1. и 2. Athenian hoplite, Sphacteria, 425 BC
Uniform
This hoplite commander of a lochos leads his Athenian unit (from the Attic tribe of Leontis) against the first outpost of the Spartans on the southern end of the island of Sphacteria in the early dawn. He advances full of confidence, due not only to the element of surprise but also to the fact that his forces outnumber the Spartan hoplites 2 to 1 and the Athenians have thousands of lightly armed psiloi and archers – support the Spartans do not have.
Weapons, dress and equipment
This hoplite advances with his 2.4m-long dory (spear; 1) made of cornel wood and tipped with an iron leaf-shaped blade (2). At the opposite end of the spear is a sauroter (literally ‘lizard sticker'; 3), made of bronze. The sauroter was both a counter-balance and a weapon in its own right; several surviving pieces of equipment and skulls show wounds which were made by sauroter blows as opposed to spear-tips. On his left hip, he wears a xiphos (sword; 4) in a scabbard held in place by a baldric over his right shoulder.
His headgear is a Corinthian-style kranos (helmet; 5), which fully enclosed the face except for eye slits and a narrow gap between the cheek pieces. The helmet is topped with a horsehair crest (6). He wears a plain suit of linothorax (linen armour; 7) under which is a chiton (tunic; 8). Athenian hoplites were only provided with a shield and spear by the state and other armours would be funded by the individual. Surviving art shows that hoplites could go into battle wearing only their cloak or tunic, plain linen armour, all the way up to highly decorated linen armour and even old-fashioned ‘muscled' cuirasses made of bronze. Wrapped around his left arm is his chlamys (cloak; 9); this was presented to epheboi upon the completion of their training and is depicted in art being used in combat in various ways.
On his left arm the hoplite carries an aspis (shield; 10), the main defensive tool of the hoplite. The porpax (arm-grip; 11) is visible, as is the antilabe (hand-grip; 12) inside the rim of the shield. His shield has a simple blazon of a capital alpha, a symbol of Athens.
3. и 4. Spartan hoplite, Sphacteria, 425 BC
Uniform
This hoplite leader commands his enomotia of 30 men at the southern end of Sphacteria. He has taken the last watch of the night while the rest of his men catch some sleep. They have been trapped on Sphacteria for 72 days, 50 of those on only whatever food could be smuggled onto the island. He is surprised to see Athenian hoplites running at him in the early morning light but, having raised the alarm, he stands poised to take on the enemy as his training has taught him.
Weapons, dress and equipment
This hoplite wields his 2.4m-long dory (1) in an overhand posture. It has an ash shaft 5cm in diameter and is tipped by an iron blade and has a bronze sauroter. On his left hip he wears a xiphos (2), its blade only 35cm long. This was the standard sword of hoplites across Greece, although designs differed by region. There is much literary and archaeological evidence for shorter Spartan swords, with blades only 35cm in length, but is unclear whether this was the encheiridion (a shorter sword design) or simply that Spartan xiphoi were produced in a shorter form than those of other Greek states.
He wears a Chalkidian-style kranos (3) topped with a horsehair crest. The Chalkidian helmet has hinged cheek pieces; some pottery shows them ‘open'. He is barefoot (4) as per the training of Spartan youths to inure them to hardship. He wears linothorax armour (5) with pteruges (‘feathers'). He also wears his distinctive red phoinikis (cloak; 6) around his arms, the cloak having been presented upon completion of his agoge training.
On his left arm he hefts his aspis (7) held by a porpax and an antilabe. Although it is known that some Spartan shields had a capital lambda (for ‘Lacedaemonia', the Spartan heartland) emblazoned on them, this shield has a much more traditional blazon, matching those found on votive offerings in the Peloponnese; this one's swirling design matches those dedicated to the goddess Artemis Orthia at Sparta. Spartan hoplites provided their own arms and equipment, so these could vary as much as in other hoplite armies.
5. Brasidas charges the Athenians
Cleon has ordered the Athenian phalanx consisting of 1,200 hoplites to withdraw from its commanding position on Mount Pangaion, facing the long walls of Amphipolis. The men of the left wing have already turned to their left and withdrawn some way back towards the Athenian camp at Eion, 4.5km to the south. Impatient to withdraw more quickly, Cleon has ordered both the Athenian centre and the Athenian right to withdraw as well. Both divisions have turned, exposing their unshielded right sides to the Spartans in Amphipolis.
Seeing that the Athenian withdrawal is beginning, inside Amphipolis Brasidas has chosen 150 hoplites, perhaps five enomotiai of Spartans. When the Athenian centre is on the road back to Eion, Brasidas chooses his moment and charges his select force out of the ‘first gate', along the road and into the exposed right flank of the Athenian centre. Not expecting to be charged, and certainly not by so small a force, the hoplites of the Athenian centre do not have enough time to react and are without leadership.
6. The armies at Mantinea
Spartan view: The seven Spartan lochoi at Mantinea have occupied the left of the line. On the extreme right, a very small contingent of Spartans has been posted (so that the Spartans also occupy the place of honour). In the centre of the Spartan line, King Agis II is stationed, surrounded by his 300 hippeis. The rightmost Spartan lochoi and the division of the Heraeans next to them face the 1,000 hoplites of Athens, commanded by the strategos Laches. The Spartan lochoi have sung their traditional war songs and have then advanced almost silently to the accompaniment of the aulos flute. The Spartan line, eight ranks deep, advances silently towards their enemy ready to engage and threatening to envelop the enemy left wing – these actions are held off heroically by the Athenian cavalry. The Spartan right and allies are unperturbed by the near-disaster unfolding on their left. There, the remainder of the alliance, the 1,000 picked Argives and the hoplites of Mantinea and Arcadia have exploited a gap in the Spartan line and are pouring through. The Spartans facing the Athenians, however, advance coolly against their enemy. This view depicts the moment just before the lines will engage.
7. The armies at Mantinea
Athenian view: The 1,000-strong Athenian contingent holds the left flank of the allied line. On the extreme left flank are the 300 Athenian cavalry. The Athenians have been drawn up in ten tribal taxeis, each approximately 100 men strong. In each taxis are approximately three lochoi, each with just over 30 men. Each contingent of the allies has heard a speech from their own commanders before advancing noisily toward the enemy, each speech appealing to different desires and virtues. The battle has begun very well for Athens and her allies. With a whooping charge, the allied right wing and the chosen Argives have charged into the Skiritai and Brasideioi and the gap in the Spartan line, threatening to envelop and destroy the Spartan left flank. The Spartans, however, come on coolly and professionally and, perhaps more disconcerting still, almost silently. This detached professionalism silences the confidence of the allies and, despite the strength of their position and the victory on their own right, they begin to lose confidence. They will, almost as soon as the two lines meet, break and flee, leaving the Athenian contingent and its cavalry to fight a rearguard action and the warriors of the victorious allied right to their own fate.
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