as a weapon was much more dangerous than an arrow, because, getting into the opponent's shield, it got stuck in it, preventing any protective manipulation.

Physical training and education

As you know, Greek hoplites are militiamen who could barely keep the formation during the movement, and there was no question of the skills of hand-to-hand fighting. Of course, we can assume that free citizens were engaged in some physical exercises, but to work constantly on improving their bodies, especially after reaching a more mature age, and even to the peasants, there was neither the opportunity nor the strength.

Another thing the Spartans. Since their childhood, each of them has been taught the art of war. They knew how to fight right, and were justly proud of it. Spartan hoplites not only knew how to maintain the system impeccably, in what the flutists helped them, but also competently conducted hand-to-hand fighting. They were almost the best warriors of the Ancient World.

300 Spartans

It can be said with certainty that the Greek hoplite played the main role in protecting its cities from enemy forces. 480 BC. E. - this is the time when a huge army of the Tsar of Persia Xerx crossed the strait and invaded foreign territory. Greece was forced to defend itself. Its allied army consisted of detachments of hoplites, sent from eleven cities, including Sparta. To prevent further enemy advance into the interior of the country, the Greeks tried to block the narrow Thermopyl Passage. Two days they managed to beat off the superior forces of the Persians, but the betrayal of one of the local residents, who conducted enemy detachments bypassing the defenders, did not give a single chance to win. The whole Greek army retreated, except for three hundred Spartans and two more detachments - the Thebans and the Thessians, who, however, in speed, too, surrendered to the mercy of the enemy.

The Spartans knew that they could not win the battle, but the law and honor did not allow to retreat. Here, in Thermopylae, they defended their land - Opuntska Lokrida and Boeotia, through which the Persian army was to pass. Courageous hoplites did not retreat and died, taking an unequal battle.

Time inexorably runs forward, but the story still retained irrefutable evidence of the existence of the free city of Sparta and his brave warriors who defended their land from enemies. Their heroism is still admired by many people, and eminent directors shoot movies about them. In addition, practically in any store where there is a souvenir department, there must be at least one quite realistic figure of the Greek hoplite in an unusually beautiful outfit.