Week 6: Greek Warfare Flashcards
The Fall of Assyria from a Greek Perspective
-Luxury and sluggishness
- He caused total destruction of the Assyrian Empire
- A big point of view here is the attitude of the Greeks
towards any form of absolute power. - The symbols of the empire were methodically
destroyed: The royal tombs were looted and
desecrated.
Periods of Greek History (4)
“Dark Ages”: When the Greeks stop writing right after the fall of the Mycenaean palaces. Late 8th
c BCE.
Archaic Period: From the late 8th c to the early 5th c (traditionally until the end of the Persian wars)
Classical Period: From the end of the Persian wars to the death of Alexander (323 BCE)
Hellenistic Period: From the death of Alexander to the battle of Actium, 31 BCE. Which caused the end of the last Kingdom founded by the successors of Alexander.
The “Dark Ages” of Greece
The Greek city-state is called Polis
Sources of warfare in the ‘Dark ages”
- Formation of new form of social organization
- Independent political communities with a form of collective government, usually with one central
settlement as the seat of the main cults and political institutions. - The Greek city-state is called Polis.
The “Dark Ages” of Greece
Sources of warfare
in the “Dark Ages”
- Visual Art
- Archeological
evidence
- Poems of
Homer
Infantry troops, armed with __
Infantry troops, armed with spears, swords, bows, helmets, shields of
two types, - round or round with large cut outs on both sides
Early Greek Narratives of War the Poems of Homer:
The poems ascribed to Homer, the ___ and
the ___, describe the expedition of a
coalition of Greek rulers against the city of
___.
The poems of homer are evidnece for what their afuienece knew, believed , and imagined about the age of the heroes and how
The poems ascribed to Homer, the Iliad and
the Odyssey, describe the expedition of a
coalition of Greek rulers against the city of
Troy.
- The time of the expedition is not clearly
defined, but the action takes place in the
“age of heroes” - The two poems were composed in the 2nd
half of the 8th c BCE - In the Iliad and the Odyssey, some
memories of the Mycenaean Age survive, but the social and economic
background is of the poets own time. - Because of their nature of the poems of
Homer are not Historically accurate.
The Poems of Homer are
evidence for what their
audience knew, believed,
and imagined about the
age of the heroes and how
they fought, seen through the
lens of their own experience
of war
Chariots and Heros in Homer:
- The main element of Bronze Age warfare in the
poems is the role of __ - The chariots are NOT used as a fighting platform.
Once they reach their destination and meet the
enemy, ___
The main element of Bronze Age warfare in the
poems is the role of chariots.
- All major heroes use chariots, and are accompanied
by a charioteer.
- The chariots are NOT used as a fighting platform.
Once they reach their destination and meet the
enemy, the heroes dismount and fight on foot
- The chariots are NOT used as a fighting platform.
Once they reach their destination and meet the
enemy, the heroes dismount and fight on foot.
Warriors fight in __ formation only in specific
circumstances
Warriors fight in close formation only in specific
circumstances
- There is a distinction between heavily armed ‘front- rankers’ and lighter infantry behind them.
- Spears are the most common weapon but they are
more frequently thrown than thrusted. Missile
troops are present in a good number. - The troops move quickly across the battlefield
The heavy infantry soldiers:
Fighting in close formation:
(There are described as the most important - if not the ONLY fighting force)
The heavy infantry soldiers: hoplites
Fighting in close formation: Phalanx
(There are described as the most important - if not the ONLY fighting force)
south west iran
king
Who were the
hoplites?
Not professionals but citizen-
soldiers who provided their
own equipment
NOTE: Many historians believe
that the birth of the Greek
polis as a community with
egalitarian principles is
connected to the adoption of
the hoplite tactic.
Starting from the end of the 8th c BCE the large round
shield with a ___ __ was adopted by ___
Starting from the end of the 8th c BCE the large round
shield with a double grip (aspis or hoplon) was adopted by
Greek warriors.
- Double handle: With the handle set near the rim
- Convex surface, larger, thicker, heavier, than earlier types
- Offered better protection and could be carried for a longer time.
However, it left the right flank more exposed.
- A dense formation is the natural result of the adoption of this
type of shield
Hoplite shields were made of__
Bronze was frequently used to reinforce the __
Hoplite shields were made of layers of wood
Bronze was frequently used to reinforce the offset rim
Some shields were completely covered in a thin bronze layer
The Dome shape: Works like an arch, transferring energy towards
the sides
The primary weapon: was the spearr but what is “The Lizard Killer”
The adoption of one thrusting spear as a primary weapon shows that __
Bronze Spear-Butt: Sauroter = The lizard killer
The adoption of one thrusting spear as a primary weapon shows that hoplites
specialized as close combat warrior
The secodnary weapon:
The double edged sword is called ___
The single edged sword is called ___
The double edged sword - Xyphos
The Single edged sword - Kopis
Each polis fought frontier wars to expand or defend its territory, in
particular the agricultural plains.
hey fought mainly to ___
Hoptile class:
What influfuned warfare
Each polis fought frontier wars to expand or defend its territory, in
particular the agricultural plains.
- They fought mainly to defend their own land, acting as a group with
common interes
he development of the “hoplite class”: Owners of land who could afford
the cost of their equipment - led to the development of a form of warfare
that fit their needs and interests.
- They fought as a group of equals
- It is the development of social and political structure of the early polis
with a sizeable “middle class” that influenced warfare
Hoplite vs warrior elite
Hoplite battles
Numerous soldiers, same equipment, but once they made the battle line
they made a cohesive group - one cannot succeed without the other. No
one tries to stand out or be a hero- you have to act in cohesion and
unison with the others.
Warrior elite
Display of superior skill- shows hierarchy in society. VERY different to the hoplites
who see themselves as equal to each other
he reasons for many of the specific features of traditional Greek
warfare had
he reasons for many of the specific features of traditional Greek
warfare had practical rather than ethical reasons.
It was the form of war that was the most suitable for armies
made of non-professionals
The warriors of the front rank used __
while the second rank ___
What is Othismos?
The warriors of the front rank used their spears while remaining covered
by their shields and maintaining close distance with their comrades.
The second rank had only a supporting role
Othismos = the “shove”
Real or metaphoric?
It was probably not a concentrated action of pushing with their shields
because it was complicated and dangerous.
It was probably a metaphor to mean a collective effort
Hoplites in
Action
The spartan elite class was called the ___
They chose to define themselves especially through the ___
The spartan elite class was called the Spartiatae, the only members of the spartan
community with full political rights. Among themselves they called themselves
“equals
The making of a spartan:
did they go to mandatory educaiton?
and at what age did you go school and retun and what age did you leave your fmailt and not go back home
Spartiatae underwent mandatory education, administered by the [political authorities. It developed
likely in the 6th century and was very strict.
Agoge : education administered by the spartan state. Started from age 7 (you would go to
school and then return to your family at night) BUT from age 12 instead they left their
families to live in small groups together and did not go home at the end of the school day.
What did they learn?
Everything was geared to make them the best warriors possible
So they would endure all sorts of hardships such as lacking the most basic comforts
Small amounts of food
Extreme cold or heat
If you stood out among your peers you could be selected fir th e___
The army was led by either of the __ knings
They cam from. families of sparta (they claim to desedn from hercules)
they re never 2 __ at teh same time on the batteflied 9insurance of eladership at home in case the other dies
If you stood out among your peers you could be selected for the elite
corps of the 300 “knights” (no horses) who fought with the King
The army was led by either of the 2 kings
They came from 2 families of Sparta (they claim to descend from
Hercules)
There are NEVER 2 kings at the same time on the battlefield (insurance of
leadership at home in case the other dies
Spartiatae
Perioikoi
Lacedaemonians
Helots
Spartiatae: The Elite force
Perioikoi: free citizens of the spartan state who lived in villages and towns
on the spartan territory but did not have full political rights.
Spartiatae and Perioikoi were the 2 main components of the Spartan
community and were called the Lacedaemonians.
Helots: a class of servants and dependant laborers, accompanied the army
as baggage carriers and occasionally fought supporting the hoplites.
The Spartan Army
Army was divided into units of __ each with a __ officer
Army was divided into units of increasingly smaller size, each
with a commanding officer.
- There was a clear chain of command from the king down to the
common soldier
- Spartan “professionalism” was also visible in the special care for the
marching formation, the baggage train and the cam
There was a clear chain of command from the king down to the
common soldier
- Spartan “professionalism” was also visible in the special care for the
marching formation, the baggage train and the camp
What did spartan warrio look like?
Long hair
- Red/Crimson cloak
- Brass shield
