Welcome to our second video covering the evolution of the ancient Greek armies in this episode.
we will talk about the changes brought by the Persian invasions the
First significant encounter between the Persians and the Greeks occurred between
499 BC and 493 BC. during the Ionian revolt when Greek city-states in Asia Minor
Rebelled against Darius and were supported by Athens and Eretria.
After a number of bloody battles both at land and at sea the Persian army defeated the cities of the western coast and Cyprus.
We can safely assume that the Greeks learned more about the Persian troops and tactics during the Ionian revolt than vice-versa.
Partly due to an underestimation of the Greeks by the Achaemenid Empire.
The Greeks were concerned about the effectiveness of the Persian light cavalry and skirmishes.
For this reason during the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC the Athenians
Used the morphology of the landscape to prevent the Persians from using their cavalry.
Meanwhile for Mi
litiades who was one of the 10 Athenian generals strategy
employed a new strategy to minimize the impact of the attacks by enemy ranged troops and
Take advantage of the high effectiveness of the hoplite a formations against Persian units, which were in general lightly armored.
The spar abara were the most common kind of soldiers among Persian infantry and were equipped with wicker shields
And mostly linen armor a loadout which left them frequently incapable of challenging a hoplite a balance
The equipment and characteristics of the Greek armies at the time.
At the time of the greco-persian wars the holidays were developed into high quality heavy infantry
Encompassing all the experience from the previous centuries of small-scale
conflict.
The selection and combination of materials improves and weapons were further developed to adjust to the new conditions.
Bronze was still the dominant metal used for armor.
however
Many hoplite a started to gradually replace parts of their panel ease with iron which was much harder to process and mold
but provided better protection.
linen was also still used in armor and shields up until the Hellenistic period.
New types of thorax were lighter and allowed for better mobility
Partly due to the experience of the Ionian revolt and the realization that battles with Persians required the holidays to be quicker.
On the same note scaled armor with many different parts combined also allowed for increased movement
while decreasing the weight.
The shield hoplon was also upgraded throughout the period with more sturdy builds and further use of bronze
while a
reactionary measure to the vast number of Persian arrows was the
Occasional use of a small square piece of cloth hanging from the bottom of the shield.
Furthermore since
520 BC the last city states that still provided their holidays with throwing spears put an end to the practice.
Mostly for practical purposes as the concept was not compatible with the tight
Formation of a phalanx as well as because of the gradual appearance of the peltasts unit and other light infantry variants.
meanwhile, the spear dori remained similar to that of the archaic period with slight improvements in the manufacturing of the
Spear heads and the butt spikes sterics.
Iron was used more frequently during this time by the Dori whose the spear makers.
Finally the two most prominent sword types of the period were the Zephyrs and the coppice.
The Xiphos was a straight leaf-shaped short sword while the coppice was a falcon type weapon.
Both were mostly used by hot lattes in case their spears broke.
However, one of the first military historians Xenophon recommends the use of copies for mounted warfare.
Corpus was also the favorite sword of the Spartans who developed a smaller sized
variation to penetrate the enemy formations with more ease.
In an ancient dialogue between an Athenian and a Spartan hot latte,
The first criticized the latter's small sword who laconically replied it is long enough to reach your heart.
Research has also shown the
Periodical use of horses as transport to move a small number of troops quickly. Usually no woman and high caste soldiers.
However, the monetary cost of supporting significant numbers of horses was quite high and historians argue that this was the case only
for elite units.
One example of this would be the 300 Spartans who fought at Thermopylae.
They were the personal guard of the king called hippeis
Which can be translated as horsemen. The sacred band of thieves was most probably a similar force.
The exceptions to the rule here are the Greek city-states of South Italy as well as Thessaly
Which gradually developed their cavalry traditions with the latter
influencing the Macedonian cavalry.
Nevertheless the Greeks did not use any cavalry units in the battles during the greco-persian
Wars due to the large number of Persian cavalry
Which would make such practice pointless and because of the Greek inexperience in that particular type of combat.
However, they sometimes used small skirmishing forces are very lightly armoured troops called Shiloh
Which can be translated as naked or stripped who were also responsible for caring for the aforementioned
horses and the dey's equipment.
This category probably involved a range of different like unit types.
the Spartan slaves helots were used as silo in the Battle of Plataea in
479 BC and as Herodotus mentioned they numbered at
35,000. the
Second Persian invasion.
the second Persian invasion of 480 to 479 BC
Was led by Xerxes and was a direct response to the defeat suffered previously by his father.
The hoplite a unit was once again at the epicenter of the Greek victory with the Battle of Plataea being the most notable
example.
However, this time the Greek trireme also proved it's worth as a formidable fast and easily maneuverable vessel
capable of inflicting much damage to the enemy if correctly used as
They mistakelly did in the Battle of Salamis.
in fact
the Athenian general was the one who urged the Democratic city-state to dedicate its efforts to the development of the Navy and
naval traditions.
In 483 BC he persuaded the Athenians to manufacture a 200-strong fleet
Which was of essential use for the upcoming wars with the ur commanded empire.
Most importantly the cooperation between Sparta and Athens was a crucial factor for the Greek victory
Allowing the combined tactics of the Greek Navy and army to work to their fullest capacity.
as Circe subdued the Greek city-states of the north and
Descended with his army to central Greece the spartan king leonidas along with his guard and a coalition of other city-states
Chose as a defensive position the narrow path of Thermopylae
Which was perfect for hoplite a warfare while the Navy was at Artemisium.
After the allied defeat at the hot gates the naval blockade of Artemisium became irrelevant and the greek navy
proceeded to the Straits of Salamis where They mistakelly used the triremes
manoeuvrability as well as the fact that the Persians had larger and much more immobilize the fullest extent. and
Despite the highly unlikely odds, the Greeks won.
Salamis was a turning point for naval warfare with almost every naval battle henceforth and until the sixteenth century
Being fought within sight of land due to the impressive results of the use of combined tactics by the allied city-states.
The victory in Salamis was the first decisive victory for the Greeks and the beginning of the decline of Persian power in the Aegean.
Finally in the last and decisive battle at Plataea the greeks formed the largest ever.
Hoplite a army
Making the final blow against Mardonius army after Xerxes took the remainder of his fleet and returned to Asia.
the lessons that the Greeks learned from the greco-persian Wars were then used against other Greeks during the last
turbulent decades of the fifth century BC.
Thank you for watching our documentary covering the evolution of ancient Greek warfare during the
2 version invasions in our next video. We will cover the naval aspect of combat.
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This is the kings and Generals Channel and we will catch you on the next one.