Hellenic Hoplites

Men wear their helmets and their breastplates for their own needs, but they carry shields for the men of the entire line.

                            --Plutarch, Moralia

The hoplite phalanx was the perfect manifestation of classical Greek society on the battlefield. Made up of middle-class men who had day jobs, the phalanx was made to decide a war in a single bloody struggle.

Equipment

The hoplite's armor--the panoply--consisted of a shield, helmet, breastplate, greaves (plate armor worn around the lower leg), sword, spear, and tunic, and weighed about seventy pounds. All this on a soldier who himself probably weighed no more than 150 pounds.

The hoplite's shield was his defining piece of equipment, even lending its name, hoplon, to the soldier himself. It was a large concave piece of wood, rested on the left shoulder, and stretching down to the soldier's knees. The shield was large enough to protect the right side of the man to each soldier's left, and so formed a wall behind which the hoplite was protected.

The rest of the armor was made of thick bronze plate, and was so heavy that the soldiers would not don their armor until the moments before the charge began. In particular, the helmet (always the soldier's least favorite bit of equipment, then as now) was frequently tilted far back on his head when the soldier was not in combat.

The phalanx is recognized by its bristle of spears, and the spear was indeed the principal offensive weapon of the hoplite. Eight feet long, it was capped with an iron spearhead on one end, and a bronze butt-spike on the other. There is some doubt as to whether it was held underhand or above the shoulder. The butt-spike was useful as a secondary weapon for dispatching trampled-upon foes, or as a primary weapon after the spear shattered, as it usually did, upon impact. The hoplite's short sword was typically considered to be a sort of weapon of last resort.

Certain Hoplites, like the Spartan Hoplites, Sacred Band (Elite Carthagian Hoplites) etc were also known to carry javelins which would be flung at advancing enemies at the very last moment to disrupt their first lines before smashing into them.

Each hoplite was responsible for the purchase and upkeep of his own armor, and so membership in the hoplite phalanx was restricted to those who could afford the expense. The title of hoplite was thus one of some minor prestige, and carried with it some additional political rights.