hoplite

=Hoplite (Phalanx) =

The hoplite was the Greek footsoldier who made up the backbone of the Greek military. As heavy infantry, he wore a breastplate and helmet; a wealthier hoplite also wore greaves. He carried an //aspis//, a round wooden shield about a meter in diameter, often with a family crest or other symbols painted on it. (The Spartans painted on their shields the letter Λ (lambda), which stood for Lakedaimon (Lacedaemon), the Spartan homeland.) For his primary weapon, he carried a spear about seven feet in length, with a leaf-shaped blade and a butt-spike on the other end. He also carried a //xiphos//, a shortsword, for close combat. The spears were usually wielded underhanded in the first row (for better control) and over the shoulder in subsequent rows (for longer reach). The //xiphos//, being a short, one-handed blade, could be used with or without the shield, which was often cumbersome in close quarters. The //xiphos// itself is heavy and rather unwieldy (with all the elegance of a glorified meat cleaver), but was effective against the light armor of enemies like the Persians, as the sword could often hack through it.

Hoplites were deployed in units called phalanxes. A phalanx was organized in rows and columns; the hoplites stood shoulder to shoulder, each man's shield protecting the left side of his own body and the right side of the man to his left. Thus, each hoplite had to trust the man next to him to cover him. Each row's shields pressed up against the backs of the men in the row in front of them, such that no single hoplite could flee unless an officer issued the command to retreat, or the whole phalanx broke rank. When a hoplite fell, the man directly behind him in his column would step forward to take his place in the line, so the shield wall remained unbroken. Generals and officers usually led from the front lines, so officer casualties and turnover were quite high.

The structure of the phalanx lent itself to the strong bonds of camaraderie and brotherhood in the ranks. (The atmosphere is not unlike that of a fraternity or a sports team.) Phalanxes were organized by city-state, so the men within each phalanx shared the same dialect, culture, and geographical origins. Because hoplites were responsible for providing their own arms and armor, they tended to be middle and upper class freemen; given the middling size of ancient Greek city-states, most hoplites knew each other, and many were even related, within phalanxes. This incentivized hoplites to fight for and protect each other, and inspired them to strive for glory on the battlefield.

Note: I don't have the time to go page-hunting through Starr right now, so if someone knows where the information about Greek infantry is, please just edit in the citation for me.

Starr talks about hoplites/phalanx organization on page 210