page_title: Hellenistic armies
section_title: Thureophoroi and Thorakitai
hierarchical_section_title: Hellenistic armies / Typical units and formations / Hellenistic infantry / Thureophoroi and Thorakitai
caption_attribution_description: English: Fresco of an ancient Macedonian Greek heavy infantry soldier (thorakitai) wearing mail armor and bearing a thureos shield, 3rd century BC. Photo taken from the Archeological Museum in Istanbul.According to Livius.org, the painting decorates a funerary stele from Sidon, Lebanon (then under the Seleucid Empire, a Hellenistic successor state to Alexander the Great's empire), for a soldier named Salmamodes of Adada. Istanbul Archaeology Museums &#160;&#160;Native nameİstanbul Arkeoloji MüzesiLocationIstanbul, TurkeyCoordinates41°&#160;00′&#160;42″&#160;N, 28°&#160;58′&#160;53″&#160;E Established13 June 1892Web pageIstanbul Archaeology Museum pageAuthority control : Q636978 VIAF:&#8201;139339433 GND:&#8201;10004989-8 institution QS:P195,Q636978
context_page_description: The Hellenistic armies is the term applied to the armies of the successor kingdoms of the Hellenistic period, which emerged after the death of Alexander the Great. After his death, Alexander's huge empire was torn between his successors, the Diadochi. During the Wars of the Diadochi, the Macedonian army, as developed by Alexander and Philip II, gradually adopted new units and tactics, further developing Macedonian warfare and improving on the tactics used in the Classical era. The armies of the Diadochi bear few differences from that of Alexander, but during the era of the Epigonoi, the differences were obvious, favoring numbers over quality and weight over maneuverability. The limited availability of Greek conscripts in the east led to an increasing dependence on mercenary forces, whereas in the west, Hellenistic armies were continuously involved in wars, which soon exhausted local manpower, paving the way for Roman supremacy. The major Hellenistic states were the Seleucid Empire, Ptolemaic Egypt and the Antigonid kingdom. Smaller states included: Attalid Pergamum, Pontus, Epirus, the Achaean League, the Aetolian League, Syracuse, and other states.
context_section_description: New troop types, such as the Thureophoroi and the Thorakitai, were developed. They used the Celtic Thureos shield, of an oval shape that was similar to the shields of the Romans, but flatter. The Thureophoroi were armed with a long thrusting spear, a short sword, and, if needed, javelins. While the Thorakitai were similar to the Thureophoroi, they were more heavily armoured, as their name implies, usually wearing a mail shirt. These troops were used as a link between the light infantry and the phalanx, a form of medium infantry to bridge the gaps. Numerous armies used this form of troop, for example the Achaean League's armies before Philopoemen. By the end of the 3rd century BC, the 'Macedonian' phalanx had become the dominant fighting style even for states such as Sparta.
  Both the Thureophoroi and the Thorakitai were able to fight both in a phalanx formation, armed with long spears, or in more loose, irregular formations to be used against enemy light infantry or to occupy difficult terrain.
caption: Fresco of an ancient Macedonian soldier (thorakitai) wearing mail armor and bearing a thureos shield
exif: {}