Fitzgerald Greek Army Greece was organized into city-states, and there was almost constant warfare between the city-states unless they united to fight a common enemy, the Persians. So warfare was seen as a common part of life, the normal state of affairs. Every Greek male citizen was required to serve in the army. They did not see it just as a duty but as a way to win honor.Three Types of Soldiers The hoplites were the main attacking force in Greek armies. To be a hoplite, the citizen had to be able to afford the armor and weapons of a hoplite, as a hoplite had to pay for these himself, and they were expensive. The hoplites wore a bronze helmet that covered the whole head and the nose, only leaving the eyes and mouth open for sight, breathing and calling out orders. Some helmets did have ear holes, also. The helmets were decorated with a horsehair crest. The also wore a breastplate, and shin guards, called greaves. Hoplites fought with a spear and carried a large shield, called a hoplon, from which they got their name. The hoplons were heavy and painted with images designed to intimidate the enemy.

Citizens not able to afford the hoplites’ gear would serve as peltasts, a force that flanked the hoplite phalanx and softened the enemy for the hoplite attack by firing arrows and throwing javelins and rocks. The shield of the peltast was made of wicker and covered in sheep or goatskin and was called a pelton, so peltasts, like the hoplites with their

hoplon, also got their name from their shield. Being clad more lightly and not linked in the phalanx, they could run from the enemy hoplites once the two hoplite forces began to battle hand-to-hand. The cavalry was always a small group in Greek armies. Horses were not commonly used by Greeks, and they were owned by the wealthy. Since a soldier had to equip himself, only the wealthy, then, would have been available for the cavalry. Also the stirrup had not yet been invented, so the rider was not securely mounted, making fighting from horseback more difficult. The cavalry was mostly used for moving quickly ahead to scout out the enemy.

Greek cavalry shown in a frieze. Note the lack of stirrups.Battle Tactics

The tactic the Greeks are most famous for is the phalanx.. The Greek hoplites approached in the enemy in a tight formation. They appeared to be a wall of warriors with each warrior overlapping and interlocking his shield with the shield of the soldier next to him. The wall was usually eight ranks deep. Their spears were hoisted in the air, ready to be jabbed down into the enemy soldiers when they got close enough. once two phalanxes met they would engage in hand-to-hand combat.

The most famous use of the phalanx, in fact the most famous of all Greek battles, was the Battle of Thermopylae. The Persians under King Xerxes were invading Greece yet again, this time with a force of 100,000 men. The Greek city-states had united to prevent this invasion with an army of 70,000 led by a Spartan commander named Leonides. The Greeks were having no success at stopping the advance of the Persian army, and the Persians were about to enter the main peninsula. In order to give the main force of the Greek army time to move into a better position to defend the rest of Greece, Leonidas kept 300 Spartan hoplites behind and chose a 50 foot wide mountain pass, called Thermopylae, that the Persians had to go through, in which to meet the Persian army. The 300, as they have come to be known, were greatly outnumbered and knew they had no hope of winning. They fought until the last man was dead. These brave 300 have an honored place in military history.Video Clip of Battle of Thermopylae – Play first 10 minutes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M4w-82iVXs

The Pass at Thermopylae It was not to be with hoplites that the Greeks would defeat the Persians but at sea with a ship called the trieme.. The trieme was a long narrow ship that was easy to maneuver. It was powered by 170 oarsmen arranged in three rows, which is how the ship got its name, as "tries" is “three” in Greek.

The oarsmen would row together using the beat of a drum at a speed of up to 18 beats per minute. The trieme had a ramming beak made of hard oak covered in bronze that stuck out from the bow at water level. The oarsmen would drive the trieme into an enemy ship ramming a hole in its hull. These ships were able to defeat the navy of the invading Persians.