Men of Bronze: Hoplite Warfare in Ancient Greece

313 Pages·2013·12.85 MB·English

by  Donald Kagan

Men of Bronze
ii
In 2007, a Greek helmet of gilded bronze was recovered from Haifa Bay, Israel, during commer-
cial dredging operations. Following conservation by the Israel Antiquities Authority, the helmet
emerged as a remarkable example of the type of closed “Corinthian” helmet traditionally associ-
ated with Greek hoplites. The helmet had been shaped by a master craftsman from a lost- wax
bronze casting less than 2 mm thick, with a riveted nose guard 11 mm thick to provide extra pro-
tection to the warrior’s face. A glittering coat of gilding covered the exterior, some of which still
remains to testify to the wealth and elite status of the helmet’s original owner. Rich decoration
had been applied with chasing hammers and punches: two snakes curling above the eye- holes; a
palmette or peacock’s tail on the forehead; and heraldic lions on the cheek- pieces. Such elaborate
decoration is rare on Corinthian helmets, though more common in the Archaic period than in the
fifth and fourth centuries BC. This spectacular piece of early Greek metalworking is now on dis-
play at Israel’s National Maritime Museum in Haifa, which overlooks the waters where the helmet
lay hidden for some 2600 years. Photo by Warhaftig Venezian Photographers for the Maritime
Museum of Haifa. Text description courtesy of Israel Antiquities Authority and Jacob Sharvit.
Men of Bronze
Hoplite Warfare in Ancient Greece
Edited by Donald Kagan and Gregory F. Viggiano
Princeton University Press Princeton and Oxford
Copyright © 2013 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street,
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 6 Oxford Street,
Woodstock, Oxfordshire ox20 1tw
press.princeton.edu
Jacket Photograph: Haifa Bay helmet. Photo by Warhaftig Venezian
Photographers for the Maritime Museum of Haifa. Courtesy of
Israel Antiquities Authority and Jacob Sharvit.
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Men of bronze : hoplite warfare in ancient Greece / edited by Donald Kagan and Gregory F. Viggiano.
pages cm
“The papers published in this volume resulted from a conference on early Greek hoplite warfare held at
Yale University in April 2008.”
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-691-14301-9 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Military art and science—Greece—History—
To 1500—Congresses. 2. Soldiers—Greece—History—To 1500—Congresses. 3. Greece—History,
Military—To 146 B.C.—Congresses. 4. Weapons, Ancient—Greece—Congresses. 5. Armor, Ancient—
Greece—Congresses. I. Kagan, Donald, author, editor of compilation. II. Viggiano, Gregory, author,
editor of compilation.
U33.M46 2013
355.4'738—dc23
2012047892
British Library Cataloging- in- Publication Data is available
This book has been composed in Garamond Premier Pro
Printed on acid- free paper. ∞
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
List of Figures vii
Preface ix
Donald Kagan and Gregory F. Viggiano
Introduction xi
Donald Kagan and Gregory F. Viggiano
Chapter 1 The Hoplite Debate 1
Donald Kagan and Gregory F. Viggiano
Chapter 2 The Arms, Armor, and Iconography
of Early Greek Hoplite Warfare 57
Gregory F. Viggiano and Hans van Wees
Chapter 3 Hoplitai/Politai: Refighting Ancient Battles 74
Paul Cartledge
Chapter 4 Setting the Frame Chronologically 85
Anthony Snodgrass
Chapter 5 Early Greek Infantry Fighting in a Mediterranean Context 95
Kurt A. Raaflaub
Chapter 6 The Hoplite Revolution and the Rise of the Polis 112
Gregory F. Viggiano
Chapter 7 Hoplite Hell: How Hoplites Fought 134
Peter Krentz
vi Contents
Chapter 8 Large Weapons, Small Greeks: The Practical Limitations
of Hoplite Weapons and Equipment 157
Adam Schwartz
Chapter 9 Not Patriots, Not Farmers, Not Amateurs: Greek Soldiers
of Fortune and the Origins of Hoplite Warfare 176
John R. Hale
Chapter 10 Can We See the “Hoplite Revolution” on the Ground?
Archaeological Landscapes, Material Culture,
and Social Status in Early Greece 194
Lin Foxhall
Chapter 11 Farmers and Hoplites: Models of Historical Development 222
Hans van Wees
Chapter 12 The Hoplite Narrative 256
Victor Davis Hanson
List of Contributors 277
Index 279
List of Figures
Frontis Hoplite helmet ii
Figure f- 1 Map of Ancient Greece xxiv–xxv
Figure 2- 1 Rhodian plate, c. 600 BC 58
Figure 2- 2 Line drawings illustrating the use of the hoplite shield 60–61
Figure 2- 3 Classical hoplite equipment, Attic tombstone,
late fifth century BC 62
Figure 2- 4 Protocorinthian aryballos from Lechaion, c. 690 BC 63
Figure 2- 5 Protocorinthian aryballos from Perachora, c. 675 BC 64
Figure 2- 6 Battle frieze from the Berlin aryballos, Middle
Protocorinthian aryballos, c. 650 BC 65
Figure 2- 7 Battle frieze from the Macmillan aryballos,
Middle Protocorinthian, c. 650 BC 66
Figure 2- 8 Chigi vase, Middle Protocorinthian olpe from Veii,
c. 640 BC 67
Figure 2- 9 Alabastron from Corinth, c. 625 BC 69
Figure 2- 10 Middle Corinthian krater, c. 600– 575 BC 69
Figure 2- 11 Battle in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea 71
Figure 9- 1 Amathus bowl 183
Figure 10- 1 Keos Survey: numbers of sherds that can be dated
to a single century 198
Figure 10- 2 Thespiai, southern approaches, Geometric- Archaic sites 203
Figure 10- 3 Thespiai, southern approaches, Classical- Hellenistic sites 205
Figure 10- 4 Keos Survey, Protogeometric- Geometric sites 206
Figure 10- 5 Keos Survey, Archaic- Classical sites 206
Figure 10- 6 Methana, Early Iron Age and Archaic sites 208–9
Figure 10- 7 Methana, Classical sites 210
Figure 10- 8 Berbati- Limnes Survey, Geometric- Archaic find spots 211
Figure 10- 9 Berbati- Limnes Survey, Classical- Hellenistic find spots 213
vii

Preface
Donald Kagan and Gregory F. Viggiano
The papers published in this volume resulted from a conference on early Greek hoplite
warfare held at Yale University in April 2008. The idea for the conference grew out of
a spirited debate that took place following a panel presentation at the American Philo-
logical Association’s annual meeting at San Diego in January 2007, “New Perspectives
on Ancient Warfare.” From the audience, Gregory Viggiano argued in favor of the the-
ses of Victor Davis Hanson’s The Western Way of War and The Other Greeks against the
positions of Peter Krentz and Hans van Wees. These scholars later agreed to continue
the debate in a formal setting. Viggiano then discussed with Donald Kagan the unique
possibility of having the world’s leading scholars on the subject air out their differences
face- to- face at Yale. Further discussions with Paul Cartledge helped bring about the
Yale conference. The conference panels debated a variety of issues surrounding the
hoplite orthodoxy and the attempts to revise it: (1) questions concerning the origins of
the tactics and weapons employed by the Greek hoplite (heavily- armed infantryman),
fighting in massed formation on behalf of his autonomous city- state (polis); (2) ques-
tions about the political, economic, and social significance of the new mode of fight-
ing; and (3) questions regarding the impact hoplite warfare had on Greek culture in
general. All these issues have in recent years been at the center of one of the liveliest
and most important controversies in the fields of classical studies, ancient political
history, and ancient military history.
We want to thank everyone who contributed to the success of the Yale conference,
which was held at the Hall of Graduate Studies on the Yale campus. Our first concern
in putting together an international workshop was making sure that the scholars would
be willing to come and debate, so we are grateful to all the participants for sharing our
enthusiasm for the idea. We were very fortunate to have Susan Hennigan’s superb as-
sistance in arranging the travel and stays of the participants, and in taking care of all
the logistics (meals, programs, audiovisual equipment, etc.) for the event. One scholar
remarked that everyone got along so well because there was so much good food to eat.
The panel sessions were well attended by faculty, undergraduate and graduate students
from Yale, as well as faculty from Sacred Heart University, especially the Department
of History. A number of scholars and graduate students from universities as far away as
ix