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Lochos
A ''lochos'', plural ''lochoi'' ( el, λόχος ''lokhos'', pl. ''lokhoi''), is a tactical sub unit of Classical Greece and of the modern Greek army. The term derived from the ancient Greek for ambush and the men carrying out the ambush, but in practice, its meaning was essentially that of "war-band", a body of armed men. This translation has been used traditionally, e.g. for the Sacred Band of Thebes. Size and organisation Evolving as it did with ancient Greek warfare from that of tribal Greece to that of the Greek city-states, the ''lochos'' varied in size and organisation over time and from city state to city state, ranging in size from a single file to about 640 men. The best surviving description of the ''lochos'' is that by Xenophon in his '' Anabasis'', however this must be taken as being illustrative of a particular time and place, that of 5th century BC Sparta, rather than being truly representative. Aelian and Arrian use the terms lochos as file and lochagos as file le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spartan Army
The Spartan army stood at the center of the Spartan state, citizens trained in the disciplines and honor of a warrior society.Connolly (2006), p. 38 Subjected to military drills since early manhood, the Spartans became one of the most feared and formidable military forces in the Greek world, attaining legendary status in their wars against Persia. At the height of Sparta's power – between the 6th and 4th centuries BC – other Greeks commonly accepted that "one Spartan was worth several men of any other state." Tradition states that the semi-mythical Spartan legislator Lycurgus first founded the iconic army. Referring to Sparta as having a "wall of men, instead of bricks," he proposed reforming the Spartan society to develop a military-focused lifestyle following "proper virtues" such as equality for the male citizens, austerity, strength, and fitness. Spartan boys deemed strong enough entered the ''agoge'' regime at the age of seven, undergoing intense and rigorou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lochagos
''Lochagos'' (; abbreviated as Λγος) is used in the Greek language to mean " Captain". More precisely, it means "leader of a ''lochos''". The equivalent term in the Hellenic Army Armour & Cavalry is el, ιλάρχος, ilarchos, "leader of an ''ilē'' (cavalry troop). Ancient and Byzantine use The term has been used since the times of Ancient Greece, where the place of the rank in the military hierarchy differed from city-state to city-state. For example, Xenophon reported that a ''lochagos'' of Sparta served under a polemarch. Aristotle reported that his counterpart in Athens served under a ''taxiarchos''. In military manuals, the file is often called a lochos and as such its leader is also called a lochagos. Asclepiodotus, Tactica, 1.2 Thus, the lochagos can also be the promachos protostates. The rank of ''lochagos'' could also represent an officer roughly equivalent to that a Roman army centurion. The term was however also used by later writers to describe the civilian le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phalanx Formation
The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particularly used to describe the use of this formation in ancient Greek warfare, although the ancient Greek writers used it to also describe any massed infantry formation, regardless of its equipment. Arrian uses the term in his ''Array against the Alans'' when he refers to his legions. In Greek texts, the phalanx may be deployed for battle, on the march, or even camped, thus describing the mass of infantry or cavalry that would deploy in line during battle. They marched forward as one entity. The term itself, as used today, does not refer to a distinctive military unit or division (e.g., the Roman legion or the contemporary Western-type battalion), but to the type of formation of an army's troops. Therefore, this term does not indicate a standard comb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protostates
A ''protostates'' ( el, πρωτοστάτης, "the one who stands first/in front"), in Ancient Greece, was the man in front of an ''epistates'' (the one who stands behind). The Greek phalanx was made up of alternate ranks of ''protostates'' and ''epistates''. Thus, in a file of eight men, the ''protostates'' were the men in positions 1, 3, 5 and 7, while the epistates occupied positions 2, 4, 6 and 8. Asclepiodotus, Tactica, 2.3 The term remained in use into the Byzantine Empire. The foremost ''protostates'' of a file (''lochos'') was called a ''lochagos ''Lochagos'' (; abbreviated as Λγος) is used in the Greek language to mean "Captain". More precisely, it means "leader of a '' lochos''". The equivalent term in the Hellenic Army Armour & Cavalry is el, ιλάρχος, ilarchos, "leader of an ...'' (λοχαγός). References Greek words and phrases Ancient Greek military terminology {{AncientGreek-lang-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
File (formation)
A file is a military term for a number of troops drawn up in line ahead, i.e. one behind the other in a column. The number of files is the measure of the width of a column of troops in several ranks one behind the other.McNab, p. 55.Schwartz, p. 9 Usage Files are useful when troops don't know where the enemy is, since there are overlapping fields of fire from each soldier, and cover from a possible flanking attack. Files are at a disadvantage when there are heavy weapons nearby, supported by infantry, especially machine guns and tanks. Ancient Greek use A file of men in the Greek phalanx The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particularly ... was called a lochos () and usually ranged from eight to sixteen men.''Royal military panorama'', p. 149. References Bibliography * * Dupa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cohort (military Unit)
A cohort (from the Latin ''cohors'', plural ''cohortes'', see wikt:cohors for full inflection table) was a standard tactical military unit of a Roman legion. Although the standard size changed with time and situation, it was generally composed of 480 soldiers. A cohort is considered to be the equivalent of a modern military battalion. The cohort replaced the '' maniple'' following the reforms attributed to Gaius Marius in 107 BC. Shortly after the military reforms of Marius, and until the middle of the third century AD, ten cohorts (about 5,000 men total) made up a legion. Cohorts were named "first cohort,” "second cohort," etc. The first cohort consisted of experienced legionaries, while the legionaries in the tenth cohort were less experienced. Legionary cohort A legionary cohort of the early empire consisted of six '' centuriae'', or centuries, each consisting of 80 legionaries, for a total of 480 legionaries. Prior to the Marian reforms, each ''centuria'' consisted of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Company (military Unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are formed of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure. Usually several companies are grouped as a battalion or regiment, the latter of which is sometimes formed by several battalions. Occasionally, ''independent'' or ''separate'' companies are organized for special purposes, such as the 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company or the 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company. These companies are not organic to a battalion or regiment, but rather report directly to a higher level organization such as a Marine Expeditionary Force headquarters (i.e., a corps-level command). Historical background The modern military company became popularized during the reorganization of the Swedish Army in 1631 under King Gustav II Adolph. For administrative purposes, the infantry was divided into companies consisting o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contubernium
A ''contubernium'' was a quasi-marital relationship in ancient Rome between a free citizen and a slave or between two slaves. A slave involved in such relationship was called ''contubernalis''. The term describes a wide range of situations, from outright sexual slavery to quasi-marriage. For instance, according to Suetonius, Caenis, a slave and secretary of Antonia Minor, was Vespasian's wife "in all but name", until her death in AD 74. It was also not uncommon for slaves to create family-like unions, allowed but not protected by the law. In Roman law In the Roman legal system, a slave did not have a family. If a slave man entered into a ''contubernium'' with a free woman, the children were born free " ''iure gentium''". If instead the man was free but the woman was a slave, the children were born slaves. The law also allowed a slave-owner to free the slave and enter into a concubinage or a regular marriage. A Roman could exploit his own slaves for sex, but was not entitled ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mora (military Unit)
A ''mora'' (Greek: ,. plural ''morae'') was an ancient Spartan military unit of about a tenth of the Spartan army, at approx. 600 men by modern estimates, although Xenophon places it at 6,000. This can be reconciled by the nature of the Spartan army with an organisation based on year classes, with only the younger troops being mobilised for all but the gravest emergencies. Either way, it was the largest tactical unit in Sparta, if not all Greece, and was often the only force sent out on campaign. A ''mora'' was composed typically of hoplites, men armed with spears, swords and the heavy aspis shield and armoured in a cuirass, greaves and a helmet. This equipment changed over time, with more or less armour being used over different eras. Around 227 BC, Cleomenes III re-equipped some ''morai'' with the Macedonian ''sarissa'' and trained them to fight in the Macedonian pike phalanx. The unit was led by a Polemarch, the third (or arguably second) highest rank in Spartan hierarch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Argos
Argos (; el, Άργος ; grc, label= Ancient and Katharevousa, Ἄργος ) is a city in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and the oldest in Europe. It is the largest city in Argolis and a major center for the area. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been part of the municipality of Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 138.138 km2. It is from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour. A settlement of great antiquity, Argos has been continuously inhabited as at least a substantial village for the past 7,000 years. A resident of the city of Argos is known as an Argive ( , ; grc-gre, Ἀργεῖος). However, this term is also used to refer to those ancient Greeks generally who assaulted the city of Troy during the Trojan War; the term is more widely applied by the Homeric bards. Numerous ancient monuments can be found in the city today. Agricul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of The 300 Champions
The Battle of the 300 Champions, known since Herodotus' day as the Battle of the Champions, was a battle fought in roughly 546 BC between Argos and Sparta. Rather than commit full armies both sides agreed to pitting 300 of their best men against each other. Herodotus According to Herodotus Sparta had surrounded and captured the plain of Thyrea. When the Argives marched out to defend it, the two armies agreed to let 300 champions from each city fight, with the winner taking the territory. Presumably the idea was to reduce the total number of casualties. Both armies marched home, so as to prevent either side from helping their champions and escalating the duel into a full battle. Neither side would allow for any injured men to be taken. The day called for complete destruction of the enemy force for victory. The two armies were evenly matched and neither could gain the upper hand. They fought until nightfall, and after a bloody battle only three men remained, two Argives and one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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