Although the Minoans have acquired for themselves a certain "flower child" reputation, they were not totally without weapons. Specifically, the Minoans developed slender swords used mainly for thrusting. These bronze implements had the blade, tang, and hilt made as one continuous piece of metal, with a separate pummel and a handle of horn or wood (or, for the fancier sword, gold or silver) riveted directly to the tang (Oakeshott 1994, 27). Such armaments were more suitable for duel-style combat, possibly ritual (see chapter 6) rather than full-scale mele combat (Peatfield 1999, 68-70).
To judge from the remains in the shaft graves at Mycenae, the early Myce-naeans originally adopted these Minoan swords, but quickly adapted them to be more resilient in battle. They strengthened the tang/hilt region to decrease the possibility of breakage during cut-and-thrust fighting. Furthermore, they added flanges along the sides of the blade, to provide added protection for the wielder's hand (Snodgrass 1999, 16). Finally, the blade acquired a slightly leaflike shape, with a central ridge for added strength. Such swords were far wieldier in combat than the Minoan versions (Oakeshott 1994, 32). Other than swords, the Mycenaeans of the shaft graves used heavy spears (of which only the heads remain); slender javelins; and arrows featuring tips of flint, obsidian, and even bronze.
For defense, the early Mycenaeans used two types of shield. One was the so-called figure-eight shield that they adopted from the Minoans. This shield, when seen from the front, had a figure-eight shape, although in 3-D it had an oval shape with the center sides "curled in" for carrying. Frescoes from this period show animal-hide patterns on these shields, suggesting that they were wooden frames on which animal hides were stretched. A second style was the tower shield, a large, rectangular construction consisting of either wood and hide as with the figure-eight shields or possibly an even lighter material, such as wicker. For the head, there were helmets made of rows of boars' tusks sewn onto a leather cap. Such helmets are mentioned by Homer, with one famous example belonging to Odysseus himself.
More for show than for fighting were the decorated daggers of the shaft graves and later times. These large knives had pictorial scenes on the blades, wrought in gold, silver, and niello (a thick, black, paste-like substance). Hunting scenes were especially common, in which hunters armed with spears stalked down large cats in scenery strongly resembling the banks of the Nile. For this reason, such scenes are called Nilotic. These blades were not at all practical, clearly intended to display the wealth (and possible pastimes) of the dead with whom they were buried.
Starting around 1450 b. c.e., a new fashion in defensive armor emerged: bronze plate. The best example of this is a full panoply of armor discovered in a warrior's grave at Dendra (see Image 9.35). This had a full gorget for neck protection, pauldrons to cover the shoulders, and complete coverage down the torso to the hips, where the armor flared out for ease of motion. On the whole, it was heavy and probably did not allow for long, sustained combat, but it did offer almost full body protection (Snodgrass 1999, 21). Within the next century, new elements were added to the warrior's panoply, including a bronze helmet and, unique to the Greeks, bronze greaves, which protected the shins and ankles (Snodgrass 1999, 25).
9.35 Dendra Panoply from Midea (Courtesy of Paul Butler)
By the end of the Bronze Age, the Greek arsenal once again reinvented itself. Two new styles of sword appeared at this time in the archaeological record. One was a short sword with a strong hilt and straight blade, which does not appear to have been longer than about 2 feet (Snodgrass 1999, 28). Far more important for the Mycenaeans was the arrival of a central European style of sword in Greece, the Naue II or Griffzungenschert sword (see Image 9.36). This solid-cast sword had a thick hilt onto which was riveted a wooden or bone handle. The nearly leaf-shaped blade had two thin relief ridges, which lightened the blade without sacrificing strength. The tip for thrusting, plus the double-edged blade for cutting, made this an excellent cut-and-thrust weapon, and it remained in the Greek repertoire for centuries (Hansel 1988, 265).
A final piece of evidence concerning arms and armor at the twilight of the Bronze Age is the previously mentioned Warrior Vase (see Image 9.31), which depicts a row of warriors presumably heading out to battle. In contrast to heavy panoply like that from Dendra, these warriors are in light armor, consisting mainly of heavy cloth, metal greaves, and helmets with only one boar's tusk per man. They carry spears and rounded shields with an unusual scallop at the bottom. Assuming that the artist was painting from reality, then, we see a society where either lightness and ease of mobility were valued over full armor protection or bronze was more difficult to acquire, forcing the use of different materials for defense. Both are certainly possible. It is also possible that the Warrior Vase depicts a new style of fighting, which was to become far more prevalent and important in the Early Archaic Age: phalanx-style warfare, evolving eventually into the hoplite squadron (see chapter 6).
The Griffzungenschert sword that was so popular at the end of the Bronze Age remained a staple in the Dark Age, although now made in iron instead of bronze. During the Dark Age, however, spears became more important as of-
Material Culture 355 9.36 Naue II Sword (Courtesy of Paul Butler)
Fensive weapons. At first, the spearheads, which were fastened onto a wooden shaft, were made of bronze, probably as the intricate shape was too difficult to hammer (iron could not be melted, but bronze could). In the Archaic Age, these would also be made of iron. The vase painting and archaeology from the time also attest to the importance of archery in the Dark Age. Eighth-century battlefields have turned up several bronze arrowheads, the only enduring part of an archery set consisting of a wood and horn bow with gut bowstring and arrows with wooden shafts and, presumably, feather fletching.
Perhaps the most important defensive item of the day was bronze armor, now of a kind far more sophisticated than the Dendra style. One nearly complete example comes from Argos. This shows a corselet (torso armor) fully fitted to the upper body, with the lines of the pectorals molded onto the front. The armor goes down to the lower waist, where it flares out, leaving the lower body free for maneuverability. The pelvis region was probably covered with leather, creating a sort of defensive kilt. A bronze helmet, possibly with horsehair decoration, covered the head. The remaining defensive armor was a bronze shield. An example of a shield from a soldier's tomb in Kaloriziki, Cyprus (Hellenized by this point in history), had a composite construction: The central boss and outer rim were of bronze, but the actual body of the shield no longer remains. This section clearly consisted of perishable materials such as wood or leather. A similar, if slightly smaller, shield was used by the Vikings.
The seventh century b. c.e. was the real renaissance of Greek arms and armor, constituting the so-called Hoplite Revolution. Hoplite comes from the word hoplos, which refers to the full panoply of armor used by a soldier in the field. This panoply consisted of a helmet, a chest plate, greaves, a shield, one to three spears, and probably a short sword.
The most famous early hoplite helmet was the Corinthian helmet, probably created in Corinth. This was a single piece of bronze hammered into a full head covering, including both nose guard and cheek guards, so that all that was exposed of the face was a T-shaped section for eyes and mouth. Hearing was definitely a problem in the Corinthian helmet, but otherwise it afforded complete protection. Later, other helmet styles evolved, including the Athenian, which was a head plate that covered the back of the neck but left the face mostly exposed, and the extremely practical Chalkidian helmet, which offered the full protection of the Corinthian helmet, but with less covering over the mouth and with cutouts over the ears, allowing for easier communication on the battlefield.
Vase paintings began to depict greaves around 675, although such armor had been in the Greek repertoire since Mycenaean times. The greaves of the Archaic Age were longer than those used previously, covering the leg from the upper knees all the way down to the ankles (Snodgrass 1999, 52-53). Such greaves, plus the helmet and thorax, or chest plate, comprised the basic hoplite armor. Remarkably, the Greeks appear to have had little sturdy protection for the groin (no iron cups have yet been found). This was certainly due to a need
For mobility on the field, even though we know from the literature that the genitalia were a target in battle. The Spartan poet Tyrtaios relates, "For it is a shameful thing, really, for an older man having fallen in the midst of the van guard to lie before the youths, already having a white head of hair and a grey beard, breathing out his stout heart in the dust, holding his bloody genitals in his dear hands, and his naked flesh. These are shameful to the eyes and awful to see."
The shield was the most important item of the hoplite's accoutrements, and theirs was a shield that was truly revolutionary in construction. In contrast to the large, somewhat unwieldy Bronze Age shields and the lighter, more perishable Dark Age shields, the hoplite shield was both maneuverable and extremely durable. Probably first created in Argos, this shield consisted of strips of bronze over a wooden core, surrounded by a bronze rim. On the interior of the shield were two attachments. One was the porpax, or armband, which the Greek soldier hung on his arm. At the shield's edge was the antilabe, or handle. The porpax took the brunt of the shield's weight; the antilabe allowed for maneuverability. In later days, especially with the rise of strong civic identities, this shield often carried a device identifying the soldier, much as did the Medieval European devices.
The weapon of choice was the spear, and many spearheads have turned up in excavated battlefields and as dedications in sanctuaries. Some vase paintings show soldiers with two spears, one probably for throwing and the other for use at close range. A short sword would only be used as a weapon of last defense: If the phalanx broke up and the soldier was forced to fight at close range, the sword was an effective weapon, especially against a lightly armored opponent (see chapter 6). A new style of sword that became popular during this period was the falcata or kopis, a rather heavy, curved sword with an edge on the curve's interior. It was overbalanced to the tip of the blade, making it an effective slashing and hacking weapon (Snodgrass 1999, 97).
One interesting development in the fifth century b. c.e. was a renewed interest in archery, especially for long-range attacks. This interest probably derived from contacts with the East, especially with such archery masters as the Scythians of the Ukraine. Athenian plays make reference to such Scythians serving as a municipal police force, and Red Figure pottery shows "barbarians" on the field well equipped with an archer's paraphernalia. The Scythian archery set consisted of a gorytos (a quiver that could hold both arrows and the bow); hundreds of thin, light arrows tipped with bronze points; and a double recurve bow. Archers using such equipment could shoot both as infantry and from horseback.
The importance of the hoplite declined and ended under Alexander and his successors. Part of this was due to a renewed interest in cavalry, along with a greater interest in flexibility for impromptu movements, which the hoplite phalanx formations did not allow (see chapter 6). Under Alexander, the hop-lites were replaced by the sarissaphoroi, or sarissa bearers, who fought with long pikes (sarissa) in battle alongside the cavalry (Snodgrass 1999, 119). Also novel was the armor, which, since the Dark Age, had grown consistently lighter. The full corselet of the Dark Age had been replaced by the thorax of the Archaic Age, which was now replaced by thick linen, leather, or scale armor. Scale armor consisted of a leather backing with sewn-on scales of bronze or iron. This armor was much lighter than the metal plate, allowing for greater speed and maneuverability on the field. Although it did not provide as much defense against direct blows, it was extremely effective against arrows, keeping the foot soldier safe from long-range attacks while the cavalry held off the heavier-armed fighters. Such scale armor first appeared in the Near East in the Bronze Age, once again probably for defense against arrows, and it was used minimally in Greece until the Late Classical period.
World History
