Apparently when the Athenian hoplites defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 b.c.e., it was the first time that a hoplite army charged on the run. The hoplite was not a nimble soldier since running in full hoplite armor was not easy. It was a different matter if the phalanx broke. As long as the formation-known as a phalanx-remained unbroken, a hoplite army could avoid heavy casualties. He fought in formation, drawn up in eight ranks, so that his shield on his left arm protected the right side of the hoplite beside him, while his own right side was protected by the He got his name "hoplite" from his large, round shield, called a hoplon. He seems to have gone barefoot, for he is represented in art generally without shoes. Under his corselet he wore a linen tunic and below his waist he had a kind of pleated leather kilt which gave his lower body some protection. His legs below the knee were protected by greaves, which was armor shaped like the lower leg and fastened behind the calf. He wore a helmet, a metal corselet with metal shoulder pieces, and a triangular plate called a mitra to protect his groin. The Hoplite.Īs the Greek Dark Ages came to an end, the warrior of the sort found in Homer's Iliad gave way to a heavily-armed infantryman known as the hoplite. Their armor allowed them to run in case the spears they threw at their enemies failed to hit the mark. The warriors described in Homer's Iliad who fought in the Trojan War wore similar armor, except that most of them wereĭescribed as having round shields. They wear helmets and short kilts with tassels leaving their legs bare, and they carry "Figure-8" shields-shields which are pinched in at the middle so that when the soldier held it in front of him to protect his body, he could still use his arms to ward off the enemy. Some of the earliest examples of military garb are from the late Mycenaean period a vase called the "Warrior Vase" shows soldiers marching in column. Armor had to protect the soldier's body, it had to allow him free movement of his arms and legs and it had to please the eye. The Apparel of the Soldier Military Armor in Early Greece.Īrmor evolved over the long period of Greek and Roman history, but the requirements remained standard.
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