Hoplite Technology in Phalanx Battle

Hanson, Victor Davis

doi:10.4324/9780203423639_chapter_3

Cited by 31 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…What set the hoplite shield apart from other shields, besides its double‐grip system, was its strong, yet flexible, structure, which it derived from its circular and convex design, and is fundamental to understanding the structural mechanics of the hoplite shield. A functional benefit of all circular shields is that they have no edges which can be targeted by an opponent and/or might limit shield manoeuvrability (Hanson , 69). A flat circular design makes the manufacture of the shield considerably easier, but it limits its ability to absorb and distribute incoming impact energy from a blow.…”

Section: The Structural Mechanics Of the Hoplite Shieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…14.6.4; see also Anderson , pl. 10) or doubling as an emergency spearhead if the former was damaged (see Hanson , 71–4). Matthew (, 148–60) has recently sought to dismiss the use and effectiveness of the sauroters in offensive combat situations, but testing by this author indicates that while sauroters could not fully perforate bronze and leather target strips representative of ancient Greek helmets and body armour, they could easily and effectively have been used against flesh targets.…”

Section: Testing the Combat Effectiveness Of The Hoplite Shieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Investigations into the practical use and effectiveness of the weaponry, which are few and far between and have come primarily from Classical scholarship, have been largely reliant on the surviving pictorial and textual evidence (e.g. Hanson ; Lazenby ; van Wees ; ; Schwartz ; Matthew ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Twas When my Shield Turned traitor’! Establishing the Combat Effectiveness of the Greek Hoplite Shield

Groote

2016

Oxford J Archaeology

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Greek hoplite warfare has traditionally been explored through the extant textual and pictorial evidence. This has resulted in an incomplete picture, with much of the focus on the strategic and tactical aspects of battle, to the neglect of practical and functional considerations of combat. As a consequence, many of our understandings of the nature of hoplite combat, the how, remain deficient. In this paper, I explore the structural and functional aspects of the hoplite shield, the single most important item in the Greek hoplite's panoply, to determine its efficacy in a combat environment. Through a set of controlled practical experiments, the effectiveness of the hoplite shield is tested to establish its defensive qualities vis-a-vis the long thrusting spear, the hoplite's primary offensive weapon. Hayward (1968, 316) defines combat effectiveness as 'the probability of success in combat operations'. Consequently the combat effectiveness of the hoplite shield can be determined by establishing the probability of achieving success (defending/ striking an opposing hoplite) in a combat environment.

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Section: The Structural Mechanics Of the Hoplite Shieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Testing the Combat Effectiveness Of The Hoplite Shieldmentioning

confidence: 99%