Editing Hoplite (section)

== Equipment ==

=== Body armour ===

[[File:Hoplite armour exhibit at the Corfu Museum closeup.jpg|left|thumb|Hoplite armour exhibit from the [[Archaeological Museum of Corfu]].<!-- Helmets may have been moved to the [[Archaeological Museum of Igoumenitsa]], but [[WP:RS]] is needed to verify.--> Note the gold inserts around the chest area of the iron breastplate at the centre of the exhibit. The helmet on the upper left is a restored version of the [[oxidation|oxidised]] helmet on the right.]]

Each hoplite provided his own equipment. Thus, only those who could afford such weaponry fought as hoplites. As with the [[Roman Republic]]an army it was the middle classes who formed the bulk of the infantry. Equipment was not standardized, although there were doubtless trends in general designs over time, and between city-states. Hoplites had customized [[armour]], the shield was decorated with family or clan emblems, although in later years these were replaced by symbols or monograms of the city states. The equipment might be passed down in families, as it was expensive to manufacture.

The hoplite army consisted of heavy infantrymen. Their armour, also called [[panoply]], was sometimes made of full bronze for those who could afford it, weighing nearly {{convert|32|kg|lb|sigfig=1}}, although linen armor now known as [[linothorax]] was more common since it was cost-effective and provided decent protection. The average farmer-peasant hoplite could not afford any armor and typically carried only a shield, a spear, and perhaps a helmet plus a secondary weapon. The richer upper-class hoplites typically had a bronze [[cuirass]] of either the bell or [[Muscle cuirass|muscled]] variety, a bronze [[helmet]] with cheekplates, as well as [[greave]]s and other [[armour]]. The design of helmets used varied through time. The [[Corinthian helmet]] was at first standardized and was a successful design. Later variants included the [[Chalcidian helmet]], a lightened version of the Corinthian helmet, and the simple [[Pilos]] helmet worn by the later hoplites. Often the helmet was decorated with one, sometimes more horsehair crests, and/or bronze animal horns and ears. Helmets were often painted as well. The [[Thracian helmet]] had a large visor to further increase protection. In later periods, ''[[linothorax]]'' was also used, as it is tougher and cheaper to produce. The linen was {{convert|0.5|cm|in|adj=on}} thick.
[[File:Stele of Aristion.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Stele of Aristion]], heavy-infantryman or hoplite. 510 BC. Top of helmet and pointed beard missing.]]
[[File:Ancient athenian warrior.jpg|thumb|upright|Armour of an ancient Athenian Hoplite]]
By contrast with hoplites, other contemporary infantry (e.g., [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]]) tended to wear relatively light armour, [[wicker]] shields, and were armed with shorter spears, [[javelin]]s, and [[Bow (weapon)|bows]]. The most famous are the Peltasts, light-armed troops who wore no armour and were armed with a light shield, javelins and a short sword. The Athenian general [[Iphicrates]] developed a new type of armour and arms for his mercenary army, which included light linen armour, smaller shields and longer spears, whilst arming his [[Peltast]]s with larger shields, helmets and a longer spear, thus enabling them to defend themselves more easily against hoplites. With this new type of army he defeated a Spartan army in 392 BC. The arms and armour described above were most common for hoplites.

=== Shield ===
Hoplites carried a large concave shield called an {{transliteration|grc|[[aspis]]}} (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a {{transliteration|grc|hoplon}}), measuring between {{convert|80|and|100|cm|in|abbr=off}} in diameter and weighing between {{convert|6.5|and|8|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.fairfield.edu/rosivach/cl115/military/hoplites.htm|title=Hoplites Arms and Armor|last=Zimmel, Girard|first=Jonathan, Todd|access-date=22 April 2013|archive-date=26 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026213835/http://faculty.fairfield.edu/rosivach/cl115/military/hoplites.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Fink|first1=Dennis|title=The Battle of Marathon in Scholarship: Research, Theories and Controversies Since 1850|date=2014|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786479733|page=32|edition=illustrated|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kdFsAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA32}}</ref> This large shield was made possible partly by its shape, which allowed it to be supported on the shoulder. The shield was assembled in three layers: the center layer was made of thick wood, the outside layer facing the enemy was made of bronze, and leather comprised the inside of the shield. The revolutionary part of the shield was the grip. Known as an Argive grip, it placed the handle at the edge of the shield, and was supported by a leather fastening (for the forearm) at the centre. These two points of contact eliminated the possibility of the shield swaying to the side after being struck, and as a result soldiers rarely lost their shields. This allowed the hoplite soldier more mobility with the shield, as well as the ability to capitalize on its offensive capabilities and better support the phalanx. The large shields, designed for pushing ahead, were the most essential equipment for the hoplites.<ref>{{cite book|title=Warfare in Ancient Greece: A Sourcebook|last=Sage|first=Michael M|publisher=Routledge|year=1996|location=London, GBR|page=281}}</ref>

=== Spear ===
The main offensive weapon used was a {{convert|2.5|-|4.5|m|ft|1|adj=on}} long and {{convert|2.5|cm|in|0|adj=on}} in diameter [[spear]] called a {{transliteration|grc|[[Dory (spear)|''doru'', or ''dory'']]}}. It was held with the right hand, with the left hand holding the hoplite's shield. Soldiers usually held their spears in an underhand position when approaching but once they came into close contact with their opponents, they were held in an overhand position ready to strike. The spearhead was usually a curved leaf shape, while the rear of the spear had a spike called a {{transliteration|grc|sauroter}} ("lizard-killer") which was used to stand the spear in the ground (hence the name). It was also used as a secondary weapon if the main shaft snapped, or for the rear ranks to finish off fallen opponents as the phalanx advanced over them. In addition to being used as a secondary weapon, the {{transliteration|grc|sauroter}} doubled to balance the spear, but not for throwing purposes. It is a matter of contention, among historians, whether the hoplite used the spear overarm or underarm. Held underarm, the thrusts would have been less powerful but under more control, and vice versa. It seems likely that both motions were used, depending on the situation. If attack was called for, an overarm motion was more likely to break through an opponent's defence. The upward thrust is more easily deflected by armour due to its lesser leverage. When defending, an underarm carry absorbed more shock and could be 'couched' under the shoulder for maximum stability. An overarm motion would allow more effective combination of the ''aspis'' and ''doru'' if the shield wall had broken down, while the underarm motion would be more effective when the shield had to be interlocked with those of one's neighbours in the battle-line. Hoplites in the rows behind the lead would almost certainly have made overarm thrusts. The rear ranks held their spears underarm, and raised their shields upwards at increasing angles. This was an effective defence against missiles, deflecting their force.

=== Sword ===
Hoplites also carried a sword, mostly a short sword called a ''[[xiphos]]'', but later also longer and heavier types. The short sword was a secondary weapon, used if or when their spears were broken or lost, or if the phalanx broke rank. The xiphos usually had a blade around {{convert|60|cm}} long; however, those used by the Spartans were often only 30–45 centimetres long. This very short xiphos would be very advantageous in the press that occurred when two lines of hoplites met, capable of being thrust through gaps in the shieldwall into an enemy's unprotected groin or throat, while there was no room to swing a longer sword. Such a small weapon would be particularly useful after many hoplites had started to abandon body armour during the [[Peloponnesian War]]. Hoplites could also alternatively carry the ''[[kopis]]'', a heavy knife with a forward-curving blade.
The [[scabbard]] of the sword was called ''koleos'' (κολεός).<ref>{{cite book | author = G. H. Smith | title = A Manual Of Grecian Antiquities: Being A Compendious Account Of The Manners And Customs Of The Ancient Greeks(1832) | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pDxGwZ66FOkC| publisher = Kessinger Publishing| year = 2010| page = 170| isbn = 978-1164537380}}</ref>