pothos.org

Some interesting comments have been made in this thread, particularly by Paralus and Sean, and unfortunately, because of a serious medical condition I have not hitherto been in a position to join in. Unfortunately, some misunderstandings have crept in, and certain “myths”, particularly about Pyrrhus...

The first item - the sculptured horseman - is very obviously NOT meant to depict Alexander,since Macedonian cavalry in Alexander's day did not deploy shields on horseback. In addition the statuette shows none of the atributes of Alexander. In fact this type of statuette is a familiar one of an Itali...

Dr Reames wrote: Recent article on the bones in Tomb I, which makes a really good case these are Philip's, which bucks up the issues with the bones in Tomb II, plus various other dating issues from salt-cellars to the vaulted architecture. Both the date of the salt cellars argument and the barrel va...

...and a Thank you from me too!

The "bee" goddess was new to me too. Fascinating!

I have no intention of re-running the 'Taktike' thread here. And certainly not the issue over the meaning of 'paragoge'. That is just Paralus attempting a 'red herring'. Paralus wrote: And the debate, regarding the nature of hoplite phalanx evolutions and the terms describing such, continued for ano...

Amyntoros wrote: I would suggest that the only people interested are those "interested in the minutiae" of the subject. If one is going to take the trouble of examining a chart (such as the one you presented) in order to understand your proposition, then that person is more than a "ge...

Perhaps anyone wishing to revisit the so called "dinner drill" might be better advised to go the 'Taktike' thread . ......only for those interested in the 'minutiae' of the subject and the usual various digressions. For readers generally, I can save them the trouble of ploughing through a...

Xenophon wrote: In fact Hoplites drilled and manouevred in 'open order' with 6 ft intervals, and then closed up and fought in 'close order' with 3 ft intervals, with the rear ranks moving up, thus halving their depth. Just to show how simple and straightforward hoplite drill really was, see the diag...

Matt wrote: The danger, of course, is that it is most useful to people who are already well-versed in ancient military subjects, who can pick out the errors and flaws. For someone just getting started, it's a bit more of a minefield... I would entirely agree, Matt, which is why I wouldn't recommend ...

Jeanne wrote: Modern bibliography of import: Hanson, who most folks here seem to know, but also Hans van Wees, and while I may not agree with some of his conclusions, he has several key correctives to Hanson. Those are the two heading the different versions of hoplite warfare. Kagan and Viggiano's M...

Nicator wrote: The pike was indeed effective at keeping the enemy away from your front line. It's main use was as a penetration weapon. Once the initial strike was inflicted, the point would penetrate into the man or men driving from behind and driven into the point, after it passed completely throu...

Sean M. wrote: Xenophon wrote: Nicator wrote: Where do you get this stuff from [, Nicator]? It couldn't be more wrong!! :evil: To begin with, swords weren't "steel", which had yet to be developed. Among objects excavated from stratum II of Kaman-Kalehöyük in Turkey was an arrowhead of high...

Cyia wrote: If a sword wasn't Alexander's usual weapon, what would he have used in India when he scaled the wall and fought the Mallians until an arrow took him down? I always envisioned him swinging and stabbing with a sword. Would he have used a spear? It would be a mistake to think that the Maced...

Paralus wrote: Now, the only disagreement I'd have with Xenophon's view is that Curtius is, in fact, referring to the Macedonians here. He has, as is sometimes his wont, confused matters greatly. Diodorus shows this in that he reports the same difficulty with hurling javelins - for the Persians - be...

Nicator wrote: Curtius provides detail about the pikes being dropped and short swords being drawn at Issus. And this makes sense, as the purpose of the sarissa was to penetrate the enemy front. After that initial strike, it indeed becomes quite useless. The close quarter fighting would be with the s...