Tag: Equipment

Collections: Hoplite Wars, Part II: Hoplite Equipment, Hoplight or Hopheavy?

This is the second part of what looks like it'll be end up as a four part series discussing the debates surrounding ancient Greek hoplites, the heavy infantry of the Archaic (800-480) and Classical (480-323) periods. Last week, we outlined the contours of the debate: the major points of contention and the history of the … Continue reading Collections: Hoplite Wars, Part II: Hoplite Equipment, Hoplight or Hopheavy? →

Collections: Shield Walls and Spacing: Hollywood Mobs and Ancient Tactics

This week, we're going to take a look at a different aspect of ancient infantry tactics: how heavy infantry shield formations work. While I've framed this around 'shield walls,' not every kind of shielded heavy infantry fought that way and in practice the line between what is a 'shield wall' and what isn't comes down to … Continue reading Collections: Shield Walls and Spacing: Hollywood Mobs and Ancient Tactics →

Collections: The Universal Warrior, Part IIb: A Soldier’s Lot

This is the continuation of the second part of a three part ( I, IIa, IIb , III) discussion of the notion that there is a 'universal warrior' - a transcendent sameness about either the experience of war or 'warrior values' which might provide some sort of useful blueprint for life generally or some sort … Continue reading Collections: The Universal Warrior, Part IIb: A Soldier’s Lot →

Collections: This. Isn’t. Sparta. Part VI: Spartan Battle

This week, the part you have all been waiting for - we're going to look at how the Spartans fought. This is part six of our series (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, Gloss., Retrospective) looking at Sparta and its place in cultural memory. As we discussed briefly before, there are two core myths … Continue reading Collections: This. Isn’t. Sparta. Part VI: Spartan Battle →

Collections: The Siege of Gondor, Part V: Just Flailing About Flails

(Note: Thanks to the effort of a kind reader, this post is now available in audio format! The playlist for the entire series may be found here.) This is the fifth part of a six part series (I, II, III, IV, V, VI) taking a military historian's look at the Siege of Gondor in Peter … Continue reading Collections: The Siege of Gondor, Part V: Just Flailing About Flails →