In this blog we look at Aristokles, an Ekdromos (light hoplite) who in 400 BC marches through the thick snow of the Armenian mountains, surrounded by hostile tribes and with a Persian army at his heels. He is namely a member of the ten thousand Greek mercenaries who the year before were hired by the Persian usurper Cyrus to overthrow his brother from the throne. Now Cyrus is dead, and Aristokles and his lost comrades must find their way back to Greece through thousands of kilometers of hostile territory. Their commander Xenophon would later write a history book about their legendary journey, the so-called Anabasis.
Quick facts
The basic: A wool or linen chiton (tunic) for freedom of movement.
The cloak: The chlamys served as protection against weather and wind, but was wrapped around the arm on the battlefield as an improvised shield.
The shield (Hoplon): The heart of defense, adorned with the frightening gorgoneion.
The helm: The classic Corinthian helm, often pushed back for better sight and hearing during reconnaissance.
The weapons: A doru (spear) for the line and a xiphos (short sword) for man-to-man combat.
Clothing
Aristokles wears a tunic, a belt and a pair of worn leather sandals. He also wears his thick wool cloak as protection against the Persian sun and the cutting cold of the Anatolian mountains.
Chiton (tunic)
Greek tunics were made of linen, sometimes also of wool. The red tunic that Aristokles wears is made of thick fabric and has short sleeves, but in the warmer months Greeks often wore light garments that left their arms and shoulders uncovered. Classical Greeks wore no trousers under their tunic, because they considered them barbaric.
Sandaloi (sandals)
Due to the warm, temperate climate in classical Greece and the rest of the Mediterranean, sandals (sandaloi) like these were worn. Although Aristokles wears simple military sandals that are less open to better protect the feet, there were constantly new fashion trends for sandals in antiquity that were determined by fashionable Athens.
In addition to sandals, from the fifth century BC onwards, people also wore a type of laced boots (such as endromis and embades) and in winter felt socks (piloi) to keep the feet warm.
Belt / strap
To shape the tunic, both simple leather straps and fabric belts were used.
Chlamys (cloak)
The chlamys was a wool cloak worn in classical Greece. This kept clothing clean and offered the wearer protection against weather and wind.
However, the cloak that Aristokles wears is not only meant to keep him warm, but also forms part of his weapons equipment. On the battlefield, he wraps the cloak around his weapon arm to protect it against spears, swords and arrows.
The cloak was fastened with a fibula, a metal clothing brooch that was often decorated.
Armor
Aristokles' armor is light; he wears only a large bronze shield and a 'Corinthian' helm to protect his body. He uses a long spear, the doru, to fight in formation and a short sword, the xiphos, as a secondary weapon.
Hoplon (shield)
The large bronze shield (hoplon / aspis) was the most important part of the hoplite's equipment; the name 'hoplite' is even derived from it. This heavy shield was designed to fight in a dense shield wall formation (phalanx), where a hoplite was partly covered by the shields of those next to him.
The hoplon was often decorated with bronze work or paint. These decorations were applied for various reasons but usually had symbolic meaning. For example, the hoplon was used to show the identity of the hoplite's polis. For Athens, for example, this was an owl, the symbol of the goddess Pallas Athena who protected the city. In Sparta this was done with a lambda (the L in Greek script) as a symbol for Lacadaemonia, the region where Spartans came from.
Many hoplites also had a monster from Greek mythology on their shield. This was a less patriotic decoration, intended to ward off evil forces and frighten their enemies. Aristokles' shield is adorned with a gorgoneion, the head of a monstrous gorgon-demon that could turn people to stone with her gaze. This decoration also draws inspiration from the Iliad: namely from the aegis, a mythological armor or shield with a gorgon's head attached. It could protect the user against all dangers and was worn in the myths by the gods Zeus (as a shield) and Athena (as armor).
Helm
The bronze Corinthian helm was used from the eighth to the fourth century BC. This type of helm had an iconic profile and protected the entire head, making it very popular among heavily armed hoplites. Until 500 BC, the Corinthian helm was completely closed, and after that helms were increasingly made with openings for the ear. Because the helm completely covered the face, it was also pushed back to give the wearer better hearing and vision. Some helms, like Aristokles', also had a crest of horsehair.
In the following centuries, people eventually switched to the Phrygian and Chalcidic helms, which less restricted the wearer's sight and hearing. However, the Corinthian helm remained very important in Greek art afterwards, as a symbol of the classical period.
Doru (spear)
The spear that Aristokles wielded was the most important weapon of the hoplite and was used from the Archaic period to the time of Alexander the Great. The doru (or dory) had a length of 2-3 meters, long enough that multiple lines of hoplites could fight as part of the shield wall.
The spear was made of ash wood and had, in addition to a leaf-shaped spear point, a sharp shaft cap that could be used in various ways. This helped the spear to be stuck in the ground and hoplites could easily kill wounded enemies while holding the spear upright. Also, the shaft cap could be used by the hoplite as a backup spear point when his doru broke in half.
Smaller javelins were also used by hoplites and other Greek soldiers.
Xiphos (sword)
The xiphos was a short, double-edged iron sword that served the hoplite as a secondary weapon and was only used when their spear (dory) broke or when combat had to take place at very close range, such as when lines were broken.
You can also choose to use a kopis (also falcata for the Iberian variant) for your outfit, a single-edged sword. This became increasingly popular over the course of the classical period and even took over the role of the xiphos as the main 'hoplite sword'.
FAQ
Why did they wear a helm pushed back?
The Corinthian helm completely closed off the face and limited hearing. By pushing it back, Aristokles could better hear if the enemy was approaching during marches and reconnaissance, and he had better sight of the terrain.
Was the 'kopis' a better choice than the 'xiphos'?
The kopis (a single-edged sword) became increasingly popular as the classical period progressed, because it could deliver heavier blows. The choice between both was often dependent on personal preference and availability in the camp.
What was the function of the shaft cap on the spear?
This bronze point at the bottom of the spear was ingenious. It served as a counterweight, made it possible to stick the spear in the ground, and offered a second spear point if the top broke.
Summary
The equipment of the Ekdromos was a model of pragmatism. Every piece was designed to enable Aristokles to fulfill his role as a mobile force in the army, without sacrificing his chances of survival. It was this balance that allowed him to survive the tens of thousands of kilometers of the Anabasis.
