Greek Heavy Infantry
Notes
The Hoplite
Unlike our concept of modern armies, where there exists professional, volunteer soldiers, formal conscription where people serve with the military for 2 or three years or, in times of trouble, people can be conscripted 'for the duration', the world of the Hoplite was quite different.
The Hellas (or modern Greece as we know now it) was made up of a collection of City States, each concerned with their own environment and their own citizens. For the greater part of known Greek early-history the main concerns were for the well being of the state and thus expanding population and problems with generating sufficient food, for example, were both real and of concern. With a significant proportion of citizens being involved in the agricultural sector.
Conflicts between states did arise, but in settling these there were no standing armies in the way we see them today.
Yes, there was the famed state of Sparta, with male children following a strict, military regime, but that was very much an exception. There were also a few 'bodyguard' units to be found, but again these were small in number and not really significant in military terms. Yet major battles did occur with massed ranks of heavily armed soldiers fighting on behalf of their state or an alliance between states. So where did these soldiers come from?
If we concern ourselves with the period prior to the Peloponesian wars, then in simple terms, as a citizen of a city state it was your duty to help defend your state. As a consequence of this you would have been required to equip yourself for war, should you be called to serve. The military status of citizens was deemed to be the Hoplite, so that is the equipment you strived to obtain, that is the role you would have trained for and that is the style of fighting you adopted.
The Hoplite as a type of soldier evolved in the Archaic period, at a time when two short spears would be carried instead of the distinctive long spear of later years and 'one-on-one' fighting was deemed to be the way forward. Examples of armour from the early days of the Hoplite are quite thick in construction and could clearly take a lot of punishment. As the Hoplite evolved over the years, however, one-on-one gave way to phalanx on phalanx and the two short spears became the long, distinctive spear. This coincided with a change in the nature of the armour, with the protection given by weight giving way to the flexibility that lighter armour could offer.
As a military force, the Hoplite, in its various forms, dominated the battlefield for around 700 years and only disappeared in the time of Alexander during the 4th Century BC, when its inflexibility against differing troop types and on extended campaigns made it ineffective. Its seeds, though, can be found in the phalangists of Alexander, the legionaries of Rome, the pike ranks of the Landsknechts and Swiss mercenaries or the English Civil War armies and even, it could be argued, in the massed squares of the redcoats and columns of French infantry at Waterloo.
Training
It is inconceivable that Hoplites did not have training for their form of warfare as the phalanx was a very unwieldy beast and success depended upon its integrity in battle. Quite what form drill took is not really known, although there are tantalising glimpses in vases and on statues of possible 'drill' movements. Re-enactment drill has also identified a number of other considerations that support formal drilling sessions, such as the damage someone in the front rank could do to their colleagues behind when maneuvering their spear! The one thing that is understood, though, is that there would have been no formal training for side arms, swords or axes. These were very much seen as secondary weapons and any training for these would have to be at the expense of the individual Hoplite.
HOPLITES ARE HOPLITES BECAUSE
Well not because they carry a shield called a hoplon, that's for certain.
In the Second World War the British Government let it be known that eating
carrots helped you see in the dark. Very useful in the blackout but also
very useful for encouraging people to eat more vegetables, which were
plentiful and off-ration. That statement was propaganda, as carrots do
not help you see in the dark, the former is simply a corruption of translation
and interpretation.
The word hoplon really signifies the tools of war in the wider sense, so whilst a Hoplite's shield is, technically, a hoplon, so is his spear, his helmet and his sword. The more correct term for a shield is an Aspis and a Hoplite is a Hoplite because he carries the tools of war. Essentially, in modern parlance, a 'man at arms'.
HOWEVER...
There are those that would argue otherwise
SEASONAL SOLDIERS
With around 80% of a Hoplite army being made up of farmers it was probably
not surprising that most hoplite battles took place in the period following
spring planting and before the demands of Summer.
HOPLITE ARMOUR
Outline guidance on armour construction can be found here.