Guys,
I have been asked to post Greek military and general history topics on the forum. I hope you will enjoy the short articles and will find the information useful to those of you who collect Greek hoplites or are contemplating collecting them!
Greek Military History
Started by
Guest_viking_*
, Aug 03 2015 11:17 PM
23 replies to this topic
Post #2 Guest_viking_*
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Posted 04 August 2015 - 01:15 PM
In order to understand ancient Greek military history, one must first learn about the importance for the creation of the Greek city-states.
Essentially, Greek city-states were groups of villages that banded together for protection (both against outside invasion and battles with other city-states) and the establishment of commerce through organized trade. Although thousands of city-states existed in ancient Greece after the Dark Ages period, the five most powerful city-states in existence were Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Megara and Argos, which was primarily based on population size.
Unlike modern day countries, ancient Greece did not have one central capital city. Greek city-states were ruled by separate aristocracy elements to prevent a king from ruling over all of Greece. Other issues also militated against the formation and rule by an oligarchy: geography and access to the Mediterranean Sea.
In my next article in this series about Greek military history, I will review the city-states of Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Megara and Argos.
Alex II
Post #3
Larry_B
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Posted 04 August 2015 - 01:37 PM
I made the mistake of watching a few minutes of 300: Rise of an Empire last night. This will be such a good brain cleanser for that!
Thanks for doing this. I spent a lot of my youth reading Greek and Roman mythology, as well as history.
Larry
- to live in truth - to have faith - to choose service to others - to give proof of humility
- to love justice - to be merciful - to be sincere and wholehearted - to stand for principles of love and service
Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
(a.k.a. - Knights Hospitaller)
- to live in truth - to have faith - to choose service to others - to give proof of humility
- to love justice - to be merciful - to be sincere and wholehearted - to stand for principles of love and service
Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
(a.k.a. - Knights Hospitaller)
Post #4 Guest_Harrytheheid_*
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Posted 04 August 2015 - 08:08 PM
I made the mistake of watching a few minutes of 300: Rise of an Empire last night. This will be such a good brain cleanser for that!
Thanks for doing this. I spent a lot of my youth reading Greek and Roman mythology, as well as history.
Aah -- but the presence of Eva Green makes up for an awful lot -- in a pretty awful movie Larry....
GREAT THREAD ALEX II
Post #5 Guest_Spitfrnd_*
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Posted 05 August 2015 - 09:21 AM
I made the mistake of watching a few minutes of 300: Rise of an Empire last night. This will be such a good brain cleanser for that!
Thanks for doing this. I spent a lot of my youth reading Greek and Roman mythology, as well as history.
Eva Green can make up for a lot indeed but NOT that much garbage in writing, directing and acting. God, it was enough to make you weep. The current Hollywood trend is bigger, louder, more absurd and increasingly stupid. This one certainly set the mark high in all those categories.
Post #7
Larry_B
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Posted 05 August 2015 - 09:59 AM
Aah -- but the presence of Eva Green makes up for an awful lot -- in a pretty awful movie Larry....
GREAT THREAD ALEX II
Hahaha! Yeah, that is why it "caught my eye!"
Larry
- to live in truth - to have faith - to choose service to others - to give proof of humility
- to love justice - to be merciful - to be sincere and wholehearted - to stand for principles of love and service
Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
(a.k.a. - Knights Hospitaller)
- to live in truth - to have faith - to choose service to others - to give proof of humility
- to love justice - to be merciful - to be sincere and wholehearted - to stand for principles of love and service
Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
(a.k.a. - Knights Hospitaller)
Post #8
Larry_B
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Posted 05 August 2015 - 10:02 AM
Eva Green can make up for a lot indeed but NOT that much garbage in writing, directing and acting. God, it was enough to make you weep. The current Hollywood trend is bigger, louder, more absurd and increasingly stupid. This one certainly set the mark high in all those categories.
I agree.
On TF people have been talking about the Water Diviner with Russell Crowe. I just saw it appear in our OnDemand menu at home. Sounds like it could be a good movie to watch. Any thoughts?
Break, break! I don't want to hi-jack this thread. I will post in its own.
Larry
- to live in truth - to have faith - to choose service to others - to give proof of humility
- to love justice - to be merciful - to be sincere and wholehearted - to stand for principles of love and service
Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
(a.k.a. - Knights Hospitaller)
- to live in truth - to have faith - to choose service to others - to give proof of humility
- to love justice - to be merciful - to be sincere and wholehearted - to stand for principles of love and service
Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
(a.k.a. - Knights Hospitaller)
Post #10 Guest_Harrytheheid_*
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Posted 07 August 2015 - 06:00 PM
Eva Green can make up for a lot indeed but NOT that much garbage in writing, directing and acting. God, it was enough to make you weep. The current Hollywood trend is bigger, louder, more absurd and increasingly stupid. This one certainly set the mark high in all those categories.
It certainly did -- and I did remark that it's an awful movie.
My problem is; I'd repeatedly watch say, an advert for hair shampoo -- as long as the divine Eva was in it....
.... 
Post #11 Guest_Spitfrnd_*
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Posted 07 August 2015 - 06:15 PM
It certainly did -- and I did remark that it's an awful movie.
My problem is; I'd repeatedly watch say, an advert for hair shampoo -- as long as the divine Eva was in it....
I assume then you have worn out your copy of Camelot. A bit of a silly series but she was smokin hot and sans vêtements in a number of scenes, including some longish ones. 
https://www.google.c...CFUI2PgodcrwCtw
Post #12 Guest_Harrytheheid_*
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Posted 07 August 2015 - 06:20 PM
I assume then you have worn out your copy of Camelot. A bit of a silly series but she was smokin hot and sans vêtements in a number of scenes, including some longish ones.
I was devastated when they cancelled the second season. They should just have left Arthur and his plastic Knights out of it and called the series, "Morgan le Faye".
Post #14 Guest_viking_*
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Posted 23 August 2015 - 04:14 PM
In this short article the most powerful of the five most influential Greek city-states during the Greco-Persian Wars, Athens and Sparta, will be examined.
Athens was a center for maritime commerce (it had the most powerful navy of all Greek city-states), literature, poetry and the arts and was the first city-state in ancient Greece to establish a democracy, but in name only, for women were not allowed to vote because they were considered only "half citizens" in Athenian society. Thus, men made all decisions regarding Athenian life.
Sparta, on the other hand, was essentially a military state. For example, at the age of 6, Spartan boys entered military school and served in the military until retirement. Other Greek city-states did not require induction into military service until age 18. Although not a contributor to the arts, Sparta could be relied on for its military strength.
In my next article, I will review the Greek city-states of Corinth, Megara and Argos and their importance to Greek society.
Alex II
Athens was a center for maritime commerce (it had the most powerful navy of all Greek city-states), literature, poetry and the arts and was the first city-state in ancient Greece to establish a democracy, but in name only, for women were not allowed to vote because they were considered only "half citizens" in Athenian society. Thus, men made all decisions regarding Athenian life.
Sparta, on the other hand, was essentially a military state. For example, at the age of 6, Spartan boys entered military school and served in the military until retirement. Other Greek city-states did not require induction into military service until age 18. Although not a contributor to the arts, Sparta could be relied on for its military strength.
In my next article, I will review the Greek city-states of Corinth, Megara and Argos and their importance to Greek society.
Alex II
Post #16 Guest_viking_*
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Posted 11 October 2015 - 03:43 PM
In my last article I discussed the importance of the city-states of Athens and Sparta to Greece during the Persian wars. However, the significance of the city-states of Argos, Corinth and Megara cannot be overlooked for their army and naval contributions in support of both Athens and Sparta. Here is some general information about each of these city-states.
Corinth
Corinth was a monarchy. The Corinthian people were well known for their skills in business and commerce. The state was also adept at providing public facilities, and created its own currency. As in Athens, education was highly regarded; boys from 7 to 14 were taught musical, mathematical and literature skills in state schools.
Megara
Megara was Corinth's neighbour, and as such, copied many of its institutions -- such as quality schools and its own currency. Megara was known for its explorers. The ancient city of Byzantium was founded by Megara, as Megarians were fond of planning and building new cities and public works projects. They were also famous for their textiles and public art, such as statues, temples and theatres. Megara's government was known to promote individual freedom among its citizens.
Argos
The city-state of Argos is credited for introducing coinage to ancient Greece, which was first copied by the Corinthians and later by the Megarians. Like Corinth, Argos was a monarchy. Argos' most famous contribution to Greek society was likely its arts; the city produced many of Greece's great poets, musicians and dramatists. The city was also famous for its highly detailed sculptures.
In my next article I will discuss the armament and weapons used by Greek hoplites.
Alex II
Post #17 Guest_viking_*
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Posted 29 October 2015 - 02:52 PM
The principal weapons of a hoplite infantryman were a long ash wood spear (doru) and a short sword (xiphos). 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 sword was also of iron with a straight or sometimes curved blade (machaira or kopis) no more than 60 cm in length. Protection was provided by a leather-lined bronze helmet which could vary in design, was often crested, and protected the head, neck, and face. 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. The hoplite carried a large circular shield (hoplon or aspis) some 80 cm (30 in.) in diameter and weighing as much as 8 kg. This was made of wood or stiff leather, faced with bronze, and was held with the left arm placed through a central band (porpax) and gripped via a strap (antilabe) attached to the shield rim. Shields often carried particular designs - the most famous being the inverted V-shape of Spartan hoplites - and emblems - particularly popular was the gorgon from Greek mythology with its association with changing the onlooker into stone. As fully armoured, the hoplite had to be physically strong and well conditioned. Precisely because all of this equipment amounted to quite an investment, being a hoplite also indicated that the individual had a certain status in wider Greek society.
Post #19 Guest_viking_*
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Posted 08 November 2015 - 05:03 PM
In this article I will discuss the use of the phalanx formation by the Greeks as both a war strategy and tactic.
The age of the phalanx can be traced back to Homer in the 8th century BCE. Generally associated with Greek warfare strategy and tactics, the formation (meaning finger) was a close-rank, dense grouping of hoplites armed with long spears and interlocking shields.
The strength of the formation lay in the endurance and discipline of the soldiers engaged in the formation, which was closely-packed, rectangular in shape, and was moved in mass forward slowly toward an opposing army in order to break through its ranks. Why did the phalanx formation have to be enduring? There was no reserve force because such a military concept did not exist before the 5th century BCE. It essentially was used as a "battering ram" to break an opponents' front lines while cavalry (used so effectively by Alexander the Great's companion cavalry) attacked the flanks, and was able to defeat two massive Persian invasions (499-448 BC) at the battles of Marathon (490 BC) and Thermopylae (480 BC).
The phalanx formation reached the zenith of its use during the conquests of Alexander the Great, and eventually became obsolete in favor of the three-line formations used later by Roman legions. The formation is considered today by military strategists as the beginning of European military development.
Alex II
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