#ATHENIAN HOPLITE SHIELD PROFESSIONAL#
#ATHENIAN HOPLITE SHIELD FREE#

The Persian archers who fought in the Battle of Marathon failed because their bows were too weak for their arrows to penetrate the wall of Greek shields that made up the phalanx formation. The formation proved successful in defeating the Persians when employed by the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. In the 8th or 7th century BC, Greek armies adopted a military innovation known as the phalanx formation. In the modern Hellenic Army, the word hoplite is used to refer to an infantryman.

#ATHENIAN HOPLITE SHIELD PROFESSIONAL#

However, some states did maintain a small élite professional unit, known as the “chosen.” Hoplites were not professional soldiers and often lacked sufficient military training.

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The hoplites were primarily represented by free citizens who were able to afford the bronze armor suit and weapons. The phalanx formation discouraged the soldiers from acting alone, for this would compromise the formation. Hoplite soldiers utilized the phalanx formation to be effective in a war with fewer soldiers than the enemy. Hoplites were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. It represents the hoplite warrior more often seen in bronze statuettes. Although it is incomplete, this life-size depiction of a fully armored warrior is unique in Archaic Greek sculpture. The pieces were reassembled and the gaps filled by museum conservators. It was found about 1914 at the Heraion of Samos, which was a large sanctuary to the goddess Hera, in the southern region of Samos, Greece. This torso of a Hoplite Warrior was restored from four large fragments. The stomach muscles are highly stylized, and two spirals mark the strong pectoral muscles on the chest. The type of armor shown was worn by Spartan foot soldiers and is carved to follow the warrior’s musculature. The figure could be Ares, the Greek god of war, or Apollo, or a legendary hero warrior who died in battle. As the only visible facial features, they define the warrior as a war machine. Peering out from between the closed cheekpieces of the Ionian helmet are two almond-shaped eyes.

Athenian hoplite shield