Ancient Greek Hoplite Interview ARMOUR & TACTICS! Military Odyssey 2013 | HD Video

[@ronswanson6490]

Greek helmets are the coolest looking helmets from all historical periods, I don't know if they were the most useful, but shit they look badass

[@atheistcrusader1160]

Oh I 100% agree

[@Killzoneguy117]

Crests literally never not look cool.

[@losconflictoshh1981]

Lol. Without the crest it looks like the tip of a certain male body part.

[@SeptimusAugustus]

They've even been reinvented as a barbute helmet in medieval times so no doubt they were useful :)

[@ronswanson6490]

@@SeptimusAugustus The helmet alone yes it had no openings so it was practical, but with the horsehair on top I feel like it would be really easy for your opponent to grab it and take you down

[@gregkamer3754]

The helmet is crested because it looks cool. Even back in 430 BC guys wanted to look cool so they could score with chicks.

[@CynicallyObnoxious]

Actually anything like that could cause a blow to the head to deflect

[@crazymaniac1396]

@Zfast4you man now I really Wana be on of them

[@perastotigautera1426]

@Zfast4you no,it wasn t..and when mass rape happened,it ended up with mass executions!there were quite a lot of engagement rules back then and there was quite a lot of respect for civilian population...sure,there were massacres from time to time...but war is war!

[@davidzubiria3783]

Probably more guys than chicks

[@jebstuart4004]

not at all. Crest was used to stand taller facing the enemy. Matter of intimidation. In fact not any crest survive and it is doubtful that it was used during close combat like corinthian helmet who were not very usefull to hear orders and see the oponent.

[@crusaderofthelowlands3750]

David Attenborough: "And here we have the male hoplite." "Notice the crest on it's head. The larger and more colourful the crest, the easier it is to attract a potential mate."

[@macklee6837]

Awesome! I can't believe you got to interview an actual ancient Greek Hoplite!

[@blackkray8351]

my grandfather was an ancient Greek hoplite, loved hearing his stories

[@irongeneral7861]

He's got an English accent too!

[@therustedshank9995]

@@irongeneral7861 That's how you know he's real!

[@Pluto1336]

My pater was a polemarch

[@2ears1mouth786]

@Death by Cross has he been available yet?

[@Lo-tf6qt]

I've alwaysed been a Legionary guy but Hoplites seem rather interesting again

[@StarRider253]

Chaon False.

[@brentblackwolf6325]

@Chaon Basically EVERYONE used the phalanx. Rome did for a time, then adopted the maniple system

[@brentblackwolf6325]

@Chaon Forgot the macedonian. It wasn't a litetal everyone, just a lot of armies back then relied on that formation. rome used it for a while then switched to other tactics when it became obsolete. did this multiple times

[@placeholder8768]

Chaon actually, Gauls, (possibly) Germans and Persians did use a phalanx. When Caesar invaded the Gauls and Germans, he says that the Helvetii tribe fought in close order, forming a phalanx, probably along with the Suebi (Germans) under Ariovistus. Persians used phalanxes in quite a few ways: 1. Greek Mercenary Hoplites obviously fought in phalanxes. 2. The Cardaces basically copied the Phalanxes and Hoplite stuff from the Greeks. 3. The states in Persia that popped up after Alexander’s death had a lot of Hellenistic influence or were already Hellenized/Hellenic kingdoms, so they used Macedonian Phalanxes and sometimes, Hoplite Phalanxes.

[@razagoulbruce3044]

@Chaon Stop writing false things

[@jimbojet8728]

I’m sure that fella fought in them wars, he was so knowledgeable. I could listen to him forever ! Thank you.

[@dimitarbonev4541]

Good explanation by the reencator, descent historic info.

[@Project2025WILLRUINYOURLIFE]

he isn't a reenactor, this is an actual soldier from ancient greece.

[@dimitarbonev4541]

@@Project2025WILLRUINYOURLIFE I wondered why i couldn't place his accent :>

[@Project2025WILLRUINYOURLIFE]

@@dimitarbonev4541 makes sense, hundreds of years have passed since it was recorded so i guess dialects change

[@StoutProper]

Hooverblox couple of millennia

[@LancetFencing]

Finally someone who mentions the unique counter weighted spear /Dori

[@hakromfett5292]

His thug life level increased a billion times once he put the helmet on 😂🤣😂

[@danielb4387]

Everybody gangsta til the Hoplite puts on his helmet.

[@OkurkaBinLadin]

@Zayed Haroon Nah. By the time ROmans visited Greece, the hoplites were gone, replaced by masses of poor peasants wielding pikes.

[@Tout-Le-Monde02]

With the Blackadder theme being played in the background, I was expecting Baldrick to appear anytime with a "cunning plan" ....

[@colinp2238]

Maybe the crest was a means of identification either personal or "regimental"? I had to subscribe as these interviews are addictive.

[@klausbrinck2137]

The crest easies turns, you notice easier when your companions turn, when they carry crests, so, they coud move with the precision of bird or fish swarms, or, at least, that was the intention, beside what you said.

[@StoutProper]

Klaus Brinck so you think they fought with those crests on?

[@matthiuskoenig3378]

@@StoutProper that is how they are depicted, unlike romans how had mounts for crests but are only depicted as wearing them on parades, battle depictions have them remove the crests (except officers)

[@GK-xd2xm]

No crust was a regular soldier crested helmet with from front to backand pointed the way for which you should go you followed the crest sideways crest was the leader or King

[@AlexisOGrekos]

Impressed with how much this man knows about my ancestors' history. One thing that I know differently is that at the battle of Marathon the Persians couldn't use their cavalry because the Athenians picked carefully the terrain, which mainly was a swamp back at the time, so the horses were pretty much useless there, as they couldn't charge. Also after the battle although exhausted they marched back to Athens because Persians left and they assumed that they would go to occupy the unprotected Athens, which was true. They came back before the Persians and when they deployed at Athens and saw the Greek Hoplites, the Persian generals were shocked and decided to retreat back to Persia.

[@kourtourafi]

Ασπίς (english word "Aspis", meaning shield) is a broader term, since there were many types of shields (e.g. Pelta, Eight-Shield, Elliptical etc.). That specific type of round shield the guy in the video has is called "Όπλον" (english word "Hoplon"), hence the term "Hoplite", depicting the warrior that carries a Hoplon...

[@dovahkiin2]

hoplon means weapon, aspis atleast means shield

[@TheLloydro]

You have so many channels man. Love them all. Keep it up!

[@StrikingScorpion82]

+Lloydro Gulliman thanks:)

[@jacobsellers7910]

Black Adder deem in back ground

[@thatgladiator3887]

I believe the crest showed your rank based on direction (horizontal/vertical) and colors

[@derdingsreturnsnochmal5177]

Not sure about the colours, but yes a horizontal cresta was worn by officers.

[@elgostine]

@@derdingsreturnsnochmal5177 we dont actually know that, thats a roman thing at least but not necessarily greek

[@lupinthethird7059]

Cool :D I love reenacting, It's a fun and creative way to learn history :3 And now I want extra episodes of Black Adder in other timelines ^^'

[@darkbunny9994]

I find it interesting that phalanx warfare was more to prove a point than to kill the enemy's soldiers. It remains me of a lot of the different Native American warfare traditions in which the army would only fight until they had shown their enemy who's boss. It's interesting to see the parallels between these two cultures that are separated by such great distances and time.

[@alexvlaxos6620]

In that particular period the southern greek city states behaved like that.after the enemy phalanx broke it was over.kinda ritualistic you could say.all changed in the pelloponisian war where no rules existed

[@michaeldiebold8847]

Black Adder music was awesome

[@LeonidasSparta-Fun-History]

Does anyone know where i can get this helmet?

[@mikaelag5062]

Dont think you would hold your spear overarm unless you were about to launch it. More options and control underarm, including up and over.

[@villehookeneriksson3473]

Mikaela G also first place the they would put protective plates were around the belly. Suggesting they were most afraid of thrusts in that height.

[@bmxdoe]

You stab downward because you don't want to hit the guys behind you

[@szarekhthesilent2047]

@@villehookeneriksson3473 That part is protected by the shield. the only way to stab that, is over your enemies shield. for that you need to stab from high to low.

[@klausbrinck2137]

Over-arm and under-arm, it was the coordinated switch between the two, that made the surprise for the enemy and led to success. Coordinated, because the ranks of interlocked shields in front of you had to open for a moment, in order for you to be able to go from over-arm to under-arm, stab, and then the shields opened again for a moment, so that you can go back from under-arm to over-arm, and eventually stab again!!! It´s so logic, but difficult, they´d have to have a codeword for every possible action, so that changes happen automatically, almost intiutively.

[@szarekhthesilent2047]

@@klausbrinck2137 sounds interesting....have you tried that? Never seen that done successfully, because the spear has a lot of momentum, and there's quiet a bit of change in balance when you switch the grip... As for stab again - you can use the swing to perform long and weak tip cuts, instead of stabbing all the time, helps relieving the muscles a bit. + if you tried that switchup&down out and it worked - what kind of grip, in what step and in what balance (both spear and person) do you switch from overarm into (high?) underarm? . And finally - what kind of spears are you sparring with and do you guys also lever shields (if yes - have you tried levering underarm and then quickstabing accros the shield - detailed description pls...)? Sry for bombarding you with questions, it's just that I also thought that switching should work, but can't figure out how to place a good overarm when coming from an underarm (nice for levering) grip. I either tend to lose control, or with not enough angle (like... way too low)... and not really fast.

[@purpleanex]

Why are they playing Black Adder in the back ground?

[@tristanchristiansen9054]

jeeze was wondering where I knew that from

[@nsierra2297]

Love how they’re playing black adder in the background

[@donkeldoothedapperdog]

Anyone else feel the need to watch Blackadder ?

[@Fide86i]

Excellent video! One question, where can I get a Greek helmet like the one in the video?

[@SgtMac3208]

the Black Adder music in the background is great.

[@DogFoxHybrid]

Took me a second to place the music - it is Blackadder! There was a Blackadder movie about time-travel where they went to Hadrian's Wall in Roman imperial times and there was a version of Blackadder and Baldrick among the Roman troops there. Classical Greece would be much earlier than that, though!

[@ENIGMAXII2112]

Many Great Thank you's for this!

[@jf3305]

What is the background music started at 0:03?

[@ColCaffran]

At 1:00 is that the Blackadder theme? But 5% casualties on the losing side is quite low, it almost sounds as if Greek warfare was more of a ceremonial thing.

[@TheOgdenman]

xD Yeah it is the Blackadder theme.

[@TemenosL]

Many theories to that. One being that this very novel idea of the othismos, or breaking of the enemy morale by concerted push which would cause an enemy rout, is the reason for that.

[@ragimundvonwallat8961]

usa take less then that in vietnam =)

[@ragimundvonwallat8961]

Ragimund VonWallat american warfare is so ceremonial... lol

[@ColCaffran]

Ragimund VonWallat Who told you that? 58,300 US troops were Killed, 153,303 were wounded, 1,641 and 724 POWs. The US deployed 2,709,918 Soldiers in Vietnam over the 12 years they fought from a military rather than advisory capacity, that's a 12.6% casualty rate.

[@Hercules1-v9m]

Still waiting for one of these guys to get in character, freak out at thr magic box trying to suck out their soul, and attack the camera guy.

[@KarimAkors]

well meanwhile its known that the bonce tip of the spear was also for sticking the spear in the ground to stand because bonce don't rust, unlike the iron side that would fast decay

[@TooEagerr]

Wtf is bonce

[@rhysnichols8608]

My uncle used to be a Hoplite, he always had a story to tell. He took a Persian sword slash to his upper arm and one time part of his ear was ripped off because a man behind him in the phalanx tripped as he was thrusting his spear. It was always very hectic he said but they drilled all the time. Apparently the ladies liked his big red crest lol 😂

[@deanburrell5595]

I thought the crest on helmets was there so messengers from the battlefield could identify the generals and kings to update on whats happening at the other end. They used to take messages from squadrans leaders and take them to the crested helmets. I think the kings used to have the crest from left to right and his generals front to back.

[@MarvelDcImage]

The back of the spear is bronze so it won't rust from being thrust into the ground.

[@Gentleman...Driver]

It is bronze because they didnt know about iron... It was the hardest metal they knew about.

[@ChipsDeluxe]

Finally someone gets the spear usage correct. Spears were almost always used overhand in formations with the exception of pikes. Not only hoplites, but medieval armies as well and even romans/barbarians. Look at ancient depictions of warfare and you will see the overhand grip every time.

[@Dannyboyefc]

Think the crest was to be seen during manoeuvring crest faces forward you face forward crest is side on you turn side on

[@flexelsson1625]

Blackadder theme in the background😂👌

[@mrsir2254]

Curiosity drives me to ask, are you making new content?

[@Lukos0036]

Didn't they start sewing bronze scales onto the linen later on? Ive seen a few people wearing that, with three to four rows maybe of bronze square scales overlapping around the lower part of it.

[@matthiuskoenig3378]

yes, this is supported by archeological and artist evidence. but it seems to have been done from the beginning but is more common in latter periods

[@MiddleEast-o4f]

Respect ...Greeks Warriors !!!

[@itrcks7575]

Where to buy that helmet???

[@joeturner1597]

Actually, I was completely distracted by the Blackadder theme tune playing in the background to follow what he was saying.

[@77gravity]

And you were singing the words, weren't you?

[@josephshore9201]

wow this was the best video I have found so far about Greek stuff because i am using some of this knowledge for a school report i am in jun-yer high

[@StrikingScorpion82]

Joseph Shore great...glad you enjoyed it:) Check out the other videos on the channel...some other great interviews...

[@thejdoggaming2386]

Some if his facts were off.

[@razcann3597]

Great teacher this hoplite chap

[@MrKJW007]

About two years ago, I saw a T.V. program in the U.S., that was about blacksmithing. One of the things that it showed was that a piece of bronze would become almost as strong and as hard as steel of the same width, if it was beaten with a small (maybe two pounds) steel or iron hammer. The anchient Greeks had iron, and I suspect that they used this same process on their Greek Hoplite bronze armor. It's a simple process, at least as it was as shown on the T.V. program.

[@sandervanduren2779]

MrKJW007 copper and copper based alloys(so bronze or brass, for example) work harden incredibly easily. Typically with bronze weapons, the blades would be cast, and then the edges hammered to harden them. The edges would be hard and hold an edge well, but the center would be soft and shock resistant. I forget where I read it, but apparently, properly made bronze swords were superior to Iron Age swords(iron not steel, that’s an important distinction), but fell out of use because copper and tin are much rarer metals to find, and as such more expensive, whereas iron ore is much more plentiful, and therefore cheaper.

[@blazcajo3766]

anybody know where to buy the linothorax

[@TIMOTHEVS]

Looks cool! Thanks for sharing!

[@ParaTrooper996]

Does someone know where i can buy one of those helmets? i mean exact the same type ( with the small gap in the front ) i've been searching for those helmets a while now and the only one i can find is made of bronze, i know bronze is more accurate, but it hard to find also bronze armor to match.

[@ParaTrooper996]

***** Awesome, only there's one problem on this site these helmets costs $1000, :l

[@thejdoggaming2386]

@@ParaTrooper996 That's because they are replicas of history.

[@noelc3375]

I could hear Men of Harlech in the background. :^)

[@fartimusbumworthy4682]

The Blackadder music in the background at the start. 😂😂

[@tomzzx]

correct me if im wrong but arent hoplites supposed to wear heavy bronze armour on their chest and hands

[@Skelstoolbox]

No it was always a linothorax in the greek world. Early romans used just a bronze plate tied to your chest in the manipular system..

[@matthiuskoenig3378]

@@Skelstoolbox false, greek bronze muscle cuirases exist, and are infact quite common in the 6th and 7th centuries BC, but became largely and officer thing latter on (presumably due to costs compared to linen armour)

[@Skelstoolbox]

@@matthiuskoenig3378 So the fact that the linothorax became the main kit for hundreds of years meant it was better and more effective than a brass cuirass?

[@sharkgun2716]

aaronwallerj The Bronze Cuirass called a ‘Thorax’ was heavier and less Flexible but offered better Protection against: Arrows, Swords, Spears etc. The Linothorax which was layers of Linen and Leather glued, was used from the 5th century to 146 BC when the Romans conquered Greece. The Thorax was probably better due to the fact of more Protection.

[@ET-Gamer]

1:10 idk why but the Black Adder theme makes it kinda funny.

[@ObjectiveAnalysis]

Is this Striking Scorpion 82?!?!

[@anthonypjrush]

Anyone else notice the Blackadder theme song in the background?

[@ww2killerk]

Anyone know a good trusted website to order a set of armor from?

[@ww2killerk]

Or individual pieces to build a set?

[@bioniclebuu]

Hey! If you dont mind me asking, where did you get that helmet?

[@vhaleryanadamant1975]

Probably Amazon, Ebay, just search Corinthian helmet or holpite helmet with plume, try these words.

[@MrKJW007]

I remember seeing a T.V. program in the United States in 2015, that was about blacksmithing. It showed a guy beating on bronze plate with a hammer and saying that by doing so, its metallic or molecular structure changed and it became almost as hard and as strong as steel of the same thickness. The anchient Greeks may have also done this with their bronze armor, because by the time of the Persian wars in the 5th century B.C., they also knew how to make iron which they could have used to make hand held hammers like the one that I saw on T.V. I've never seen this suggestion made before by others.

[@AwesomeAggron1000]

What your talking about is hammer harding metal. Hammer harding can make metal harder but the trade off is that rhe metal would become more bittle. The greeks wouldn't have hammer hardened their armour because one it would be a huge amount of work also even with a iron weapon it would be veey diffcult to cut bronze armour during a battle. Also bronze brestplates were made by the greeks because bronze is easier to work with (you can cast bronze), why would they cast bronze just to rework it with a hammer, why not just do it with iron. Also back then iron wasn't that much better than bronze because of low carbon content. Also no one is going to aim for armour while fighting.

[@phly007]

There is a misconception about Greek warfare, it wasn’t as bloody as people would think. It was mostly a lot of pushing eachother with their shields until someone gave up. Maybe at most like 10 or so soldiers died on both sides

[@kz11377]

He should also show the kopis sword slinging on his left

[@benny2.050]

You're fucking with me right

[@David-lu4gq]

Can I recommend the channel Gamal Castile. He has a couple of lectures on this topic. He has great kit, knowledge and he is huge.

[@Djk092]

great video!

[@franciscocrespim4716]

I love that kopis were can i buy it?

[@turkfebruary5836]

Francisco Crespim Home Depot

[@7bootzy]

This is so freaking cool!

[@nathanrock8107]

I remember reading about how successful the phalanx was psychologically and the guy touched on it for a second at the end. I didn't know about the low casualty % that's strange I never came across that. That makes my first point even more important because the winner was whoever made the other phalanx break and retreat first. If there's 8 rows of guys and the first three only see the combat. It's hard to retreat through people who haven't been in the carnage yet.

[@inquisitorvarusnavary7126]

Ancient Battle was more about pushing your enemies out of the battlefield and make them route than killing them, that why there was low casualty.

[@matthiuskoenig3378]

@@inquisitorvarusnavary7126 useually, there are excepts of caurse

[@haveagoodday2405]

beautiful!

[@Futom4ki]

dat blackadder theme in the background

[@donovandelaney3171]

This is Sparta!!!

[@sharkfinbite]

I am pretty sure they didn't had to tilt the spear downward in thrusting to avoid poking the guy behind you. They would not stand that close to the person in front unless they really had too. This is one of those cases of modern people overthinking things. They would give them room to move around if possible. If they were really clumped up they would make do with what have. It is not that hard to figure this is how they fought.

[@Ima184mm]

Phalanx formation unbeatable in front

[@omegacardboard5834]

Unless by another, better phalanx

[@Nimbasa180]

STRIKING SCORPION!? IS THAT YOU!? Awesome to know we have some of the same interests lol!

[@StrikingScorpion82]

lol...yes that is me! I love living history displays:)

[@tazelator1]

The charge at Marathon he talks about would have been a run over a couple hundred meters. The Prussian Army in the 19th century was probably the best trained army in the world and they noticed that once a body of men started running for more than 20 meters the formation would be in utter disarray (hence they only drilled to run at the enemy in a bayonet charche for the past 20 meters). Running in a formation like a Phalanx over several hundred meters would not even have been possible for the Spartans, say nothing of Athenians.

[@turkfebruary5836]

I always thought the shield they carried was called a “Hoplon” hence the name “hoplite”.

[@techstepman]

"aspis"...means shield in greek...its the general word used for all shields , we use the exact same word even today...they have specific individual names like "hoplon" of course. Hoplon means weapon...and we still use the same word for that too. For a modern greek though its counter intuitive to call your shield a weapon...so i guess thats why he called it "aspis". Never the less you were dealing with an athenian hoplite here and there were many differences in dialect between athenians and spartans...spartans maintaining their Doric dialect ...which part of it survives today in a small village called loenidion in the spartan/laconian province of peloponnesos where old ppl speak that ancient spartan doric dialect called tsakonic... Modern greek though are based more on athenian and ionian dialects. So thats probably why he chose to call it "aspis" and not "hoplon".

[@HeinrichvonHubsch]

@@techstepman As far as I know (I'm an ancient greek art history student) hoplon means weapon (or amor, I'm not sure) even in ancient greek. No historian, archeologist or art historian call it hoplon as there is no written proof that they did call this type of shield hoplon.

[@turkfebruary5836]

Thibault Phélippeau I guess I should quit watching The History Channel.

[@makislazer5118]

both @techstepman and @Thibault Phelippeau got it backwards. Hoplon was indeed the ancient greek word for shield. Specifically the large bronze shield that hoplites used in the phalanx. There were also other types of shields that were not "hoplon", like those that the peltasts, or the cavalry used. For example the shield of a peltast was called "pelte", hence the units name. One could say that the general word for shield was "aspis", while different special shields had different special names. Like "hoplon", pelte"... Because the hoplon was the most important set of gear of a hoplite and also vital for the success of the phalanx, through the years the word came to mean armaments in general. Not just weapons, but any kind of armament/gear of war. This expansion of the word's meaning, took several centuries to take place. So, in the early stages of the eastern roma empire and forth it might have had already changed in meaning, but in classical Greece the word hoplon definitely meant what we call now shield of a hoplite.

[@HeinrichvonHubsch]

@@makislazer5118 I have no idea who told you that hoplon means shield in ancient greek as it is wrong(see for exemple this dictionary artflsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/efts/dicos/woodhouse_test.pl?keyword=^Shield,%20subs.) Hoplon means defensive weapons (I just checked in a Greek - French dictionary as i'm in my university library right now). For my master's thesis I just read Men of Bronze: Hoplite Warfare in Ancient Greece and they argue how hoplon doesn't mean shield (artflsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/efts/dicos/woodhouse_test.pl?keyword=^Armour,%20subs.). Pelte is another story. There is no evidence that the word hoplon came to mean armaments in general due to the fact that the shield was one or the most important weapon of the so-called hoplite. (sorry for my english, I know I do make quite a lot of mistakes). As @Turk February says you should stop watching The History Channel too

[@nicolasmoreno9143]

Why is that Kopis so short? Is it long enough to reach my heart? Hahahaaha. But seriously though I've heard that the Spartans used shorter swords to fight better in close combat but I can't remember if it was the Xiphos or the Kopis, please someone tell me.

[@kadeberrier3799]

There were longer versions of both the Xiphos and Kopis. These longer versions were often used by Cavalry. The Hoplites mostly got the shorter swords.. Mainly because as the reenactor said, their sword was a last ditch weapon. Blades on both the shorter versions varied between 15 to 20 inches.

[@GK-xd2xm]

Correct the spirits held over the shoulder

[@GK-xd2xm]

Spear not spirits this talk-to-text sucks

[@WMyers-yl9vv]

@Brooks Gaming - I am not sure why there is no reply button by your post, but I would be very interested to see whom your sources were for your claims. They would not happen to be based solely upon the claims of one Christopher Matthew, would they?

[@bigremy4569]

whats the best way to buy this gear?

[@tomworth3239]

They would hold their spears over their sheilds for two reasons 1 so they didn't stab their friends behind them and 2 because you can stab much stronger over head just try for yourself and see

[@klausbrinck2137]

Over-arm and under-arm, it was the coordinated switch between the two, that made the surprise for the enemy and led to success. Coordinated, because the ranks of interlocked shields in front of you had to open for a moment, in order for you to be able to go from over-arm to under-arm, stab, and then the shields opened again for a moment, so that you can go back from under-arm to over-arm, and eventually stab again!!! It´s so logic, but difficult, they´d have to have a codeword for every possible action, so that changes happen automatically, almost intiutively.

[@zeus0710]

5% percent casualties during the actual fight most kills happened during the part were the losing army broke and is running for the hills

[@Zamolxes77]

+Joel Gonzalez Jr. Greeks were not pursuing their enemies. The purpose of a greek battle was not to kill your enemy, was to won the contest point whatever that might have been, land, honor, etc. Think about it, most of your enemy were greeks, as yourself, granted members of another city state, but they weren't soldiers, they were potters, basket weavers, etc. A lot of trade took place between neighboring city states, you don't want to kill off your potential customers and trade partners over a battle that you already won - cause they were fleeing. So yeah, if there is something like being civilized in a battle or a war, ancient greeks were right there at the top.

[@LEONIDAS300SPARTI]

good interview!!!

[@charlesbrooks94]

That guy may be part of a Hoplite society, but he's got a few of his facts wrong. 1. Hoplites didn't change the cuirass over time, the type of cuirass (or lack there of) depended on a) personal preference & b) what you could afford, cuz in every city state (except Sparta & Thebes [in the case of the Sacred Band]) you had to supply your own weapons & armor. 2. Hoplites didn't fight with the spear over arm while in formation, that technique was for dueling, because they would throw the spear in that situation, in an actual battle they held their spears underarm with their elbow touching the part of the spike that connected to the spear shaft. 3. There was no "Hoplite crush" or shoving match that would've killed most (if not all) of the front ranks, Hoplites used the length of their spears to stab at the enemy ranks & push them back (something they couldn't do holding the spears over arm), they continued this until one side began to break.

[@Alopex1]

+Brooks Gaming Hmmmmm... At best, I would argue that there is much debate amongst scholars about the points mentioned. 1) Cuirasses DID change over time, to a degree. For example, the bell cuirass which was popular at the beginning of the 5th Century had fallen out of use entirely by the 450s. You are probably right that it was down to personal preference and what you could afford. There is also evidence that tactical doctrine also made the wearing of cuirasses unnecessary or even impractical, which is why the Spartans seem to have abandoned that kind of armour altogether by the Peloponnesian War, at least in certain situations. 2) The overarm / underarm debate rages on. There are good arguments either way. Personally, I like to believe that both techniques were used in the phalanx, and that one or the other may have been preferable depending on how dense or open the files and ranks were. 3) As for "othismos", no one really knows what exactly is meant, since the sources are vague in this regard. The convex shape as well as the large size of the hoplite shield can be used as an argument that it was used for actual, physical shoving, though the shoving may just as well have been psychological. Making any clear statements one way or another is treading on thin ice. We really don't know much about hoplite warfare at all.

[@jameskominos6728]

+Brooks Gaming Most of the Greek pottery in the classical age show hoplites with bronze armour and if they did wear the linen it would be under the bronze, especially for the Spartans.I would think the Spartans would use the spear over head especially when they fought the Persians since they had practically no armour of metal, with few exceptions of other conscripted troops. There is literature that states hoplites in the front would move and rotate to let in fresh troops in the second line of the phalanx. What do you think?

[@Alopex1]

+James Kominos Need to disagree with you on multiple points. Yes, bronze armour was worn, especially until the first half of the 5th Century and then again from the second half of the 4th, though it never fully went out fashion in between. But there is also AMPLE evidence, literary and also from vase paintings, for the use of linen armour, which seems to have consisted of multiple layers of linen glued together to form a sort of primitive kevlar. Yes, linen (or some other fabric) was most probably worn under the bronze armour, since that makes wearing it far more comfortable, but that does not disprove the wearing of linen armour. Using your spear overarm or underarm has little to do with how armoured your opponent is; the shield is much more important here. The Persians were generally only very lightly armoured, so underarm or overarm would both have worked well in this respect. Given that many Persians used the "spara", a huge rectangular wicker shield, overarm may have been of more use than underarm. As for the rotating: I am HIGHLY sceptical that any hoplite army would be capable of pulling off such a stunt, them being simple militia soldier-farmers with next to no military training. The Spartans, who did have some training, may have been able to conduct a maneuver called the "anastrophe", which may have involved about-facing the entire battle line by having the file leaders pass back through the gaps between the files, with the rest of the file following, but that is only one theory of how it could have worked. What may have happened is that once a hoplite was down, wounded, or tired, he may have retreated into the second rank, and a second-ranker may have taken his place, though such a move could be very dangerous for the entire battle line, since it briefly opened a gap for the enemy to exploit.

[@jameskominos6728]

+Ufthak1 Yes that was my point, under the bronze the linen was used. Look at the mosaic of Alexander the Great from an Italian city during the time of the Roman empire, it shows metal, probably bronze armour, no linen there. Also recent excavations in Pella, Macedonia, shows bronze armour used by Philip, Alexanders the Greats father. The Spartans may have been the only hoplites to be able to rotate, I agree. Xenophone makes reference to this and it was absolutely in their training. Also many experts in the field of ancient warfare believe the Spartans used the shield leveled across their body to strike the enemy at the side of the head. So if the shield is used this way certainly the spear would be used over head as well to strike any exposed area. Agree?

[@jameskominos6728]

+Sam “MrPercie” Percy I have never herd or seen linen with a thin bronze facing, if you have let me know of the source. From what I have seen, in the pottery, and I have some ( replicas of course ) it is only bronze. Can u give me an example so I can look it up. Yes I agree both under and over spear thrusts were used. Like I mentioned earlier, look at the mosaic of Alexander the Great during the Roman Empire Era, it shows him with metal armour probably bronze, and that is just one example. Tell me what u think

[@michaeltaylor8835]

We are Sparta. Hoplites had bronze sheilds

[@kristofantal8801]

Big metal shields were not common in warfare because of weight and price... You watch too many movies, like 300.

[@ivp3918]

music 0:15?

[@explorer1968]

Hoplites: the basic component of an armored steamroller of the Greek armies!!

[@thespartan1296]

You see I wish that way of battle was still around

[@MrThePsychologist]

whats that music in the background

[@1johnydeluxe]

Your avatars is the symbol of strenght

[@MrThePsychologist]

what this has to do with my question and no my avatar symbol is called triqutra an ancient roman symbol

[@1johnydeluxe]

its of greek origin :)

[@sinofdamnation1547]

It's the theme tune for the TV show "Black Adder", and then goes into "Men of Harlech"

[@alexudell7964]

its the air training corps (ATC) band playing different pieces of music.

[@Badnercalabrese]

Is this Striking Scorpian!?

[@StrikingScorpion82]

Yep its me:)

[@Badnercalabrese]

@@StrikingScorpion82 legend !

[@deadhorse1391]

I’m surprised that the UK government hasn’t banned ownership of that sword !

[@VVeremoose]

Oi, mate! You got a permit that snark?

[@PoeCompany]

great stuff here

[@theCreativeAssemblymachinimas]

how could they stab people if they were almost entirely covered by that big shield and for the rest by helm and greaves? I have no idea. Maybe only small vulnerable area would be eyes, but did they really stab everyone through the eyes? I imagine all guys getting blind.

[@heathenwizard]

you go for the eyes, or the unprotected spots of the neck, arms, shoulders, and underarms.

[@theCreativeAssemblymachinimas]

so you could cover better those areas like protecting the holes for eyes with a grill (like Murmillo gladiator)

[@heathenwizard]

the Creative Assembly machinimas Yes, but it appears that not many of them did. And the linothorax is a pretty stiff piece of linen and leatherwork, and pretty expensive over all (the hoplite panoply was like a car back in the day). Adding more armor to it, or covering up the vulnerable areas, would've been expensive endeavors that also might severely hinder your mobility. The neck and underarms have always been weak spots in armor because flexibility is a requirement there.

[@theCreativeAssemblymachinimas]

imagine giving the hoplites the Murmillo gladiator's helm which covers all face and even neck, the roman lorica segmentata type newstead (very effective and reliable) and the protection for right arm. You would have made almost invincible warriors.

[@heathenwizard]

the Creative Assembly machinimas visibility would still have been hampered quite a bit. Also, you have to remember that hoplites weren't a professional force (with the exception of Thebes' Sacred Band and the Spartans) with arms provided by the government. They were generally farmers or "middle class" equivalents of the day who could afford their own weapons. They bought their own panoply. The things you mention might have been useful, but they would simply have been out of reach for the overwhelming majority of hoplites. Those who could actually afford it were more likely to ride on horseback as well.

[@BillyTheBigKid82]

Black Adder theme in the background is kinda distracting...=D

[@bartomiejzakrzewski7220]

It was in Poland !

[@placeholder8768]

Bartłomiej Zakrzewski this is the Military Odyessey, in Kent, UK, so nope.

[@John2r1]

you know the Greeks used both overhand and underhanded grip using their spears depending on if they wanted more distance or control of the spear. oh and didn't the Spartan and Athena's use the xiphos short sword as well. I believe the Spartans xiphos was around 12 inches which is more or less a dagger used when the spear broke or whatever .. of course I would think that Spartans would carry both the xiphos and kopis sword for when the phalanx broke ranks and you need a longer blade, atleast that makes since to me as a soldier that having two different length blades would provide tactical flexibility in 1v1 combat in case the phalanx broke that is.

[@ledingdong1492]

harry hill?

[@justpettet3506]

the greek is so much more thoughtful seeming than the romans. maybe all that kiddy touching chills you out

[@justpettet3506]

@summit nigga hahahha thank you! everyone has been taking me seriously

[@szarekhthesilent2047]

ehum... 5% casualties on the losing side? That'd be some time before the phalanx was used...

[@Hypnotized81]

If your lines broke it was game over so the fight basically ended. When Greeks were fighting one another there was no reason to destroy each other (as in the case of the Persians).

[@szarekhthesilent2047]

​@@Hypnotized81 Battle of Thebes, both Battles of Manteina, battle of the champions, battle of Leuktra, battle of Chaironeia, battle of Delion, battle of Sphactria... all well above 5% death toll and even higher losses... "When Greeks were fighting one another there was no reason to destroy each other" Other than a burning hatred? I know where you're coming from, but chivalry /not wanting to destroy your enemy wasn't the reason for it (in the pelop. wars, both parties would frequently raid the coutryside - not to plunder, but to burn&destroy, in the "sacred" wars prisoners would often be executed and citizens of captured cities would be sold into slavery sometimes) I think the more important reasons might be, that phalanxwarfare was physicaly very taxing and large numbers of cavalry wasn't too common, resulting in not much pursuit. another factor might be, that the more brutal/(where you generally see more casulaties) fighting would be focused more on the resp. right flank. As soon as those broke (or just threatened, sometimes), this would cause everyone to abandon the fight. And the more important part - persian casualties would be equally "low" in general. the "next to no casualties" is mostly based on a time before the phaanx was invented - fights (minor ones, for minor reasons) would be more frequent, involve no formations, instead appointed battlefield location, massive duels, spectators, a lot of screaming (and occasionally a lot insulting)beforehand and little/next to no casualties.

[@Hypnotized81]

@@szarekhthesilent2047 You miss my point. They didn't want to destroy each other not because of chivalry but because usually war was just their way to settle differences. They still had to leave with one another the next day or at least have some relations. In the case of Persians it is obvious that only complete victory was the goal and of course the casualties on the Persian side were massive since hoplites were like super soldiers in their time thanks to their gear and way of fighting. As for the 5% casualties I've no idea if it's valid or not. It just makes sense that the number should be in the small side.

[@szarekhthesilent2047]

@@Hypnotized81 "@Burnit Down You miss my point. They didn't want to destroy each other not because of chivalry but because usually war was just their way to settle differences." ehmmm yeah... same is true everywhere else... " They still had to leave with one another the next day or at least have some relations. " yes. hate-hate relationship. That's why, f.i. the phocans (...) would be the first ones to slaughter the Thebans when Alexander managed to breach/get past the walls - they were neighbours and wanted good relations. "In the case of Persians it is obvious that only complete victory was the goal" Sure. that's why both Athens and Sparta and Thebes (essentially - all the hegemons) were allied with Persia in varying constellations against each other over extended periods of time. " and of course the casualties on the Persian side were massive" 10%-30%. with very rare occasions where they would have far less or far more. Same as in any hoplite vs hoplite battle. " since hoplites were like super soldiers in their time thanks to their gear and way of fighting. " The hoplites weren't supersoldiers, and the persians had their own heavily armored (professional, btw.) units, which did perform quite well, would fight fairly similar to the earlier version of the phalanx and were, in terms of equipment, at least on par with most citystate. Also, if I reall correctly, the greek citystates won most of their wars against persia, with their fleet... Also there'd be a wide difference in terms of hoplite equipment (and training/performance...), depending on the wealth of the citystate in question. And different levels of expertise. and different tactics. and different kinds of support troops. + Northern greece+thrace also did quiet well against the persians, albeit having even less armor.

[@Hypnotized81]

@@szarekhthesilent2047 I can see you are one of those guys that love arguing for the sake of arguing like those that have a problem for every solution. I'll answer you accordingly: You are absolutely right in everything you say!!! Let's leave it at that.

[@Richard0292]

I wpuld like to be up against the Olympic champion in darts.

[@chenmarco2453]

never knew strikin scorpions was a history guy exactly like me XD

[@StrikingScorpion82]

+chen sam Yeah I love the historical stuff:)

[@willykaranikolas2391]

Casualty rates for Ancient Greek armies were extremely low. In comparison to armies of other cultures and periods of history, the Ancient Greek numbers seem almost like a joke or mistake. At the Battle of Gaugamela, one of the most consequential and famous battles of history (also comparatively well-documented), Alexander only lost between 100-300 Infantrymen (and about 1000 Cavalry) out of his roughly 45,000 man army. Darius' Persian Army suffered an estimated 40,000 (from his initial 50,000-100,000 strength). When I first read about Gaugamela, I thought it must've been a mistake; but the ancient Greek culture of combat seems to be heavily rooted in heavy armor, professional soldiering, and teamwork; something which undoubtedly minimizes casualties.

[@pauloxavier8026]

cool