Historical Warfare: The Spartan Hoplite

The Spartan Hoplite

The Spartan Hoplite, was one of the most feared and dangerous warriors of Ancient Greece. A spartan soldier would have to endure an intense training program in the Agoge, from a young age, and many did not survive the training. These boys often had to steal for food, and were punished if they were caught. The boys reached adulthood at 18, and joined the military force at 20.

A spartans most important weapon was his shield. This was the typical Aspis hoplite shield.On the Aspis, Spartans would often paint the letter Lambda, which was the first letter in the name of the Spartan homeland, Laconia. The spartan shield was so important to a spartan, that losing it would be considered a disgraceful act.

In the Archaic period, Spartans were armed with a bronze cuirasses, leg greaves, and a helmet, often of the Corinthian type. Later, the spartans adopted the Linothorax, although the bronze cuirasses remained popular. As well as this, the Spartans also adopted a new tunic, called the exōmis, which could be arranged so that it left the right arm and shoulder were uncovered and free for action in combat.

A Spartans main offensive weapon was a 2.4-4.5 metre long spear called a doru. This was held in the right hand, with the left hand holding the Spartan shield. A spartan also carried a javelin, and a sword called the xiphos, which was a short stabbing sword, usually around 50–60 cm long, although the spartans prefered shorter 30cm long versions.

In battle, a Spartan would normally fight in a Phalanx formation. This was a close formation, where each shield overlapped to provide as much protection as possible. In battle the opposing forces would push against each other using their shields, until the other broke, However, the Spartan phalanx would be steamrolled by the updated Theban phalanx, which was far more deeper than the standard phalanx, and thus was able to push harder.

____________________________________________________________________

References
BBC Guides. (2018). The ancient Greeks at war. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zckr4wx [Accessed 15 Jul. 2018].

Cartwright, M. and Cartwright, M. (2018). Ancient Greek Warfare. [online] Ancient History Encyclopedia. Available at: https://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Warfare/ [Accessed 15 Jul. 2018].

Cartwright, M. and Cartwright, M. (2018). Peltast. [online] Ancient History Encyclopedia. Available at: https://www.ancient.eu/Peltast/ [Accessed 15 Jul. 2018].

HistoryNet. (2018). Peltasts: The Other Greek Warriors | HistoryNet. [online] Available at: http://www.historynet.com/peltasts-gr... [Accessed 15 Jul. 2018].
____________________________________________________________________

Battle of Thermopylae, Sparta, 300, Spartans, Documentary, The Spartans, 300 movie, 300 scene, 300 spartans, spartan, full documentary, history, herodotos, phalanx, spartan swords, spartan armour, spartan weapons, spartan slaves, helots, documentaries, animated history, ancient history, ancient history guy, history, animation

#AncientGreece #Sparta #AncientHistoryGuy

Видео Historical Warfare: The Spartan Hoplite канала Ancient History Guy