page_title: Hoplite formation in art
section_title: Chigi Vase
hierarchical_section_title: Hoplite formation in art / Representations in art / Chigi Vase
caption_attribution_description: Magyar: A hopliták fuvolazenére indulnak csatábaEnglish: Hoplites go to battle at the sounds of music
context_page_description: The hoplites were soldiers from Ancient Greece who were usually free citizens. They had a very uniform and distinct appearance; specifically they were armed with a spear in their right hand and a heavy round shield in their left.
  Hoplite soldiers were organized in battle into the "Phalanx formation". The goal of this formation was to create uniformity and a powerful military force in order to maximize the effectiveness as the army as a whole, rather than use people as individual fighters. With the hoplite formation everyone was the same in battle. The Phalanx formation appeared during the 7th and 8th centuries BC.
  The representation of hoplites in art show historians how the Greeks used this formation in battle as well as how the soldiers were dressed and what their armor looked like. The hoplite formation is shown in different styles of pottery such as white ground and black figure and also on many different types of pottery such an olpe, krater, alabastron, and dinos. Across all depictions, hoplite soldiers wear the same armor and carry the same weapons in the same position. In addition, the aspect of uniformity is emphasized in these representations.
context_section_description: The Chigi Vase is a Protocorinthian olpe and was made by the Chigi Painter from 650-640 BC. The Chigi Vase was discovered in an Etruscan tomb at Monte Aguzzo. It is black-figure style with an unusual use of polychromy. It contains the earliest known representation of the hoplite phalanx formation.  The vase shows the moment that the two hoplite formations come in contact in battle. Each soldier is armed with a decorative round shield in their left hand and a long spear in their right as well as a helmet. Behind the soldiers is a flute player that may have been used to keep the hoplites marching correctly. The Chigi vase is arguably one of the most important representations of the Hoplite Soldier in Greek Art. The Chigi Vase gives historians as insight to how the phalanx formation was used in battle.
caption: Chigi Vase 650-640 BC
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