Before you stands something from a legend. A silent wall of military might, red cloaks stirring slightly in the breeze. Zeus be damned, how can you stop these men? You sat by the fire as a child listening to the stories of Leonidas and his 300 (1). They may as well be stood in front of you right now for the difference it is going to make.
Your hoplon feels heavy in your hand. Your spear weak and ineffective. You're outnumbered. Soon those Spartan devils will walk right over you and you'll be maggot food. Who cares if your general has a "plan". Leuctra will be where you will die (2). You can just feel it. Damn Epaminondas. Damn Thebes and her democracy. Damn that Spartan king and his plans to re-establish his control over Greece. Your going to die here.
You shift your weight from left to right. Your hoplon only shields half your body. The other half covers the man next you. How did you end up in the front row of the phalanx? You don't know the man to your right. How can you trust him to keep the right side of your body covered with his shield. A Spartan spear is going to rip through the gap and eviscerate your stomach.
You stand in the centre of your line, the staggered line of your phalanxes before and behind you (3). To your left you can see the Sacred Band forming up under Pelopidas's command. Fools! How can this plan work? King Cleombrotus has formed his Spartans up opposite you. Damn them, why must they be so damned silent. Your left wing is weighted. Your far left phalanx is fifty rows deep. The Spartans a mere twelve. Maybe this plan will work?
The left phalanx sets off, directly for the Spartans right wing. A ragged cheer echoes along the line, the Theban cavalry has driven back the Spartan cavalry. It's time for your phalanx to move forwards. Your mouth feels dry. This first step the hardest you've ever made. You look around amazed to find that you are already walking. You focus on the Spartans directly in front of you, but off to your left you just catch the sight of the Sacred Band crashing into the Spartan line (4).
It looks like the Spartan King Cleombrotus, might have worked out Epaminondas's plan but the Sacred Band has put pay to that. The weight of your fifty line phalanx is driving back the Spartan right wing. You just catch the sound of someone crying of the death of the Spartan king. By Athena, is this plan working?
You have no time to find out. You are focused on the man in front of you. You grip your shield tight. Feel the reassuring weight of your spear in your hand and the man by your side. Tonight you will remove your helmet, wipe the bead of sweat from your cheek and offer glory to the gods. But first you have to follow the example of the Speckled Band, and go crashing forwards......
1: Leonidas and the 300 are the famous heroes of history who held the pass of Thermopylae against the invasion of the Persian Emperor Xerxes. A legendary story that would be known and told all over Greece and recorded in Herodotus Histories.
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| Helmet from the British Museum |
2: The Battle of Leuctra happened in 371BC between Thebes and Sparta. Invading Boeotia to assert their waning authority, Sparta stole a march on Thebes, before being confronted near the town of Leuctra. Plutarch Life of Pelopidas Chapter 23.
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| Map of the Battle of Leuctra |
3: The way a hoplite held their shields (named hoplon in Greek) covering the left hand side of the body led to a general drift to the right when marching forwards. Standard hoplite tactics was to make your right wing the strongest and try and turn the oppositions weaker left wing. Epaminondas reinforced his left wing, sending it straight at the Spartans strong right wing. He then staggered the remaining phalanxes backwards so that his own weaker right wing never came into contact with the weaker Spartan left wing. The whole battle was fought and won on the Theban's left wing, Xenophon, Hellenica Book 6 Chapter 4
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| Hoplite Warfare |
4: The Sacred Band was a hand picked troop of one hundred and fifty pairs of male lovers. They were "three hundred chosen men, to whom the city furnished exercise and maintenance" Plutarch Life of Pelopidas Chapter 18.
Thanks for Reading
James
Warfare is a fascinating subject. Despite the dubious morality of using violence to achieve personal or political aims. It remains that conflict has been used to do just that throughout recorded history.
ReplyDeleteYour article is very well done, a good read.
Warfare is a fascinating subject. Despite the dubious morality of using violence to achieve personal or political aims. It remains that conflict has been used to do just that throughout recorded history.
ReplyDeleteYour article is very well done, a good read.
Thank you. You cannot beat a good old fashioned hoplite battle for drama and excitement
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