If any person seeks to overturn the laws, both alone and with all to help me, I will oppose him. I will obey the ruling magistrates who rule reasonably, and I will observe the established laws and whatever laws in the future may be reasonably established. I will transmit my fatherland not diminished but greater and better than before. I will fight for things sacred and things profane. I will not disgrace my sacred arms nor desert my comrade, wherever I am stationed. In the case of Athens, the oath was taken in the Temple of Aglauros, and the (preserved) text is as follows –
#HOPLITE SHIELD WORLD HISTORY DEFINITION FULL#
These adults gathered at one place after their birth records and census were cross-checked – an occasion that took place at the start of every year, which in most ancient Greek calendars was just after the passing of summer.Īnd on clearing these official requirements, they were asked to dress in the full war panoply and then utter an oath. The road to maturity for males of most Greek city-states started with military training after the passing of his 18th year (Spartans had a different military system, as discussed here). And it should be noted that as a general rule, most adult males of the Greek city-states were expected to perform military service.
In essence, a hoplite was a citizen-soldier who took up arms to defend or expand the realm of his city-state. Such measures over time gave rise to the Greek hoplites, a class of warriors who were not really separate from the citizens themselves. In short, the tribe system (with ties of the citizenry, not blood) was a natural evolution of the Greek society and military that required disciplined formations and trained men for protracted warfare, a factor that was rarely encountered (beyond literature) in the previous ‘heroic ages’. This arrangement possibly took roots in the 7th century BC as a more immediate solution for organized warfare and defense. Simply put, the state probably organized its citizens and thus able-bodied men into tribes that had a purpose both census-wise and politically – as opposed to the conventional tribe that is primarily tied by blood relations. The so-called ‘tribe’ in Greek city-states was rather a politico-military evolution, contrary to what ‘tribal’ warfare suggests. As such, the term ‘hoplon’ was possibly mistakenly (or anachronistically) used by Diodorus Siculus, in the 1st century BC. However, modern studies have concluded that the shield was indeed called aspis (not hoplon) by ancient Greeks. So without further ado, let us check out some incredible historical insights you should know about the ancient Classical Greek hoplites (circa 5th – 4th century BC).įun Fact – The word ‘hoplite’ has been often ascribed as being derived from ‘hoplon’, the shield carried by these soldiers. So the hoplite soldier was expected to take part in battles to safeguard his own interests and holdings, as opposed to viewing the military as a well-paying career.Īnd while the ‘classic’ well-armored and trained Greek soldier was ultimately eclipsed by the more tactical Macedonian phalanx in the late 4th century BC, Greek hoplites (and their predecessors) had dominated the European battlefields for almost three centuries before that. Of course, unlike the man-at-arms of the late medieval period, the hoplite was first and foremost a citizen-soldier. The Greek word for military equipment roughly translates to hopla, and thus a hoplite simply meant ‘man at arms’ or ‘armored man’.
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