Hellenic Army

The Hellenic Army
Like most Successor Kingdoms many armies had simular military units. With minor changes, in dress or armour patterns. The Hellenic League are, as most of the Greek cities and are mostly, phalanx-dominant. Their army is usually made up of different phalanx units, as well as skirmishers. They also have cavalry, but which isn't quite up to Successor standards.
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Hoplitai Haploi (Greek Levy Hoplites)
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The poorest citizens of the Hellenic and Macedonia poleis fought as a militia roughly organized along the lines of other, more professional hoplite soldiers. They are organized in the phalanx and are quite high quality for militia, due to the dogged Hellenic spirit and fighting tradition. They can be expected to hold a line against most light and medium infantry, though they will be devastated by missile troops, as they have virtually no protection from missiles aside from their shields and the bodies of their compatriots. They are still useful against cavalry as no horse will willingly charge a bristling wall of spear points. Hoplitai Haploi, if used properly, can be an inexpensive and very valuable unit, though they will be outclassed against heavier and more professional troops, they can, if well supported, hold the line far better than one would expect of a militia.
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Akontistai (Hellenic Skirmishers)
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Those unlucky enough to be extremely poor freedmen were pressed into service as psiloi, missile units, and the lowest class of Hellene infantry. The psiloi were divided into three parts: javelineers, slingers, and archers. The javelin-armed psiloi, the akonistai, were ragged peasants armed with javelins and small knives. Their function was simply to throw their missiles and then run as fast as possible to safety behind the hoplitai lines. They were used for skirmishing and to provide a demoralizing hail of missile fire during the grinding battle between the two phalanxes. Never use akonistai in melee except as diversionary fodder or as a flanking force; roles in which they don't excel, but might actually be better than nothing. They have their uses, as their javelins are still sharp and deadly, but they were often used only as light skirmishers or as a last resort in Hellenic armies for obvious reasons.
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Sphendonetai (Hellenic Slingers)
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Sphendonetai are the second branch of the psiloi, and are only marginally more useful than their compatriots with javelins. Their sphendonai (slings) can prove deadly weapons, being able to crush bones and armor, and shatter shields from a distance, but they are mainly used to harass and annoy enemy soldiers to force a premature or rash action. Since a sphendone is an easily constructed weapon, and ammo is readily available in Hellas' rocky terrain, Sphendonetai are mostly poor peasants and shepherds that use this weapon to provide a meager amount of protein in their already poor diet or use their weapons to keep predators away from their flocks.
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Toxotai (Hellenic Archers)
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Toxotai are the third branch of the psiloi, the archers of Hellenic League and Macedonia armies. They are generally from the upper end of the poor and recruited from mountainous regions where the use of the bow is an essential skill to keep one's flock of sheep safe from roving predators. Toxotai are well trained in a manner of speaking, that being that they are using their weapon of choice (often of necessity) from birth. They are decent archers, but are nowhere near as professional as the archers from the east and south. They mostly use the short bow, which means that they are often outgunned by their counterparts from other lands. This reflects their secondary role in a Hellenic army. As most missile units, they will be cut to ribbons in melee, so they should be well protected from enemy ranks.
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Hippakontistai (Hellenic Skirmisher Cavalry)
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Hippos Akontistes (literally "javelin horsemen") are the standard among Hellene light cavalry. They are lightly armored, often wearing nothing but padded cloth for protection. The key to their method of warfare is speed, and they are armed accordingly. They ride small, but swift horses and harass enemy infantry and heavy cavalry with javelins. This is their primary use, because their light armor is really a detriment when they are engaged in any kind of melee combat. Their swords and shields are simply no counter to lances or heavier cavalry swords.
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Hoplitai (Greek Classical Hoplites)
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Even though the Macedonia phalangitai has become the dominant infantry type among the Hellenic powers, the hoplitai of old, those who fight in much the same manner as the Hellenes of Thermopylai, Marathon and Plataiai did, are still around defending their poleis. Each hoplites is equipped with linen or leather armor, an aspis shield, greaves, the attic style helmet and of course, his spear. Their equipment might have changed since the battles of a centuries past, but their tactics has not. The hoplitai still fight in the phalanx formation, often eight man deep whose purpose is to advance forward upon the enemy line, tie them and to whittle them down through attrition.
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Peltastai (Hellenic Heavy Skirmishers)
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The Peltastai is a type of elite skirmisher that sacrifices heavy arms and armor for mobility and range. They are armored in linen and carry a medium sized ovular shield. Originally, they carried a crescent shaped 'pelta' shield, originated in Thrake and gave the peltastai their name, but this was phased out in the fourth century. Their armaments consist of several javelins and a sword. This panoply makes them light and mobile, but still able to engage in melee after their javelins have been thrown. They are a versatile unit but one must remember that their primary arms are javelins, and they are not equipped to stand toe to toe with heavier infantry. Their role is one of speed, harassment, and critical flanking maneuvers.
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Ekdromoi Hoplitai (Greek Light Hoplites)
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Ekdromoi Hoplitai are a specially equipped type of hoplites. They fight with little armor and no heavy equipment in order to be nimble enough to catch and kill skirmishers, especially peltastai, who became the bane of the heavily armored hoplites after they began to be used more extensively by Iphikrates. Their short spears carry a nasty punch for the lightly armed skirmishers and are able to outrange the better armored peltastai. They carry the large hoplon shield in order to make up for this disparity, but they are not meant to engage in prolonged melee combat with standard hoplites. Their light leather armor is soft and layered with bronze plates and cloth in order to retard the missiles of the troops that they would likely be fighting. Their purpose is to serve as a professional light infantry that can neutralize the effect of missiles on the heavy infantry. The combination of light armor and speed makes this infantry a great counter to the ever pesky missile troops. They are not particularly useful against heavier infantry or even equivalent light infantry, due to their specialized nature.
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Thureophoroi (Hellenic Spearmen)
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Thureophoroi were a new class of Hellenic infantry that was designed to both augment the phalanx and provide a type of soldier in between the phalangite and the peltastai that was able to both skirmish and fight in melee effectively. These men provide an extremely mobile force that can hit hard with their heavy javelins then rush in to flank pike units. They are well armed and armored for the task, having stout bronze helms, linen armor, an almond shaped thureos shield, heavy javelins, and a stout spear. They are highly versatile infantry, akin in spirit to the legionaries of Rome. They are a highly effective force of heavy infantry that is in the forefront of Hellenic military know-how.
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Thorakitai
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The Thorakitai represent the second evolution of the concept of the Theurophoroi, and show definite influence by the Romans in their implementation. They are armored in mail and carry heavy javelins instead of the lighter javelins carried by the Thureophoroi. They are more expensive and less mobile than their more lightly armored companions, but make excellent shock troops for any Hellenic army. They are best utilized on the flanks of the phalanx to either flank the enemy while the phalanx pins them, or prevent enemy flankers from attacking the phalanx's vulnerable flanks. They are best used in combination with the lighter Thureophoroi, who can support them with extra javelins and more importantly, speed, to make sure they are not surrounded.
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Hippeis (Greek Medium Cavalry)
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Hellenic cavalry is not the most awe inspiring and powerful in the world, but nothing to be scoffed at either. Hippeis are a mix of good old fashioned Hellenic know-how with the practical needs for an effective medium cavalry force. The result is the wedding of linen armor, Athens style helmets, and hoplon shields to cavalry spears and the xiphos producing a warrior with excellent all-round equipment. Since they are mainly drawn from elite nobility, these cavalrymen have high morale and good discipline. They ride stout horses whose stock was imported from the north. They are an able, if not spectacular, medium cavalry.
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Prodromoi (Successor Medium Cavalry)
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Prodromoi are the lightest of the Diadochoi melee cavalry and can be counted upon as superb flanking, raiding, and screening cavalry. They are well trained for light cavalry, but are still lightly armed and armored. They are not meant to be used as shock cavalry and will not roll up an enemy battle line in a thunderous charge, but instead make viable flanking cavalry which can quickly provide support where it is needed and be used to counter light missile troops of both the foot and mounted varieties. Their spears, shields, and linen armor give them some staying power, but they should not be used to in protracted melee for any great amount of time.
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Iphikratous Hoplitai (Greek Hoplite Phalanx)
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The hoplite went through a technological revolution from the time of the Peloponnesian War right until about 250 BC. Gone were the old hoplon shield and metal cuirass; gone were the short spears and crested helmets. These men were equipped with the latest in Hellenic technological innovation. Longer spears, linen and leather armor, lighter shields, boots, and Attic style helmets were the order of the day. This equipment put the hoplite on a par with his Macedonian rival to the north and made him lighter and quicker. These men are the quintessential heavy spear phalanx of the post-Peloponnesian era, and should be utilized in such a fashion. They are mobile and less tactically rigid than their Macedonian counterpart (whose primary job is to tie up the enemy infantry). They're hard hitting and well able to engage in melee with their shorter xiphos swords if the phalanx is disrupted. They're still vulnerable to flanking attacks and to missile troops, but are on a par with the Diadochoi's troops as a unit.
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Toxotai Kretikoi (Cretan Archers)
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The island of Crete is renown for it's archers, and Cretans renown for their reputation as liars and brigands. These men hire themselves out as mercenaries for almost any Mediterranean power who can afford them, as their skills are often unmatched by other archers. Apart from their bow, they also have short swords and they wear hardened linen armor and carry a small shield. Not only are the Cretans good archers, but they can also fare well in melee, although against similarily equipped opponents.
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Hippeis Xystophoroi (Greek Noble Cavalry)
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The Hellenic Hippeis Xystophoroi follows the practical need of a heavy cavalry to counter that of the hostile Makedonian neighbor. While not quite as well trained or lethal as the Macedonian heavy cavalry, they are still a battle-winning component of any army. They are armored in a bronze cuirass, helmet, and greaves and carry the deadly xyston lances and kopis swords. They should be used as any heavy cavalry should be, as a shock force to hit and roll up enemy flanks. Though they well suited for the job, they still lack the élan and martial prowess of the Hetairoi that the other Diadochoi posses.
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Epilektoi Hoplitai (Greek Heavy Hoplite Phalanx)
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Some hoplitai were able to afford better equipment and devote more time to warfare. Much of their equipment is similar to the less wealthy hoplitai, with one exception. They were often armored in mail, which gave them better protection against most weapons in relation to the linothorax and leather used by other hoplitai. The Epilektoi Hoplitai are among the best infantry in the world, if tactically inflexible due to the slowness of movement of an armored phalanx.
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Spartiatai Hoplitai (Spartan Hoplites)
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The Spartans are the greatest warriors in the entire world, or so they think, anyway. Spartan youths are trained from birth to be soldiers, and as such are ferocious fighters that often fight to the last man. They have extremely high morale and discipline, and are armed and armored more conservatively than most other Greek hoplites. Spartans still use the hoplon, but have shifted to the pilos helmet and muscled cuirass. They still use the traditional spear of the Greek hoplite to great effect. Spartans can punch a hole through almost any line, and fight extremely well with their overhand spears. They are elite, and as their description implies, very expensive and time consuming to train. Though their tactics are somewhat anachronistic, their fighting spirit leaves little doubt that they are still a formidable force.
For the most part, Spartans also wore Cornithian helmets, Since Sparta and Cornith had been allies for ages.
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Ιepeia Athenaia (Priestesses of Athene)
Ιepeia Athenaia (Priestesses of Artemis)
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At the Siege of Athens during the Macedonian-Hellenistic War, the two sects of Athene and Artemis banded together to aid the Athenian and Spartan rebellion against Macedon. The Spartan Queen, Leonida had been touted as "chosen" by the goddess Athena, and both sects became swept up in the nationalistic and religious fervor of the moment, sending women to fight on the walls at Athens. Priestesses came from all over Hellas, and though their "military training" had only ever been for ceremonial purposes, they performed well in combat conditions, fighting as light and medium infantry and missile support. 
After the war, Leonida ordered a permanent Temple built in Sparta where women from all over Hellas could come and serve the Goddesses with a view to going into action again should the need arise. This is the only professional female army in mainland Hellas.
Category:Military