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in the previous episode of this series
we covered the evolution
of ancient greek naval warfare during
the two persian invasions
this video will be dedicated to the
changes brought to greek warfare
by the peloponnesian wars
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the persian withdrawal brought some
changes to the hellenic world
but most importantly it significantly
contributed to the steady empowerment
of two significant city-states sparta
and athens
each of the two was now able to develop
its traditions free from external
threats
and continue their dominance as the
leaders of the hellenic world
the spartans were never the most
innovative regarding new developments in
hoblite warfare
what made them great soldiers were their
incredible levels of discipline
and constant training in shield wall
tactics as well as a strong sense of
duty
the attribute which sustained a spartan
formation's cohesiveness and
effectiveness
this is reflected in the high value of
the shield
in spartan military life it is not as
serious for a soldier to lose his spear
or his sword
however a hoblite returning from combat
without his shield
would be called rip sas piss the one who
abandons his shield
and would be considered a deserter and a
coward
it is not a coincidence that history
remembers what spartan mothers told
their sons when they left for war
either with the shield or on it
also spartans trained in pancreation an
ancient form of fighting consisting of
boxing and wrestling
in fact they were so good at it that
they were not allowed to compete in this
particular sport
during the olympic games on the other
hand
athens which had a conscription military
with a service length of two years
mostly focused on developing its navy as
well as its ranged units
with the incorporation of christian
archers rhodesian slingers
and eventually native athenian peltests
into the state army
initially a coalition led by athens
called the delhi in league
was formed to ensure that the persians
would not return
and also to fill the power vacuum in
greece asia minor
and the aegean sea athens essentially
became
an empire during this period with a
formidable navy
vassals and overseas colonies
in contrast sparta's influence was
restricted to the peloponnese
mostly due to spartan reluctance towards
campaigning too far from their capital
but their coalition the peloponnesian
league was also a formidable force
which emerged victorious from a long
series of conflicts between the two
leagues
in the 5th century bc called the
peloponnesian war
during this era warfare occurred on a
much larger scale than in the archaic
period
and became a much more industrialized
and professional affair
for instance the designs of the hoblitae
shields became simplified
to avoid incidents similar to the battle
of dellium in 424 bc
when some athenian hoplites mistakenly
clashed among themselves
the spartans adopted the greek letter
lambda which referenced their home
province lacademon while the thebans
decorated their shields with their
national symbol
a club evidence indicates that prominent
city-states such as athens provided
their armies with shields and weapons
upon the completion of their training
up until then the hoplites were expected
to bring their own into battle
in the conflict now occurring between
the greeks despite the introduction of
new units to the battlefield
phalanxes still clashed on numerous
occasions
aeschylus mentions that the spear shaft
would typically break during the first
blows
forcing the hoplites to draw swords
plutarch states that skill
rather than strength was required when
the spear fighting
doratismos was over since the fighting
transitioned to man-to-man combat
it is therefore safe to assume that many
battles
especially those long in duration were
finalized with sword fighting
moreover warfare escaped the small-scale
ritualistic type of combat annulling the
rules of war that were established in
the previous centuries
this usually gave rise to negative
results
such as the athenian invasion of the
island of melos in 416 bc
which was meant to serve as a punishment
for remaining neutral in the war
javelin throwers a contestai slingers
svendonistai
and archers toxetai were conscripted or
recruited assembled as mercenaries while
the peltists
originating from thrace were hired
initially as mercenaries
until the city-states gradually started
to train their native citizens in that
fashion
slingers had greater range than archers
with approximately 300 meters for
slingers
and 150 meters for archers
the best slingers were the rhodesians
when xenophon wanted to establish a
slinger military unit
he asked all of his hoplites from roads
to throw the spear away
and pick up the sling since it was taken
for granted that they knew how to handle
it
the peltist's name was derived from the
shape of their shield which was roughly
a crescent
they were lightly armoured often wearing
fabric instead of metal armor to be more
agile
they would repeatedly attack the phalanx
formations and then retreat
this tactic took advantage of the light
unit's speed and
maximized enemy casualties while it
minimized the peltus losses
the battle of sfactria in 425 bc
was the most significant achievement of
this particular group
when athenian paltists under atheicrites
managed to annihilate a 600-man spartan
unit
called amora and imprisoned the
survivors marking the first ever defeat
of the hoblites
at the hands of the light infantry after
that defeat
spartans started hiring mercenary
archers and also invested in some
cavalry
peltus were also excellent scouting
troops and very capable during sieges
and ambushes
in response to the threat from ranged
light infantry
city-states started training lightly
armoured hoplites
the ekdromoi who would act like regular
hoblites but were also able to leave the
formation momentarily
and keep the peltists and other light
infantry units at bay
these hoplites could also attempt to
either outflank the enemy formation
or even jump over the first rows of the
enemy phalanx to harass
and spread panic they were usually armed
with a sword and shield when attempting
to penetrate the enemy's spear war
cavalry was also gradually being
introduced
during the 5th century bc partly due to
its effectiveness against
light infantry but also because of its
multifaceted use
it could scout harass and flank
the best horsemen could traditionally be
found in thessaly and macedonia
athens used to hire mercenary cavalry
from thessaly
until the battle of tanagra when the
thessalonians changed sides and
inflicted heavy casualties on the
athenian armies with their cavalry
after that athens started training their
own horsemen
and maintained a 1 000 strong cavalry
force
other city-states also began recruiting
and training their own cavalry
such as bioshock and sparta
it has to be mentioned that the cavalry
from mag negrecia
in modern-day sicily and south italy was
among the best
the tyrant of syracuse for example
maintained a force of 1200 horsemen
the famous tarantine cavalry deriving
from the ancient region of terrace
the modern day toronto this particular
force
inflicted devastating losses to the
athenian armies
during the sicilian expedition
cavalry in ancient greece generally
started with light armor
however it was gradually upgraded with
heavier armor through the years
reaching a point where a horseman would
look like a hoplite on a horse
in contrast with the actual hoplite unit
which was being equipped with
lighter armor in order to make the
phalanx a more agile and maneuverable
force
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thank you for watching our documentary
covering the evolution of ancient greek
warfare
during the peloponnesian wars in our
next video
we will talk about siege warfare we
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