![]() ![]() A corselet or breastplate ( thorax) of bronze or leather (later reduced to a laminated linen vest to save weight - a linothorax), bronze greaves ( knemides) to protect the shins, and sometimes arm-guards were also worn. Protection was provided by a leather-lined bronze helmet which could vary in design, was often crested, and protected the head, neck, and face. No doubt many hoplites also carried a dagger ( encheiridion) as extra insurance. The sword was also of iron with a straight or sometimes curved blade ( machaira or kopis) no more than 60 cm in length. The spear measured on average 2.5 metres (8 ft.) in length and was fitted with a bronze or iron blade and a four-sided end spike ( sauroter). The principal weapons of a hoplite infantryman were a long ash wood spear ( doru) and a short sword ( xiphos). The principal weapons of Greek hoplites were a long ash wood spear ( doru) & a short sword ( xiphos). Sparta, where all male citizens over 20 were members of a permanent professional army, was the notable exception to this approach of only calling up an army when absolutely needed and, consequently, their hoplites were famed for their military prowess. The most famous of these was the Sacred Band of Thebes, a unit composed of 150 pairs of male lovers who swore to defend their partner to the death. Other cities across ancient Greece followed a similar policy which meant that hoplites were not professional soldiers and often lacked sufficient military training, although some states did maintain a small elite professional unit, the epilektoi. In the modern Hellenic Army, the word hoplite ( Greek: oπλίτης : oplítîs) is used to refer to an infantryman.A hoplite (from ta hopla meaning tool or equipment) was the most common type of heavily armed foot-soldier in ancient Greece from the 7th to 4th centuries BCE, and most ordinary citizens of Greek city-states with sufficient means were expected to equip and make themselves available for the role when necessary.Īthens had a system of compulsory military service for 18-20-year-olds, but during a war, all male citizens up to the age of 60 could be called up to the armed forces. ὁπλῖται hoplĩtai) derives from hoplon ( ὅπλον : hóplon plural hópla ὅπλα), referring to the hoplite's equipment. The word hoplite ( Greek: ὁπλίτης hoplítēs pl. The phalanx was also employed by the Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC and at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC during the Second Greco-Persian War. The Persian archers and light troops who fought in the Battle of Marathon failed because their bows were too weak for their arrows to penetrate the wall of Greek shields that comprised the phalanx formation. The formation proved successful in defeating the Persians when employed by the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC during the First Greco-Persian War. In the 8th or 7th century BC, Greek armies adopted the phalanx formation. Hoplite soldiers made up the bulk of ancient Greek armies. These existed at times in Athens, Argos, Thebes, and Syracuse, among others. Some states maintained a small elite professional unit, known as the epilektoi ("chosen") since they were picked from the regular citizen infantry. Most hoplites were not professional soldiers and often lacked sufficient military training. The hoplites were primarily represented by free citizens – propertied farmers and artisans – who were able to afford a linen armour or a bronze armour suit and weapons (estimated at a third to a half of its able-bodied adult male population). The formation discouraged the soldiers from acting alone, for this would compromise the formation and minimize its strengths. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. Hoplites ( / ˈ h ɒ p l aɪ t s/ HOP-lytes ) ( Ancient Greek : ὁπλίτης : hoplítēs) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields.
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