Sparta - A City by Numbers

The Ancient world is filled with Empires, powerful men, virtuous women, terrifying omens and blood stained battlefields; but few peoples or cities has captured the imagination like the martial city of Ancient Greece, Sparta.

With its overpowering hoplite warriors, rigid lifestyle and legendary agoge school, this martial civilisation in the southern Peloponnesian peninsular rose to be one the great powers of Ancient Greece and inspired fascination not only in its own day but throughout history.

As always it is impossible to narrow a civilisation so intricate and involved as Sparta's into ten bullet points, however here is a Sparta by numbers.

1- Lycurgus, the legendary "founder" of Sparta, established the laws and systems of government that are seen in the structure of classical Sparta in the 8th and 7th century BC.
2 - Sparta was ruled by two Kings. Each from a family descended from Heracles himself. These two kings were equal in authority so that they could not work against each other.
3- Sparta's military power was built upon the backs of the enslaved people, Helots, from  neighbouring Messenia. Herodotus writes that at the battle of Plataea

"...ordered five thousand Spartans to march before dawn.

Seven helots were appointed to attend each of them"

Herodotus Book 9.10.1

The number of helots was always a fear of the Spartans and they rose in rebellion several times against their subjugation, but their enslavement was what allowed Spartan men to focus on military training as opposed to farming.

Jacques-Louis David's Leonis at Thermopylae

4 - Sparta's most famous battle took place in 480 BC at Thermopylae. For three days Sparta and allied forces of Greece held the small pass against the supreme might of the Persian empire under Xerxes.
5 - Herodotus in Book 8 Chapter 24 tells us that King Leonidas, his bodyguard of three hundred Spartans and some of their allies killed up to 20,000 Persian invaders.
6 - Sparta and Athens were engaged in a war for supremacy over mainland Greece between 431 - 404 BC.

"Thucydides, an Athenian, wrote the history of the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians, beginning at the moment it broke out, and believing that it would be a great war, and more worthy of relation than any that preceded it"

Thucydides The Peloponnesian War Book 1 Chapter 1

The result of the war was the fall of Athenian supremacy in Greece and the rise of Spartan.

Degas' Young Spartans Exercising in the National Gallery

7 - Spartans entered the agoge for their military training at the age of seven. If they survived the experience, no dramatics intended it was a dangerous and deadly experience, at the age of twenty they joined the army. 

"They were the only men in the world with whom war brought a respite in the training for war"

Plutarch Life of Plutarch Chapter 22

8 - Spartan girls were not only educated at a young age in dance, gymnastics and sports, but were also not married until they were in their late teens or 20's.

9 - Spartan power in Greece was finally broken by the Thebans at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC where the Thebans using revolutionary hoplite tactics against the Spartan line

"so confounded that there was a flight and slaughter of the Spartans

such as had never before been seen"

Plutarch Life of Pelopidas Chapter 23

10 - After Greece's subjugation by Rome in 146 BC, Sparta, along with the other Poleis of Greece became a tourist destination for Roman aristocracy, looking to marvel in Sparta's martial heritage.

These ten facts barely touch the surface of Sparta, let alone scrape it, but they are none the less, ten facts about the city state of Sparta.


Thanks for Reading
James

Fighting Hannibal: A First Hand Account - The Battle of Cannae

You have survived the madness of Trebia and the annihilation that occurred at Lake Trasimene, and now you find yourself in the middle of the line here at Cannae. One man among the largest assembly of Roman power in known history. Infantry, cavalry and light arms spread across two heavily fortified camps (1). Now this Hannibal and his Carthaginian rabble will feel the anger of Rome.

The last few days have seen minor skirmishes back and forth with the Carthaginians over the important supply depot at Cannae (2). The combining of the two Roman armies into this one unstoppable beast has found you in a bizarre situation. Alternates days sees one of the two consuls in command, Lucius Aemilus Paullus and Gaius Tarentius Varro.

Yesterday when Paullus was in charge he refused to fight when Hannibal lined up for battle. A cautious man. You sat in the camp and watched as Carthaginians harried your armies water carriers (3). So, today under the command of Varro, you are formed up in line, licking parched lips and staring across the plain at the Carthaginian army.

Standing firm you feel strong. The Roman line has been drawn up extra deep. You were at Trebia, you were part of the line that punched through the Carthaginian forces, making a mockery of their strength. This Hannibal and his men only ever win when they are being tricky and using hidden troops, but this open field won't allow that. Now they are faced head on by pure Roman power and the fools have lined up with a river at their backs (4). They will be pushed in to the waters and they will die. How can they win?

Facing you in the centre of the line are Iberians and Gauls. This "great general" Hannibal has erred. He has put his Carthaginians on his flanks, leaving these weak men for the Roman legions to grind to nothing. The sun hanging low in the sky shines into your eyes, but you are not worried. Gods you could use a drink though. The bugle sounds and this immense army of Rome moves forwards. You hear the cavalry engaging but your focus is on the Gauls and Iberians in front of you (5).

Smashing into the opposing force, they visibly shrink back in front of you and the eagles of Rome (6). Today victory will be yours. Trebia and Trasimene will be repaid upon the swords of the legions. As you move forwards the Gauls and Iberians fall back under the command of Hannibal. Behind you Romans troops push in behind you, forcing the Gauls and Iberians further back. You catch a glimpse of the Carthaginian forces on the wings almost level with the back line of your troops. Unengaged, but if you push through the men in front of you the opposing army will fall into disarray.

Too late you realise the error. With your cavalry driven off, the battle hardened Carthaginian forces turn inwards on the semi-circle the Roman forces have created by pushing back the Iberian and Gaulish troops. To finish the victory the Carthaginian cavalry crash into the back of your Roman troops (7).

Encircled and cut off, men start to fall around you. You survived the madness of Trebia and the chaos of Lake Trasimene but you see the end in sight. Jupiter be damned. A sword slices your left arm and you drop your shield. A spear hits you in the leg and you stumble with the pain. Who can ever beat this man Hannibal? Truly he is the greatest general alive (8).

A sword pushes through your ribs and you fall to the dust. Your long campaign, finally over.

1. Livy writes that their are so many different authorities on the "number and nature of the forces" that it is difficult to say what force the Romans actually presented. However he does say "according to these writers, there were 87,200 men in the Roman camp when the battle of Cannae was fought" Ab Urbe Condita Book 22 Chapter 36.
2. "He seized on the citadel of a town called Cannae, in which the Romans had collected the corn and other supplies from the country" Polybius Book 3 Chapter 107
3. Polybius writes that in an attempt to draw the Romans into a battle he sent out the Numidian cavalry to try and force the issue. 

The Death of Aemilius Paulus" by John Trumbull

4. The Carthaginian forces are put at ten thousand cavalry and their infantry at no more than forty thousand by both Polybius and Livy. The Roman army vastly outnumbered the forces Hannibal fielded.
5. The Carthaginian cavalry were far superior to the Roman cavalry and quickly drove it off removing its protective cover from the flanks of the legions.
6. "The Romans, however, following up the Celts and pressing on to the centre and that part of the enemy's line which was giving way, progressed so far that they now had the heavy-armed Africans on both of their flanks" Polybius Book 3 Chapter 115. 

Battle of Cannae 

7. With the Carthaginian cavalry sealing off the final route of escape for the Roman troops, the legions again found themselves tricked by Hannibal and defeated. 
8. The Battle of Cannae was the worst defeat that a Roman army ever suffered "and now almost the whole of Italy, were in the possession of Hanibal" Livy Book 22 Chapter 54. Rome was left with a only a few remaining armies. In the course of three battles Hannibal had defeated Rome again and again and again. When offered the chance of a peace treaty under moderate terms Rome rejected the offer, raised new legions and took the fight back to Carthage and an eventual win. But there is no denying that Hannibal is one the of the greatest generals to have ever lived.


Thanks for Reading
James

Fighting Hannibal: A First Hand Account - The Battle of Lake Trasimene

You were part of the legion that fought their way out of the calamity that was the Battle of Trebia and made it to the safety of Piacenza. Now you find yourself in the newly raised army for fighting the foreign invader, the Carthaginian Hannibal. This clever, clever man. Stealing a march, Hannibal has somehow cut the army off from Rome itself, he is attempting to subvert the cities allies and he lays waste to the very soil of Italy herself (1).

Having spent several days camped at Arretium watching the smoke rise from the hills of Italy, your General Gaius Flaminius, unable to take any more and with Rome demanding a victory, has marched against Hannibal (2). So, instead of sending out a cavalry screen to push the Carthaginians off the tilled fields and waiting for reinforcements, once again you find yourself on the road to battle.

In the vanguard of the legionary forces you have seen the fires of the Carthaginian camp far away and have pushed hard all night to catch up with the enemy beyond Lake Trasimene (3). But as you pass the northern edge of the lake a small skirmish force breaks cover in front of you. You and the other members of the vanguard draw your swords and charge on this weakly defended enemy, leaving the rest of the column behind.

Your head snaps up, just over the sound of swords clashing on shields and the screams of men, comes the faint bellow of a horn blowing on the wind. Looking back you see that all of the Roman forces have cleared the pass and are now on the open plain by the lake.

Suddenly howling down from the hills come Carthaginian cavalry and infantry, cutting off the pass to prevent escape and surrounding your brothers on three sides. Standing in the vanguard all you can do is watch as the Roman column, unable to draw up in battle lines, is slowly destroyed. You stand transfixed as far to the west the enemy cavalry pushes Romans backwards into the lake (4), while vile Gauls slowly grind down the centre of the column.

Realising that the day is lost, you and the rest of the vanguard push through the skirmish line. Damn this man Hannibal and his tricks. Damn these incompetent patrician generals. Standing on a wooded hill you watch as the Roman army is systematically wiped out from an enemy surrounding them on three sides and a lake to their backs. In less than four hours you see half of the army either killed or drowned in the lake (5).

Heading into the hills and back towards Rome you wonder what can stop this man now. Rome lays open to him. Hannibal, a man who has now destroyed two armies of Rome with clever and simple strategy. Jupiter Be Praised but how do you stop a man such as this? (6)

1. Part of Hannibal's strategy to lure the Roman forces into battle was to ravage the land of Italy itself "they began to lay waste the country, and the smoke rising from all quarters told its tale of destruction" Polybius Book 3 Chapter 82
2. Livy tells us that Flaminius' advisor's put forward a plan of restraint, waiting for reinforcements and the use of cavalry to drive the Carthaginains off the land, but "enraged at these suggestions he dashed out of the council and ordered the trumpets to give the signal for march and battle" Ab Urbe Condita Book 22 Chapter 3.

Battle of Lake Trasimene

3. Both Polybius and Livy write of the Carthaginian tactics. Hannibal choose the location of the battle very carefully. Having set up a false camp far in the distance to give the Romans a false sense of their position, similar to his previous use of concealed troops at the Battle of Trebia, Hannibal arranged his troops along the edge of the plain. His cavalry was hidden so they could sweep down and block off the entrance through which the Romans would enter the plain. Then he put his heavy infantry and skirmishers in a place where they could fall upon the Roman column when the signal was given, pinning them against the lake.

4. "They were forced into the lake in a mass, some of them quite lost their wits and trying to swim in their armour were drowned" Polybius Book 3 Chapter 84.

Flaminius at Lake Trasimene by Joseph-Noel Sylvestre

5. Livy records in his Ab Urbe Condita Book 22 Chapter 7, that 15,000 Romans were killed in the battle compared to 2,500 Carthaginians, another curshing defeat for the martial Romans.
6. "The general who is his opponent's master in strategy and reasoning may often capture his whole army" Polybius Book 3 Chapter 81.


Thanks for Reading
James

Fighting Hannibal: A First Hand Account - The Battle of Trebia

You have found yourself camped by the river Trebia for several days (1). You have heard of the man leading the army you face, he is Hannibal Barca, sacker of the city of Saguntum and crosser of the Alps. Now he has raised the local Gauls in Italy against Rome herself, and you sit here waiting for Tiberius Sempronius Longus to reinforce you.

Gossip of defections in the night is rife among the men. Gauls slipping from the camp to join forces with the rebellious tribes in Hannibal's army (2). Even that some guards have been killed by these vile shadows of men. And here you sit, waiting for your reinforcements, on the banks of the river Trebia.

The Battle

A lot has happened since the arrival of the reinforcements. Your commander lays resting from the injuries he has sustained and you find yourself under the command of Sempronius Longus (3). He seems impetuous, looking to lead this untrained army he has assembled into battle. But eighteen thousand Romans and twenty thousand allies, plus cavalry, against this foreign mob of forty thousand is hardly something to be worried of (4). What is forty thousand men to the legions of Rome?

You find yourself drawing up in manoeuvres, looking to force these Carthaginians into a battle. You hear a ripple through the legion that Gallic spies have been seen around the camp. Spying. Reporting. Plotting (5).

The morning comes and the cry goes up of Numidian cavalry raiding and harassing the camp. They are quickly sent packing. Gods be praised that these men are fools. The bugles sound and there is no time for breakfast. Ahead of you six thousand javelin throwers cover the formation of the line. The call goes out and you advance on this enemy impudent enough to invade Italy.

You step down into the river and the breath is punched from your body. Jupiter be damned, the water is so cold you can barely hold your shield (6). Ahead you see the Carthaginian skirmishers moving forward. Suddenly your cavalry screen is pushed back by the Numidian cavalry, the cause of your missed breakfast. Your own skirmish line is now being harassed by these foreign horseman. This is a disaster, they are wasting their missiles on these cavalry, not the opposing line.

The enemy is almost upon you. Their heavy infantry walking forward silently. Unobstructed. You move forward, the moment is here. The protective cavalry on your flank is pushed back, but this is a Roman army fighting on Roman land. Surely you cannot lose.

Suddenly you hear of panic and ruin from the legions to your left. Carthaginian cavalry has appeared from nowhere and attacked the army in the rear (7). Your legion stands strong but around you the allies break and run. Run back to the river. You can hear their scream as the Carthaginians finish the bloody work of the day.

The command to form square is called and your legion stands, deflecting attacks on all sides. The men by the river are lost. You move forwards, your legion even deflecting attacks from elephants, fighting your way through the Carthaginian line. Finally safe, you head for the nearest town. Defeated by this man named Hannibal.

1. In 218 BC Hannibal Barca leading Carthaginian forces, took the Second Punic War to the Romans, breaking out of the Spanish theatre of war, crossing the Alps and preceding to attack Rome from the north of Italy.

Silver Shekel of Carthage from the British Museum

2. "The Gauls had been disaffected for some time, now with this additional incentive all Gauls round about would go over to the Carthaginians" - Polybius Book 3 Chapter 67
3. Tiberius Sempronius Longus was sent by the Senate to reinforce the army dealing with the invasion in the north.
4. Livy Ab Urbe Condita Book 21 Chapter 17 puts the Roman numbers at 38,000, while Polybius sets the numbers at 36,000.
5. Polybius Book 3 Chapter 71 writes of how upon discovering the Romans plan, Hannibal set about choosing the ideal position to win the battle. "Flat indeed and treeless, but well adapted for an ambuscade".

The Battle of Trebia

6. Both Livy and Polybius write of the Romans difficulty in holding their weapons after fording the ice cold waters of the river. 

Hannibal Barca

7. After his Gallic spies discovered the Romans plans, Hannibal placed a secret force to the flank of the Roman lines. "Mago will show you a place where you are to line in ambuscade, you have an enemy who are blindly ignorant of these practices in war" Ab Urbe Condita Book 21 Chapter 53. 


Thanks for Reading
James