In the southeast of the largest Greek peninsula - the Peloponnese - the powerful Sparta was once located. This state was located in the region of Laconia, in the picturesque valley of the Eurotas River. Its official name, which was most often mentioned in international treaties, is Lacedaemon. It was from this state that such concepts as “Spartan” and “Spartan” came. Everyone has also heard about the cruel custom that has developed in this ancient polis: killing weak newborns in order to maintain the gene pool of their nation.
History of origin
Officially, Sparta, which was called Lacedaemon (from this word also came the name of the nome - Laconia), arose in the eleventh century BC. After some time, the entire area on which this city-state was located was captured by the Dorian tribes. Those, having assimilated with the local Achaeans, became Spartakiates in the sense known today, and the former inhabitants were turned into slaves called helots.
The most Doric of all the states that Ancient Greece once knew, Sparta, was located on the western bank of Eurotas, on the site of the modern city of the same name. Its name can be translated as “scattered.” It consisted of estates and estates that were scattered throughout Laconia. And the center was a low hill, which later became known as the acropolis. Sparta originally had no walls and remained true to this principle until the second century BC.
State system of Sparta
It was based on the principle of the unity of all full-fledged citizens of the polis. For this purpose, the state and law of Sparta strictly regulated the life and life of its subjects, restraining their property stratification. The foundations of such a social system were laid by the treaty of the legendary Lycurgus. According to him, the duties of the Spartans were only sports or the art of war, and crafts, agriculture and trade were the work of the helots and perioecs.
As a result, the system established by Lycurgus transformed the Spartiate military democracy into an oligarchic-slave-owning republic, which still retained some signs of a tribal system. Here, land was not allowed, which was divided into equal plots, considered the property of the community and not subject to sale. Helot slaves also, historians suggest, belonged to the state rather than to wealthy citizens.
Sparta is one of the few states that was simultaneously headed by two kings, who were called archagets. Their power was inherited. The powers that each king of Sparta had were limited not only to military power, but also to the organization of sacrifices, as well as to participation in the council of elders.
The latter was called gerusia and consisted of two archagets and twenty-eight geronts. The elders were elected by the people's assembly for life only from the Spartan nobility who had reached the age of sixty. Gerusia in Sparta performed the functions of a certain government body. She prepared issues that needed to be discussed at public assemblies, and also directed foreign policy. In addition, the Council of Elders considered criminal cases, as well as state crimes, including those directed against the archaget.
Court
The legal proceedings and law of ancient Sparta were regulated by the college of ephors. This organ first appeared in the eighth century BC. It consisted of the five most worthy citizens of the state, who were elected by the people's assembly for only one year. At first, the powers of the ephors were limited only to the legal proceedings of property disputes. But already in the sixth century BC their power and powers were growing. Gradually they begin to displace gerusia. The ephors were given the right to convene a national assembly and gerousia, regulate foreign policy, and carry out internal governance of Sparta and its legal proceedings. This body was so important in the social structure of the state that its powers included the control of officials, including the archaget.
People's Assembly
Sparta is an example of an aristocratic state. In order to suppress the forced population, whose representatives were called helots, the development of private property was artificially restrained in order to maintain equality among the Spartiates themselves.
The Apella, or popular assembly, in Sparta was characterized by passivity. Only full-fledged male citizens who had reached the age of thirty had the right to participate in this body. At first, the people's assembly was convened by the archaget, but subsequently its leadership also passed to the college of ephors. Apella could not discuss the issues put forward, she only rejected or accepted the solution she proposed. Members of the national assembly voted in a very primitive way: by shouting or dividing participants into different sides, after which the majority was determined by eye.
Population
The inhabitants of the Lacedaemonian state have always been class-unequal. This situation was created by the social system of Sparta, which included three classes: the elite, the perieki - free residents from nearby cities who did not have the right to vote, as well as state slaves - helots.
The Spartans, who were in privileged conditions, were exclusively engaged in war. They were far from trade, crafts and agriculture; all this was given over to the Perieks as a right. At the same time, the estates of the elite Spartans were cultivated by helots, whom the latter rented from the state. During the heyday of the state, there were five times fewer nobility than perieks, and ten times fewer helots.
All periods of the existence of this one of the most ancient states can be divided into prehistoric, ancient, classical, Roman and Each of them left its mark not only in the formation of the ancient state of Sparta. Greece borrowed a lot from this history in the process of its formation.
Prehistoric era
The Leleges initially lived on the Laconian lands, but after the capture of the Peloponnese by the Dorians, this region, which was always considered the most infertile and generally insignificant, as a result of deception, went to two minor sons of the legendary king Aristodemus - Eurysthenes and Proclus.
Soon Sparta became the main city of Lacedaemon, whose system for a long time did not stand out among the other Doric states. She waged constant external wars with neighboring Argive or Arcadian cities. The most significant rise occurred during the reign of Lycurgus, the ancient Spartan legislator, to whom ancient historians unanimously attribute the political structure that subsequently dominated Sparta for several centuries.
Antique era
After victory in the wars lasting from 743 to 723 and from 685 to 668. BC, Sparta was able to finally defeat and capture Messenia. As a result, its ancient inhabitants were deprived of their lands and turned into helots. Six years later, Sparta, at the cost of incredible efforts, defeated the Arcadians, and in 660 BC. e. forced Tegea to recognize her hegemony. According to the agreement stored on the column placed near Althea, she forced her to enter into a military alliance. It was from this time that Sparta in the eyes of the people began to be considered the first state of Greece.
The history of Sparta at this stage is that its inhabitants began to make attempts to overthrow the tyrants that had been appearing since the seventh millennium BC. e. in almost all Greek states. It was the Spartans who helped expel the Cypselids from Corinth, the Pisistrati from Athens, they contributed to the liberation of Sikyon and Phocis, as well as several islands in the Aegean Sea, thereby acquiring grateful supporters in different states.
History of Sparta in the classical era
Having concluded an alliance with Tegea and Elis, the Spartans began to attract the rest of the cities of Laconia and neighboring regions to their side. As a result, the Peloponnesian League was formed, in which Sparta assumed hegemony. These were wonderful times for her: she provided leadership in wars, was the center of meetings and all meetings of the Union, without encroaching on the independence of individual states that maintained autonomy.
Sparta never tried to extend its own power to the Peloponnese, but the threat of danger prompted all other states, with the exception of Argos, to come under its protection during the Greco-Persian wars. Having eliminated the immediate danger, the Spartans, realizing that they were unable to wage war with the Persians far from their own borders, did not object when Athens took further leadership in the war, limiting itself only to the peninsula.
From that time on, signs of rivalry between these two states began to appear, which later resulted in the First, which ended with the Thirty Years' Peace. The fighting not only broke the power of Athens and established the hegemony of Sparta, but also led to a gradual violation of its foundations - the legislation of Lycurgus.
As a result, in 397 before our chronology, the uprising of Kinadon took place, which, however, was not crowned with success. However, after certain setbacks, especially the defeat at the Battle of Cnidus in 394 BC. e, Sparta ceded Asia Minor, but became a judge and mediator in Greek affairs, thus motivating its policy with the freedom of all states, and was able to secure primacy in an alliance with Persia. And only Thebes did not submit to the conditions set, thereby depriving Sparta of the benefits of such a shameful peace for her.
Hellenistic and Roman era
Starting from these years, the state began to decline quite quickly. Impoverished and burdened with the debts of its citizens, Sparta, whose system was based on the legislation of Lycurgus, turned into an empty form of government. An alliance was concluded with the Phocians. And although the Spartans sent them help, they did not provide real support. In the absence of King Agis, with the help of money received from Darius, an attempt was made to get rid of the Macedonian yoke. But he, having failed in the battles of Megapolis, was killed. The spirit that Sparta was so famous for, which had become a household name, gradually began to disappear.
Rise of an Empire
Sparta is a state that for three centuries was the envy of all of Ancient Greece. Between the eighth and fifth centuries BC, it was a collection of hundreds of cities, often at war with each other. One of the key figures for the establishment of Sparta as a powerful and strong state was Lycurgus. Before his appearance, it was not much different from the rest of the ancient Greek city-states. But with the arrival of Lycurgus the situation changed, and priorities in development were given to the art of war. From that moment on, Lacedaemon began to transform. And it was during this period that it flourished.
Since the eighth century BC. e. Sparta began to wage wars of conquest, conquering one after another its neighbors in the Peloponnese. After a series of successful military operations, Sparta moved on to establishing diplomatic ties with its most powerful opponents. Having concluded several treaties, Lacedaemon stood at the head of the union of the Peloponnesian states, which was considered one of the powerful formations of Ancient Greece. The creation of this alliance by Sparta was supposed to serve to repel the Persian invasion.
The state of Sparta has been a mystery to historians. The Greeks not only admired its citizens, but feared them. One type of bronze shields and scarlet cloaks worn by the warriors of Sparta put their opponents to flight, forcing them to capitulate.
Not only the enemies, but also the Greeks themselves did not really like it when an army, even a small one, was located next to them. Everything was explained very simply: the warriors of Sparta had a reputation of being invincible. The sight of their phalanxes brought even the most seasoned into a state of panic. And although only a small number of fighters took part in the battles in those days, they never lasted long.
The beginning of the decline of the empire
But at the beginning of the fifth century BC. e. a massive invasion from the East marked the beginning of the decline of Sparta's power. The huge Persian empire, which always dreamed of expanding its territories, sent a large army to Greece. Two hundred thousand people stood at the borders of Hellas. But the Greeks, led by the Spartans, accepted the challenge.
Tsar Leonidas
Being the son of Anaxandrides, this king belonged to the Agiad dynasty. After the death of his older brothers, Dorieus and Clemen the First, it was Leonidas who took over the reign. Sparta in 480 years before our chronology was in a state of war with Persia. And the name of Leonidas is associated with the immortal feat of the Spartans, when a battle took place in the Thermopylae Gorge, which remained in history for centuries.
This happened in 480 BC. e., when the hordes of the Persian king Xerxes tried to capture the narrow passage connecting Central Greece with Thessaly. At the head of the troops, including the allied ones, was Tsar Leonid. Sparta at that time occupied a leading position among friendly states. But Xerxes, taking advantage of the betrayal of the dissatisfied, bypassed the Thermopylae Gorge and went behind the rear of the Greeks.
Having learned about this, Leonidas, who fought along with his soldiers, disbanded the allied troops, sending them home. And he himself, with a handful of warriors, whose number was only three hundred people, stood in the way of the twenty-thousand-strong Persian army. The Thermopylae Gorge was strategic for the Greeks. In case of defeat, they would be cut off from Central Greece, and their fate would be sealed.
For four days, the Persians were unable to break the incomparably smaller enemy forces. The heroes of Sparta fought like lions. But the forces were unequal.
The fearless warriors of Sparta died every single one. Their king Leonidas fought with them to the end, who did not want to abandon his comrades.
The name Leonid will forever go down in history. Chroniclers, including Herodotus, wrote: “Many kings have died and have long been forgotten. But everyone knows and respects Leonid. His name will always be remembered in Sparta, Greece. And not because he was a king, but because he fulfilled his duty to his homeland to the end and died as a hero. Films have been made and books have been written about this episode in the life of the heroic Hellenes.
Feat of the Spartans
The Persian king Xerxes, who was haunted by the dream of capturing Hellas, invaded Greece in 480 BC. At this time, the Hellenes held the Olympic Games. The Spartans were preparing to celebrate Carnei.
Both of these holidays obliged the Greeks to observe a sacred truce. This was precisely one of the main reasons why only a small detachment resisted the Persians in the Thermopylae Gorge.
A detachment of three hundred Spartans led by King Leonidas headed towards Xerxes’ army of thousands. Warriors were selected based on whether they had children. On the way, Leonid's militia was joined by a thousand people each from Tegeans, Arcadians and Mantineans, as well as one hundred and twenty from Orkhomenes. Four hundred soldiers were sent from Corinth, three hundred from Phlius and Mycenae.
When this small army approached the Thermopylae Pass and saw the number of Persians, many soldiers became afraid and began to talk about retreat. Some of the allies proposed withdrawing to the peninsula to guard the Isthmus. However, others were outraged by this decision. Leonidas, ordering the army to remain in place, sent messengers to all cities asking for help, since they had too few soldiers to successfully repel the Persian attack.
For four whole days, King Xerxes, hoping that the Greeks would take flight, did not begin hostilities. But seeing that this was not happening, he sent the Cassians and Medes against them with the order to take Leonidas alive and bring him to him. They quickly attacked the Hellenes. Each onslaught of the Medes ended in huge losses, but others took the place of the fallen. It was then that it became clear to both the Spartans and Persians that Xerxes had many people, but few warriors among them. The battle lasted the whole day.
Having received a decisive rebuff, the Medes were forced to retreat. But they were replaced by the Persians, led by Hydarnes. Xerxes called them an “immortal” squad and hoped that they would easily finish off the Spartans. But in hand-to-hand combat, they, like the Medes, failed to achieve great success.
The Persians had to fight in close quarters, and with shorter spears, while the Hellenes had longer spears, which gave a certain advantage in this fight.
At night, the Spartans again attacked the Persian camp. They managed to kill many enemies, but their main goal was the defeat of Xerxes himself in the general turmoil. And only when it was dawn did the Persians see the small number of King Leonidas’s detachment. They pelted the Spartans with spears and finished them off with arrows.
The road to Central Greece was open for the Persians. Xerxes personally inspected the battlefield. Having found the dead Spartan king, he ordered him to cut off his head and put it on a stake.
There is a legend that King Leonidas, going to Thermopylae, clearly understood that he would die, so when his wife asked him during farewell what his orders would be, he ordered him to find a good husband and give birth to sons. This was the life position of the Spartans, who were ready to die for their Motherland on the battlefield in order to receive a crown of glory.
Beginning of the Peloponnesian War
After some time, the Greek city-states at war with each other united and were able to repel Xerxes. But, despite the joint victory over the Persians, the alliance between Sparta and Athens did not last long. In 431 BC. e. The Peloponnesian War broke out. And only several decades later was the Spartan state able to win.
But not everyone in Ancient Greece liked the supremacy of Lacedaemon. Therefore, half a century later, new hostilities broke out. This time his rivals were Thebes, who and their allies managed to inflict a serious defeat on Sparta. As a result, the power of the state was lost.
Conclusion
This is exactly what ancient Sparta was like. She was one of the main contenders for primacy and supremacy in the ancient Greek picture of the world. Some milestones of Spartan history are sung in the works of the great Homer. The outstanding “Iliad” occupies a special place among them.
And now all that remains of this glorious polis are the ruins of some of its buildings and unfading glory. Legends about the heroism of its warriors, as well as a small town of the same name in the south of the Peloponnese peninsula, reached contemporaries.
There was very little cavalry, since the inhabitants considered this branch of the army to be unimportant. The main force was the infantry (hoplites). Their weapons consisted of a heavy shield, a sword and a long spear.
Greek hoplites: who are they?
It is no secret that the history of the Ancient World consists almost entirely of armed conflicts and brutal wars. Each state sought to have its own combat-ready 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 were essentially citizen soldiers and served for the benefit of the city-state in which they lived.
In those days, military service was the duty of every man. Therefore, any meeting of citizens inevitably turned into a gathering of either veterans who had already served their time, or soldiers still in service at that 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, starting in the 7th century and over the next four centuries, dominated the battlefields. It is known that before the father of 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 Moras, then the Lochs, which in turn were broken down into smaller units. The chiefs commanding the pestilence were called polemarchs, and the suckers were called suckers.
Armament
Greek hoplites always carried Argive shields, or hoplons. They were round in shape and weighed more than 8 kg. An interesting fact is that when fleeing, the warriors first of all threw their shields because of their excessive weight, so the loss of a hoplon was considered shameful for any hoplite. They were used not only to cover the body during battle, but also as stretchers on which wounded or dead comrades were placed.
Historians often associate the origin of the famous expression “with a shield or on a shield” with this Greek equipment. Most often, the hoplon consisted of a wooden base, which was upholstered on the outside with iron or bronze sheets, and covered with leather on the inside. It had comfortable handles where the warrior's hand could be inserted. The main weapons of the hoplites were xiphos - straight short swords or mahairs - curved swords with a reverse bend. In addition, they were also supposed to carry cystons - three-meter spears for throwing.
Weapon production
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) was obliged to equip himself at his own expense, although full uniforms were expensive (about 30 drachmas). This amount was comparable to the monthly income of an artisan. Usually such expensive weapons were inherited.
By the way, its production in Ancient Greece flourished mainly in city policies, and it was imported into small settlements from other places. During the time of Pericles, a fairly large workshop operated in Athens, where they made shields. Perhaps this was the largest production in ancient Greece. About 120 slaves and a fairly large number of free citizens worked there.
Initially, warriors wore Illyrian helmets, or skittles, on their heads. They were made of bronze and decorated with a horsehair comb. They were in use from the 7th to the 6th centuries. BC e., until they were replaced by Corinthian ones. The new helmets were completely closed and had openings only for the mouth and eyes. Outside of combat, they were usually moved to the back of the head. Later, Chalcidian helmets appeared, which also left the ears open. In the II century. BC e. The Thracian ones were considered the most popular - with a relatively small crest, complemented by figured cheekpieces and a visor.
The warrior's torso was protected in front and behind by an anatomical cuirass - a hippothorax. Most often it weighed about 1 talent (about 34 kg), but some soldiers had armor twice as heavy. Over time, the hippothorax was gradually replaced by a lighter version - a linen shell called linothorax.
Other parts of the body were also protected. Thus, Greek hoplites were equipped with greaves - cnimids, as well as bracers, which were used until the very middle of the 5th century. BC e. Proof of this fact are numerous archaeological finds discovered by scientists on many amphorae and other household items, quite often there were images of a Greek hoplite (a photo of a fragment of such a vessel is presented below) fighting with a weapon in his hands against another enemy.
Transformations in the army
In the 7th-5th centuries. BC e. a reform was carried out to make hoplite armor heavier. Most likely, such measures were taken in order to preserve the lives of the soldiers, since the Spartan army at that time consisted of only 8 moras, which is a little more than 4 thousand soldiers.
However, starting from the middle of the 5th century. BC e. The equipment of Greek soldiers began to become lighter: linen shells began to replace anatomical cuirasses. The bracers have almost completely disappeared. The reason for this was a change in the formation of troops. It became denser and deeper, and the number of soldiers in the detachments doubled. Only the number of Spartan formations remained unchanged - 144 soldiers each. Due to changes in formation, slashing blows were delivered less and less often, so the soldiers' hands were not in danger of being chopped off. Now it was used more and more often, so the spears lengthened from 3 to 6 meters. So the Greek hoplites began to turn into sarissophoros - foot soldiers who formed the basis of the phalanx.
Traditions
Usually the Spartans set out on a campaign on a full moon, and before that their ruler always made a sacrifice so that good luck would accompany them. In front of the army they always carried fire taken from Sparta, which was necessary to light fires now for marching sacrifices. In addition, they took with them an image with the Dioscuri embracing. They personified the fraternal union of comrades in arms and were ideals for Spartan warriors.
The Greek army camp was almost always shaped like a circle and was well guarded by helots. It must be said that during the campaigns the Spartans dressed very smartly. Instead of the usual cloak made of coarse fabric, they wore purple robes, and instead of parkas, they wore highly polished weapons. When entering battle, soldiers put on wreaths, as if going to some kind of holiday.
Army structure
Not only Greek hoplites served in the troops. You will find out further who the peltasts and slingers who helped the Spartans in battle were. Since the Greeks considered cavalry completely useless, horses were often used only to transport rich warriors to the battlefield. Therefore, in those days, in addition to heavy infantry (hoplites), there was also light infantry, consisting of the poorest townspeople and slaves. The latter, despite their forced existence, were quite reliable people, devoted to their masters.
Each hoplite always had his own slave who helped him put on his equipment. In battle, slaves were slingers who carried with them cloth bags with several dozen clay or stone cores with a diameter of up to 40 cm. They also had a special belt loop equipped with a thickening. This was the sling. She was expertly spun over her head and then released. The cannonball flew out and overtook the enemy at high speed, inflicting serious wounds on exposed parts of the body.
Throwers
Peltasts were light infantrymen armed with javelins. They were recruited from among the poorest townspeople called up for service, who did not have the opportunity to purchase hoplite weapons and armor. It happened that some of them purchased such uniforms at city expense.
The peltasts threw their weapons at a distance of about 15 m. They did not need a large supply of darts, since they only had time to use a few in the short time until the enemy approached closely. It must be said that a dart as a weapon was much more dangerous than an arrow, since, when it hit the enemy’s shield, it got stuck in it, preventing any defensive manipulations from being performed.
Physical training and education
As you know, Greek hoplites are militias who could hardly maintain formation while moving, and there was no talk of hand-to-hand combat skills. Of course, one can assume that free citizens engaged in some kind of physical exercise, but peasants had neither the opportunity nor the strength to constantly work on improving their bodies, especially upon reaching a more mature age.
The Spartans are another matter. From childhood, each of them was taught the art of war. They knew how to fight correctly and were rightly proud of it. Spartan hoplites not only knew how to impeccably maintain formation, in which they were helped by flute players, but also competently conducted hand-to-hand combat. They were almost the best warriors of the Ancient World.
300 Spartans
It is safe to say that the main role in protecting their cities from enemy troops was then played by the Greek hoplite. 480 BC e. - this is the time when the huge army of the king of Persia, Xerxes, crossed the strait and invaded foreign territory. Greece was forced to defend itself. Her allied army consisted of hoplite detachments sent from eleven cities, including Sparta. In order to prevent the enemy from further advancing deeper into the country, the Greeks tried to block the narrow Thermopylae pass. For two days they managed to repel the superior forces of the Persians, but the betrayal of one of the local residents, who led the enemy troops around the defenders, did not give a single chance of victory. The entire Greek army retreated, except for three hundred Spartans and two more detachments - the Thebans and Thespians, who, however, also quickly surrendered to the mercy of the enemy.
The Spartans knew that they could not win the battle, but law and honor did not allow them to retreat. Here, in Thermopylae, they defended their land - Opuntian Locris and Boeotia, through which the Persian army had to pass. The courageous hoplites did not retreat and died in an unequal battle.
Time moves inexorably forward, but history has still preserved irrefutable evidence of the existence of the free city of Sparta and its brave warriors who defended their land from enemies. Their heroism is still admired by many people, and famous directors make films about them. In addition, in almost any store that has a souvenir department, there is sure to be at least one fairly realistic figurine of a Greek hoplite in an unusually beautiful uniform.
During the 8th century. BC Revolutionary changes occurred in the military affairs of the ancient Greeks. Instead of the previous principle of battle, when each fought the enemy “on his own,” a system was now introduced that required much greater discipline. Such a system was the phalanx - a combat formation several ranks deep, in which warriors in the second and subsequent ranks replaced, if necessary, people in the first. Because of this, the entire phalanx was divided into rows in which people stood one after another. Thus, the phalanx did not consist of several long ranks, but of many short rows. Each row was a fighting unit, and when a man in the front rank fell, a warrior from the back stood up to replace him - the next in his row.
The phalanx could be built in an open formation, when each person took two steps, or it could be doubled, forming a closed battle formation. The spread of Argive shields (probably at the beginning of the 7th century BC) greatly strengthened this new type of system. It was a round metal shield that no longer had a central handle as before, but was instead attached to the left forearm. Such a shield was kept at chest level and covered the warrior from the chin to the knees. In battle, they usually formed a closed formation, and then the width of the shield was just enough to cover the unprotected side of the person standing on the left.
The phalanx developed gradually and in the early stages of its formation had to go through many changes. The new type of warriors came to be called hoplites, or armored warriors. On a vase from Chiga, which dates back to the mid-7th century. BC, the hoplite is depicted with two spears intended for throwing, as in the time of Homer, but he already has such familiar parts of equipment as a helmet, armor and greaves - all made of bronze. Over time, both weapons and armor were improved. By the time of the Persian invasion, the bronze armor was replaced with linen - it protected better and was much cheaper - and instead of throwing spears, a long spear, designed for piercing movements, and a short sword appeared. Possessing such weapons, hoplites could maintain close formation.
Background of the Phalanx
It is not possible to trace the development of the phalanx in all details. We only know that the system had already fully developed by the 7th century, when the Spartan poet Tyrtaeus wrote that the duty of a warrior is to stand shoulder to shoulder with his comrades and not try to show personal heroism at the expense of the battle order. The Spartans condemned Aristodemus for showing reckless courage in the Battle of Plataea, endangering the lives of other soldiers.
We know absolutely nothing about how the phalanx was organized at the very beginning. We learn the first detailed description from Xenophon from the “Government of the Lacedaemonians,” in which he describes the Spartan army of the early 4th century. BC Xenophon uses the word "pentekostys" (pentecostia), "fifty", to designate a combat unit of the Spartan army. In fact, at this time such a unit was much larger. This suggests that the Spartan phalanx, and perhaps the phalanxes of other Greek city-states, developed from a system where the basic unit was a row of eight men. It is also possible that somewhat earlier, somewhere around 800 BC, the phalanx consisted of suckers of 100 men each; The sucker was composed of two pentecostia, which were in turn divided into two enomotia. Each enomoty probably included twenty-three hoplites, an experienced warrior who was outside the general ranks (he was called an uragus or tergiductor) and a senior commander, an enomotarch. In battle, the enomoty was usually formed in three rows of eight people each. At the same time, the hurricane stood behind and kept order in the back rows. Oenomotarchus, like all phalanx commanders, fought in front of the right rank of his detachment. When formed in eight ranks, the loch consisted of twelve rows. They were commanded by a lohag, whose place in the ranks was on the right edge. The left side of the sucker was commanded by a penteconter, who was on the right side of his squad. Thus, before our eyes appears a sucker of a hundred people, where the commanders are fighting in the front rank, and the Uragas proudly rise behind. Their isolated location is well illustrated by Xenophon in his account of the fictitious battle of Fimbrara. Lightly armed warriors were placed behind the phalanx, and behind them, the Urags lined up to maintain order.
A new type of battle formation was adopted by all city-states, and although it may vary in detail from polis to polis, the basic organization always remained the same.
Athenian army
In the largest of the policies, Athens, all citizens aged 17 to 59 were required to serve in the army. In the 5th century Athens could field about 30 thousand hoplites, of which about half were fully capable of combat. The rest - those under nineteen years of age and veterans - carried out garrison service. Hoplites were recruited from the wealthy sections of society, since the warriors provided themselves with military equipment, and only wealthy people could afford this. However, one whose father was killed in battle was equipped at public expense.
As far as can be seen, the Athenians retained the original "archaic loch" and, as a rule, fought in eight ranks. Their army consisted of ten divisions, taxis, each of which was commanded by a taxiarch. Each of these units was recruited from one of the ten territorial units of Attica. All taxis were divided into suckers, but we know nothing about whether there was any intermediate division between them.
In Athens, as in all democratic states, the position of military leader, or strategist, was elective. There were ten of them in total - one for each territorial unit - and they were elected annually. In fact, only three usually left with the army. Then either one of them was chosen as the supreme commander, or all three commanded the army in turn. The commander probably stood in the first rank, and even the strategist, having given orders, took his place, which was usually on the right flank of the phalanx.
Sparta is a militarized state
Of all the Greek states, the development of which followed approximately the same path, it is worth highlighting the only one that deviated from this general pattern. Sparta was such a state, and all of Greece feared it. It was believed that one Spartan was worth several warriors from any other city, and no other city dared to confront the Spartans on the battlefield, unless forced.
Actually the Spartans, i.e. citizens of Sparta were called Spartiates. They formed the core of the army, which was strengthened by soldiers supplied by the perieki, subordinate to Sparta. By the beginning of the 5th century. The army also included lightly armed helots. If there were both Spartiates and Perieci in the army, then they were addressed as “Lacedaemonians” (helots, of course, were not considered).
The Spartans had a strange government system. In Sparta, two kings ruled simultaneously, whose power was inherited. However, if someone's rule was not liked, such a king could be expelled. At the same time, five annually elected magistrates, or ephors, had much greater real power. It is possible that initially the kings had real political power, but by the 5th century. BC The ephors, answerable only to their successors, became the real power in the state. Each king had bodyguards - a detachment of three hundred people, who were called hippei. Despite this name (from the word “hippos”, “horse”), they fought on foot, not on horseback. Initially, both rulers took part in all military campaigns, but shortly before the start of the Persian wars, the tradition changed, and only one of the kings began to go on campaign.
Our knowledge about the Athenian military system is quite scanty, but about the Spartan one, on the contrary, it is very extensive. We owe this to the Athenian warrior and writer Xenophon. He spent many years with the Spartans and even participated in military campaigns with them. Xenophon was a great admirer of the Spartan military system, and his writings are replete with facts concerning it. The works of Xenophon allow us to see the Spartan army as it was at the end of the 5th century. BC, and since Sparta was a very conservative state, most of its descriptions are correct for the beginning of that century.
The state in Sparta regulated everything. The Spartans were warriors and, by law, could not do anything else. The land in Sparta was divided between the farms in which the helots worked. The farms belonged to the state, and each Spartan received everything he needed from one of them. This system allowed the Spartans to devote all their time to the art of war. Spartan society was extremely closed and self-sufficient. The reason for this was that the Spartans were originally warriors who defeated and enslaved the helots, whose numbers greatly exceeded their own. In order to maintain their position, all Spartans had to remain warriors all their lives, capable of pacifying the helots if necessary.
Raising a Spartan Boy
The state regulated literally everything in the life of a Spartan. Even expectant mothers had to perform numerous physical exercises to ensure that their children were born healthy; babies who were weak or had physical disabilities were killed.
At the age of seven, boys were taken from their mothers, their hair was cut off, and they were put into groups. The children lived, ate and slept together and were taught by the same mentor.
The Spartans did not trust the education of their children to hired teachers - for this they chose some adult and experienced citizen. Academic education was minimal and the emphasis was on discipline and physical exercise. Children usually ran barefoot and without clothes, and their food was simple and meager enough to encourage theft. Although they were punished if they were caught, the punishment was precisely for sluggishness, and not for theft. In this way they were taught to endure hunger and get food for themselves.
From the age of twelve, discipline became stricter. Since boys at this age were considered very naughty, they were constantly loaded with hard work and incessant physical exercise. As in childhood, they were forbidden to wear anything under the tunic, which served them as clothing both in winter and summer.
Fighting was encouraged among both children and adults, but it was never to be done in anger. The fight had to stop on the orders of another citizen. A good illustration of this is the story of a boy whose father spanked him not for fighting, but for complaining that another boy had hit him.
The only virtue of the Spartans was courage, and their greatest vice was cowardice. Those killed in battle were carried home on their shields. An inconvenient shield was usually the first thing that a hoplite fleeing from the battlefield tried to get rid of, so Spartan women who accompanied their sons to battle wanted them to return “with a shield or on a shield.”
A young man was considered an adult at the age of twenty, when he became fit for military service. The most suitable were selected for the army, and the rest were considered fit for internal service. They could also recruit reinforcements from them. Because the Spartan army was organized by age groups, young men continued to live and train together; even a married Spartan lived and ate in the barracks, separate from his wife. This separation of husbands and wives contributed to the development of homosexual relationships.
Spartan army
In the treatise “Government of the Lacedaemonians,” Xenophon talks in detail about how the Spartan army was organized in his time, that is, around the beginning of the 4th century. BC Unfortunately, the second source of information about the Spartan army, namely Thucydides' account of the First Battle of Mantinea, is not at all as good. Thucydides frankly admitted that he had great difficulty in trying to find out anything about the structure of their army, and therefore he probably tried to reconstruct the picture using all the facts known to him - often mixing information ancient and modern. Xenophon's account is an eyewitness account and should be given preference.
All men between the ages of 20 and 60 were required to serve in the army. The Spartan hoplites were armed in exactly the same way as the rest of the Greeks, but they were easily distinguished by their red cloaks, which were a mandatory part of the attire. This red cloak became the symbol of the Spartan warrior.
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Rice. 3 Organization of the Spartan army during the time of Xenophon (beginning of the 4th century BC). 1 - the smallest unit of the Spartan army - enomotia. It consisted of three rows of twelve people or six half-rows of six warriors each. They were commanded by the enomotarch. The two enomoties formed a pentecostia, commanded by a penteconter. 2 - loch, the main unit of the phalanx. It was composed of two pentecostia, or four enomoti. This unit was commanded by a lochagos. 3 - the pestilence was formed from four suckers (576 people), and it was commanded by a polemarch. The entire Spartan army consisted of six moras and was subordinate to the king. Legend: A - lohag, P - pentekonter, E - enomotarch. |
At the time of Xenophon, the Spartan loch consisted of 144 people, who were divided into four enomotii of 36 warriors each. All that has changed is the number of people in the enomotia; there were one and a half times more of them, so that the usual depth of the phalanx increased from eight ranks to twelve. At that time, there was a general tendency towards deeper phalanxes - perhaps due to the rise of Thebes, where the number of ranks was much greater. In general, we can say with a high degree of confidence that until the end of the 5th century. BC The Spartans adhered to the “archaic sucker”, in which the number of ranks was eight.
The Spartan army was organized in such a way that each unit, no matter how small, had its own commander and, possibly, also a commander in the back row. Such commanders, the Urags, most likely did not have any privileges, and the entire back row of the phalanx could consist of them. Each enomotia was divided into three rows and, accordingly, into six half-rows. The best warrior in each rank and half-row was his commander, and the second after him was his enemy. The enomotii were united in the “fifty,” pentecostia, and each had its own commander, the pentekonter. Two fifty made up the loch - the smallest tactical unit of the phalanx, commanded by the lohag. The entire Spartan army was divided into six parts, which were called moras (toga) and consisted of four suckers each. The commander of the pestilence was called polemarch. In the phalanx, all senior commanders and rank leaders most likely stood in the first rank. Oenomotarchs, pentekonteri and lohagi usually took place at the head of the right rank of the combat unit they commanded.
Cavalry was assigned to each sea. The detachment, which was also called a mora, consisted of approximately 60 horsemen. Such cavalry units did not appear immediately; they arose during the Peloponnesian War, towards the end of the 5th century.
The first mora included hippeas. This was the name given to the 300 best hoplites of the Spartan army. They were chosen from men who were in the prime of life.
Every year the ephors elected three people, the Hippagretae, whose duty was to find a hundred people each to make them Hippaeans. They were on the right wing of the army and served as the king's bodyguards. It is possible that only those who had sons could become a hippeus, for the Spartans treated with disdain those who did not fulfill their duty and did not produce the next generation of hoplites. This may explain Herodotus's account of the Spartans having sons in his account of the Battle of Thermopylae.
Sparta in the time of Herodotus
It is likely that the Spartan army underwent two reorganizations - one during the time of Xenophon, at the beginning of the 4th century, and the other about fifty years earlier. We know practically nothing about what their army looked like before this first reorganization. In Herodotus, the word “loch” (lochos) is occasionally found, while the word “mora” (toga) is completely absent; Moreover, ancient sources constantly say that there were five suckers in the Spartan army. All this suggests that at the beginning of the 5th century. BC The Spartan army really consisted of five huge suckers. It is quite possible that the smaller unit was also called a loch - the word itself simply means a group of people, a detachment and does not in any way reflect the required number of people in it. Meanings were similarly confused when using the word “taxis”, which in the time of Xenophon could mean any combat unit larger than one sucker.
It is possible that these “big” suckers consisted of representatives of the five territorial units of Sparta, those villages that were originally part of it. In ancient times, each village had to exhibit one sucker; Gradually, as the villages grew, the number of people in the loch increased, but the name remained the same. The suckers, the commanders of these suckers, thus turned into much more important persons than the name of their position implied. At the Battle of Plataea, in 479, each of the five Lochagi must have commanded a thousand men. This explains why Lord Amompharet considered himself entitled to challenge the order of his supreme commander, Pausanias - under normal circumstances, Amompharet would certainly have been present at the council of war. Undoubtedly, this division persisted later.
From about the 7th century. BC the population of Sparta steadily decreased. Between the 7th and the beginning of the 5th century. her army grew from nine thousand to eight thousand, and another hundred years later numbered only about four thousand people, with the Spartiates making up only about a thousand warriors. In order to strengthen the forces, freed helots and periecs were allowed into the army. Such a sharp decrease in population must have been the reason for the subsequent changes.
Young warriors in the time of Xenophon
Xenophon argues that there is no need to teach a person to use weapons. Working with a shield and spear is as natural as the habit of parrying blows in a fight with your left hand and delivering them with your right. Maybe this is true. The strength of the phalanx was based not on the skill of individual warriors, but on their well-oiled joint actions. Xenophon apparently believed that all a warrior needed was skill in the use of a spear and shield, which, of course, was acquired through training battles. In addition, any Spartan boy probably imagined himself as a soldier during games and thus learned his future craft.
Be that as it may, hoplites were probably taught basic movements. There is an assumption that the poses in which warriors are most often depicted in Greek art represent precisely these basic movements.
1. When the hoplite stood “at ease,” his spear rested on the ground and his shield stood at his hip. Sometimes the hoplites remained in the same position in the face of the enemy, as a sign of contempt for him.
2. When the command “at attention” was sounded, the spear was raised to the right shoulder, and the shield so that it covered the torso.
3. From this position, the hoplite could move into a fighting position, bringing the spear forward until his right arm was extended and the weapon was parallel to the ground at hip level. This was the position for striking from below, from the waist, in which the hoplites went into battle. It is impossible to perform this movement in closed formation, since in order to deliver such a blow to the enemy’s chest, the shield wall would have to be slightly opened. In addition, when delivering such a blow from the waist, there was a danger of injuring the next person in his row with the influx of spears.
4. The normal position for striking looked like this: the spear was raised over the right shoulder and struck down, slightly at an angle, through a narrow gap between the upper sides of one's own shield and the shield of the neighbor on the right. The angle of inclination had to be such as not to hit the next one in the row. It would be impossible to take this position from position 2, since then the spear would be facing forward. It is also impossible to move into it from position 3 if the spear is long. In order to perform this movement, it was necessary to raise the spear over the right shoulder and change the grip, which was quite difficult to perform while standing in line. An experienced soldier could always tell how an army was trained by the degree of precision with which a movement was executed.
Training began with the recruits being taught to march in a column one at a time, following the commander. The young Spartans, who absorbed the traditions of their hometown with their mother’s milk, probably only needed to “give shape” in the process of training. All orders were given by voice and carried out by a trumpet signal. Xenophon colorfully describes how a certain taxiarch tried to train recruits, obviously not Spartans, to move in a single formation. He lined them up behind the lodge and then gave the command to go forward. Without waiting for the trumpet signal, the man standing behind the horseman took a step and overtook him. The taxiarch, with commendable patience, explained to the ignoramus that the order applied not to him alone, but to everyone. He told the recruit to return to duty and gave the command again. This time everyone overtook the loser. When the recruits were trained to march in a line, they were shown how to form into rows of varying lengths. Let’s assume that a group of 36 people lined up in one row. They are counted; the first in the row, the enomotarch, gives orders to the whole row; the thirteenth man commands men from number 14 to number 24, and number twenty-five orders his men from 26 to 36. On the command to form a column of three, numbers 1 to 12 remain in place, and numbers 13 and 25 order their men to stand to the left of them so as to form a column three people wide and twelve deep. By the second order, the rear half of each squad advances along the front half so as to form a square six men wide and six deep. The rows could be opened, and then the distance between them was two steps, or they could be connected, and then it was equal to one step. Since there were no markings, this exercise could only be performed in practice if the squad leaders commanded their men to turn to the left, then walk forward the required distance from the first squad, then turn right and go forward until the commanders reach the enomotarch. Pulling forward the second half of each column was also used as the easiest way to form a close formation.
The exercise became somewhat more difficult if one had to deal with a whole sucker consisting of four enomoties. The diagram shows how these enomotia, already rebuilt in columns of three, form a square of twelve by twelve people. If the warriors formed an open formation, the second half of each column could be moved forward to form a closed phalanx of six rows of twenty-four warriors each.
In order to form a column, the phalanx made a turn in a circle, and the enemy of the last squad, which now found itself at the right end of the phalanx, began to move. The others followed him in the prescribed order.
Xenophon tells how the taxiarch trained his men in these maneuvers by having them go to dine in a phalanx, and then lining them up in a single file, led by the lohague from the right flank. Having finished eating, the warriors had to leave in the reverse order - in a column one at a time under the leadership of the left flank attack, and then again form a phalanx so that the second halves of each row were in front. This formation was used during the retreat.
The recruits were ready to take their place in the ranks immediately after completing their initial training. Since the Spartan army was drafted according to age, each year's recruits must have formed a separate unit. It is unlikely that they were drafted by age and then assigned to different units. All combat units were assembled in their entirety only if the order for mobilization was given. At the time of Xenophon the army consisted of approximately four thousand men. Since they served in it for 40 years, the turnover should have been approximately 100 people per year. After adjusting for deaths in battle or other causes, it can be calculated that each year approximately 50 veterans left the service, which means that it turns out that about two hundred new recruits were needed annually. Apparently, in order to make room for young warriors, one enomotia in each sea was dissolved, leaving only commanders, senior columns and uragas. The vacated place was filled by approximately 180 of the best recruits; the rest of the newcomers ended up in the cavalry. Warriors of loose enomotia could be used to strengthen other enomotia. The newly formed combat unit initially occupied the least honorable place on the left flank of the mora and, having become part of the main forces, could take part in full-fledged training maneuvers. During their course, the recruits learned to use their skills, working together with three other suckers who made up their mora.
Now they were again learning to change from a marching column to a phalanx, but they were doing it in a more complex manner. Following three abreast, the first sucker would stop and the rest would turn left. As soon as the sucker, who should have been at the head of the right lane, crossed the line of the left lane, he must have started counting his steps so that he was in the correct position to turn right and then line up with the first sucker. The deployment of individual suckers followed the principle that the newcomers learned at the very beginning of their training. In order to form an open formation 12 ranks deep, the rear sucker had to count 70 steps to the left. The full mora formed a front of 48 men who stretched 94 paces. Even beginners had to learn to turn into a combat formation from a marching column and be able to turn it to the left or to the right. To do this, each sucker, including this time the first one, had to stop, turn right or left, and only then turn into a phalanx.
In addition, recruits had to learn to make outflanking maneuvers - for example, pushing forward flanks, enveloping an enemy unit. These movements are often mentioned in the descriptions of various ancient battles, but they present a considerable problem, since then the phalanx will not be able to turn around. Fortunately, Xenophon describes this maneuver in detail when describing the fictitious Battle of Fimbrara, and in his description this maneuver is performed by both wings, although usually only one of them performed it. So, the whole army lined up in a phalanx. At the signal from the trumpet, both wings fold the formation into a marching column and begin to move away from the central core. At a certain distance, they turn and, in a column, begin to move forward towards the enemy. When both wings have completed this part of the maneuver and, like horns, rush forward, the center of the army begins to advance. Having caught up with the enemy, the attacking flanks turn inward, facing the enemy, and engage in battle. If the enemy managed to predict the advances of the attacking army, such a maneuver could turn out to be extremely dangerous.
The armament of the Greeks changed significantly. There are hypotheses that at the turn of the century the hoplite panoplia became significantly lighter, and shells were abandoned. By the time of the Macedonian conquests, shells had made a comeback. Is this true?
At the beginning of the 5th century. BC by the time the bronze bell-shaped armor of the hoplites became archaic. Artists sometimes depict bell-shaped shells for hoplites, famous conservatives.
In the 5th-4th century. the anatomical shell - the gelothorax - becomes more prominent, repeating the muscles of the torso. Such a shell could be either short or completely cover the lower abdomen.
Gelothorax was strong, but at the same time heavy, made movement difficult and was quite expensive. Since the end of the 6th century. BC Linen shell, linothorax, is in use, lighter and cheaper, which could be supplemented with metal scales. The groin could be covered with protective strips of leather or linen - pterygami (pterygami). Even at the end of the 6th century. BC the linen armor was described by Herodotus, 3.47: “The armor was linen with many woven images, decorated with gold and cotton fringe. The most amazing thing about it was that each individual cord of fabric, no matter how thin it was, consisted of 360 threads and all of them were visible.”
Artist Adam Hook
The hoplite's legs were protected by bronze greaves - knemids. Bracers were rarely used. The hoplite's armor was complemented by a helmet. The warrior was given maximum protection by the closed Corinthian helmet, which is shown in the illustration above. The negative properties of the Corinthian helmet were poor visibility and audibility. In the 5th century the Corinthian helmet gives way to more open helmets.
The illustration shows different types of hoplite helmets: 12,16 – Corinthian, 6,7 – Illyrian, 17,18,19 – Chalkidian (19 is also called Attic), 20 – Thracian.
In the illustration below, the artist’s idea of the Illyrian helmet differs from the generally accepted one.
Artist A. Kurkin
The hoplite got its name due to its characteristic shield - the hoplon. A hoplon was a mandatory accessory for a hoplite. This shield is also called Argive or aspis. But aspis is a shield in the broad sense of the word. Later authors may understand aspis to be a small pelta. The hoplon has a characteristic convexity and a flat rim, an average diameter of 90 cm and almost completely covers the hoplite.
Sometimes, to further protect the hoplite’s legs from arrows, a curtain was hung from below the shield.
At an early stage of Greek history, the shield could contain an image characteristic of a particular hero. For Menelaus it was a snake, for Tydeus it was a boar, for Agamemnon it was a Gorgon. By the end of the 5th century. Characteristic images appear on the shields, helping to determine membership in the policy. On the Messenian shields there was the letter mu, on the Lacedaemonian lambda, on the Sicyonian sigma, on the Theban shields there was an image of a club, on the Athenian shields - an owl or alpha, the trident of Poseidon - Mantinea. From the drawings one can also distinguish belonging to various phyla in Attica and moras in Lacedaemon.
In an earlier period, there were shields with cutouts along the edges - the so-called “Boeotian type”. And spears could be used for throwing.
In the 5th century During the Greco-Persian wars they stabbed with a spear.
A hoplite spear with a leaf-shaped tip is called a doru. The length of a spear is determined from archaeological finds - the distance between the surviving tip and the outlet is measured, or from ancient images. It is generally accepted that the length of the spear was about 2.5 m. But there are images of spears of greater length, about 3 m.
Hoplites not only used spears, but, if necessary, could serve as light troops. Xenophon, “Greek History”, 3.5.20: “When Lysander died and his soldiers ran to the mountain, the Thebans pursued them with all their might. When they, in pursuit, climbed to the top of the mountain, where the continuation of the journey was hampered by impassable roads and the narrowness of the gorges, the Lacedaemonian hoplites turned their front to the enemy and began to throw darts and arrows.” If the spear broke, in the closeness of the battle the hoplites took out the sword.
The standard hoplite sword - xiphos - is straight, leaf-shaped. Sometimes in images, hoplites are depicted with a curved sword, the kopis or makhaira, as Xenophon calls this sword.
There are some semantic nuances in the use of the terms copis, mahaira, or a sword similar to them - the Spanish falcata, but we will leave these subtleties for debate among professional historians. A curved sword produces a cutting motion during a chopping blow and is primarily convenient for the rider, as Xenophon writes about in his work “On the Cavalry.”
Since the Peloponnesian War, pictorial sources show hoplites (usually Spartans) without armor.
The hoplites wore a special type of chiton - exomida, which was worn lowered on the right shoulder. Instead of a helmet, a felt hat – pilos – can be used. A metal pilos helmet appeared, shaped like a hat.
Xenophon in Anabasis, 1.2.16 talks about the review of mercenaries in the service of Cyrus before: “All the Hellenes wore copper helmets, purple chitons and knemids, and the shields were taken out of their cases.” Armor is not mentioned.
Artist Adam Hook
This illustration shows a hoplite without armor. 8,9,10 – Boeotian helmets, 12 – pilos. Leggings are missing.
It is believed that by the time of Macedonian hegemony in Greece, the gelothorax shell reappeared on hoplites, an image of which is shown in the article about. Below is a hoplite wearing a muscular armor with pteruges and wearing a Phrygian helmet. The Phrygian helmet resembles the Thracian one, with the exception of the characteristic top of the Phrygian cap.
Artist Adam Hook
It has been hypothesized that during the Peloponnesian War, armor disappeared to lighten the hoplite and to give the phalanx greater mobility, which made it possible to better counter the increased number of light troops. From the point of view of this hypothesis, it is not clear why armor returned in the last third of the 4th century. In addition, to counter enemy light troops, it is best to use your own light troops.
In fact, the hoplite shell never disappeared. Diodorus, after, 12.70: “... there were so many killed that the Thebans, using the proceeds from the booty, not only erected a large colonnade in the market square, but also decorated it with bronze statues, and decorated the temples and portals with bronze armor obtained as a trophy.” Thucydides, 6.31: “The land army consisted of selected people who tried in every possible way to outdo each other with their equipment and armor.” Xenophon, “Greek History”, 6.2.20: “Having learned about this, Mnasippus put on armor and rushed to the rescue with all his hoplites...”; 7.5.23: “...some ran to their places in the ranks, others lined up, others bridled their horses, and others put on their armor.” Xenophon, ““, describes: “... the corpses of our own and enemy soldiers lay mixed up, and broken shields, broken shells, daggers were thrown next to them, some of which were lying unsheathed on the ground, others were sticking out stuck into the body, and some were clamped in hands of the dead.” Plutarch, Pelopidas: “They say that the participants in the battle, having learned about his death, did not take off their shells, did not unbridle their horses, did not bandage their wounds, but first of all - right in their armor, not yet cooled down after the battle - they gathered around the body of Pelopidas, as if he could see or hear them, they piled up heaps of enemy weapons around…”; Timoleon: “Timoleon rushed to the rescue and, covering Timophanes prostrate on the ground with a shield, exposed his armor and his body to the blows; all wounded by arrows and swords, he nevertheless threw back the attackers and saved his brother.”
The shells were and remained in service. To make the hoplites lighter, he did not abandon shells altogether. According to Diodorus: “and instead of chain mail and copper armor, he introduced linen armor.” First of all, to increase mobility, Iphicrates replaced the hoplon with a pelta. The absence of armor among hoplites in some cases should be sought for economic reasons. Constant internecine wars in Greece depleted the treasury of the opposing policies. A large number of mercenaries appeared who could not provide themselves with full hoplite weapons. Agesilaus, in order for the mercenaries to provide themselves with the necessary weapons, was forced to resort to tricks. Xenophon, “Greek History”, 4.2.7: “... he (Agesilaus) appointed rewards to those of the cities that would send the best army, to that of the mercenary commanders who would come with the best armed detachments of hoplites, archers or peltasts. He also promised to give nyctheria (prizes) to those of the hipparchs whose troops would be distinguished by horses and weapons…. Agesilaus achieved by this that, in pursuit of rewards, everyone acquired weapons worth many times more than this amount.”
Artist A. Kurkin
The hoplites would switch to Macedonian weapons later. The Spartans Cleomenes and the Achaeans Philopoemen would take the sarissas into their hands by 222 BC. And after the invasion of Greece by the Gauls in 279 BC. instead of hoplons, the oval firey will be popular.
At the beginning of the 4th century. BC Sparta is at the peak of its power. Their phalanx is invincible. The Spartan army, led by King Agesilaus, conducts successful military operations against Persia. Agesilaus, a talented military leader, reaches Sardis and defeats the Persian satraps. Returning to Greece at the height of the Corinthian War, Agesilaus defeats his opponents at the Battle of Coronea. However, at the end of his life, Agesilaus faces the decline and defeat of the Spartan army. He is forced with the remnants of the Spartiates to defend his city, which is surrounded by enemies. Xenophon, a friend of Agesilaus, provides detailed information about his life and the structure of the Spartan army.
The work of Xenophon “Polity of the Lacedaemonians” is dedicated to the Spartan army. In it he writes about the laws of Lycurgus, but describes the contemporary army of the times of Agesilaus.
Spartan phalanx
“First of all, the ephors proclaim the age at which horsemen, hoplites, and, finally, artisans should go on a campaign. So, what people use in their polis, the Lacedaemonians have all this at their disposal on a military campaign. And if any of the tools are needed by the entire army, then some of them are ordered to be carried on a cart, others - on pack animals; in this case, what is missing is least likely to be hidden. For battle, Lycurgus prescribed a purple table and a copper shield. He considered that it was least suitable for women and most suitable for war, quickly brought to shine and less dirty. He also prescribes long hair for those who have crossed the threshold of youth, believing that this way the warriors will appear taller, nobler and more formidable. And having thus arranged this, he divided the cavalry and hoplites into 6 pestilence. Each of these civil moras has one polemarch, four lochagi, 8 penteconters and 16 enomotarchs. From these pestilence, on command, all warriors are distributed into enomotives, sometimes into three, and sometimes into six (??? rows).
Most consider the Laconian armed system to be the most complex, but such an assumption is completely at odds with reality, because in the Laconian system the commanders are first and each row of fighters has everything it needs in battle. It is so easy to understand all the features of such a structure that anyone who is able to recognize people will not be mistaken, because some are given to lead in war, others are supposed to follow them. The enomotarch, like a herald, announces the maneuvers verbally - so the phalanxes become narrower and deeper, and there is nothing difficult to understand here. In the same way, you have to fight with an enemy that suddenly appears, even if the ranks of the fighters are suddenly upset. But such an order is no longer easy to understand for everyone except those who were brought up according to the laws of Lycurgus. The Lacedaemonians do very easily what seems very difficult to the hoplites of other armies. After all, when they move in the flank, usually one enomoty follows another to the back of the head. If, however, the enemy phalanx appears from the opposite side, then the enomotarch is ordered to turn to the left until the phalanx is directly opposite the enemies. And if the enemies, with such a disposition of the Spartan army, appear from the rear, then each row of fighters then turns around so that the strongest are always opposite the enemies.
When the commander finds himself on the left flank, then the Spartan warriors see this as an advantage, not a disadvantage, because if someone tries to encircle them, they will surround them from the protected side. And if, for some reason, it turns out to be more advantageous for the leader to occupy the right wing, then, turning the agema to the flank, they turn the entire phalanx so that the leader is on the right, and the rearguard is on the left. If the enemies find themselves on the right side of the army moving with the wing, then the Lacedaemonians do nothing else, but only turn each sucker, like a trireme, with the bow towards the enemy, and then it turns out that the sucker located in the rear ends up in the direction of the spear [t . e. on the right]. If the enemies approach from the left side, they do not allow this, but repel their onslaught or turn the opposing suckers to the front of the enemy, and then the sucker standing in the rear is located on the side of the shield [i.e. e. left].
I will also tell you how Lycurgus considered it advisable to camp. Considering the uselessness of the corners of the quadrangle in this case, he decided to set up camp in the shape of a circle, unless there was a safe mountain, wall or river behind. The day guard, consisting of hoplites, was placed to look inside the camp, and these hoplites were posted to look after the allies, and not the enemies. The enemies are guarded by horsemen stationed in places that offer the best view of the entire area. If someone leaves the location of the phalanx at night, then Lycurgus appointed to watch such a person skiritam, and now such an order is given by the Spartans and foreigners, some of whom are on the campaign with them. And what the Lacedaemonians always walk with spears, you need to know - this happens for the very reason that their slaves are not allowed to carry heavy weapons. As for those leaving the camp for supplies, one should not be surprised at this, because they move away from each other and from weapons only enough so as not to worry about mutual safety. And they also do this for their own safety. Camps are moved frequently to damage the enemy and help allies.
When the king stands at the head of the army and no enemies are visible, then no one goes before him except Skiritov and horse scouts, if a battle is expected, then the king, taking the agema from the first mora, leads it, turning it towards the spear to the right, so as to find himself between two moras and two polemarchs... The people who should be located behind them are lined up by the eldest of those, who, along with the king, are supported at the state expense - among these there are those from among equals who live in the same tent with the king, and fortune-tellers, and doctors, and flute players, who usually follow in front of the army, and volunteers, if any are found. So the Lacedaemonians do not lack anything they need, since everything is provided for them in advance.
Artist Xristos Gianopoulos
It seems to me that what Lycurgus came up with for the battle in . When the enemies appear and the goat is slain, it is established by law that all the flute players present should play the flutes and none of the Lacedaemonians should remain uncrowned; Lycurgus also prescribed that military weapons should sparkle. A Spartan youth should go into battle carefully groomed, joyful and worthy of glory.
The orders of the enomotarch are repeated by the warriors subordinate to him, because throughout the enomotarch one cannot hear what the enomotarch says outside the several rows of the unit entrusted to him. The polemarch must take care that everything is as it should be in every sea. And when the time comes to set up camp, the king gives orders and indicates the place where the entire army should stop. Sending an embassy to both allies and enemies is also the duty of the king. And when they want to do something, everyone starts, usually with the king. ...So, observing this, one might think: all the other warriors from among the Hellenes are self-taught, and only the Lacedaemonians are, in fact, masters of military affairs.”
Historians, based on this work, are trying to calculate the number of troops in the Spartan army. They do it as follows. They use the words of Xenophon that the enomotia is built in 3 or 6 rows. Xenophon has an indication: “The infantry of the Lacedaemonians, as they said, was lined up in such a way that from each rank there were three people in a row, therefore, in depth the Lacedaemonian army had no more than twelve rows (ranks!).” Hence, the enomoty is equal to 36 hoplites, which can stand in 3 or 6 rows. Next, the number of hoplites in the loch and the sea is calculated. Mora thus amounts to 576 hoplites, and loch 144 hoplites. Below is a Spartan sucker.
