In Ancient Greek armies, the ''psiloi'' (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

, singular ψιλός, ''psilos'', literally "bare, stripped") were the light infantry who usually acted as

skirmisher Skirmishers are light infantry or light cavalry soldiers deployed as a vanguard, flank guard or rearguard to screen a tactical position or a larger body of friendly troops from enemy advances. They may be deployed in a skirmish line, an irre ...

s and missile troops, and who were distinguished from the armored '' hoplitai'' (heavy infantry) by their light weapons and lack of armor. In

Classical Antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

and

Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

and throughout the existence of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, the lightest-armed troops, typically equipped with ranged weapons, and which fought irregularly in a loose formation, were deemed 'the ''psiloi. Numbered among the ''psiloi'' were archers, the '' toxotai'' armed with a bow (''toxa''), and slingers, the (''sphendonetai'') who hurled stones or metal bullets with slings (''sfendonai''). Others, the ''akontistai'', used the throwing javelin (''akontia''). Some ''psiloi'' simply threw stones at the enemy and were referred to as ''lithoboloi''. The ''psiloi'' were the least prestigious military class deployed by the ancient world. A member of the ''psiloi'' was normally a man or boy from the lower ranks of his society, unable to afford the

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

and armor of the ''hoplites'', let alone the horse ridden by the socially elite cavalryman, the ''hippeus'' (). Another term for a member of the ''psiloi'' was ''gymnetes'', (), "the lightly armed". Light infantry might also be called ''euzonoi'' ("active", "light armored"; a name shared with modern

Evzones The Evzones or Evzonoi (, ) were a type of light infantry units in the Hellenic Army. Today, they are the members of the Presidential Guard (), a ceremonial unit that guards the Greek Tomb of the Unknown Soldier () and the Presidential Mansion ...

), though these might be any troops lightly armed, such as ''hoplitai'' deployed without their shields, who would not rank as ''psiloi''. The ''peltastai'' (bearers of light shields, targeteers) were an intermediate infantry class, better armored than the ''psiloi'' but more lightly equipped than the ''hoplitai'' - the heavy infantry armed to fight at close quarters in the

phalanx The phalanx (: phalanxes or phalanges) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar polearms tightly packed together. The term is particularly used t ...

Ancient Greece

Altikulac Sarcophagus Dynast of Hellespontine Phrygia attacking a Greek psiloi early 4th century BCE

In ancient Greece, the ''psiloi'' belonged to the poorest citizen classes; sometimes even unfree conscripts would be employed, such as the Peloponnesian

helots The helots (; , ''heílotes'') were a subjugated population that constituted a majority of the population of Laconia and Messenia – the territories ruled by Sparta. There has been controversy since antiquity as to their exact characteristic ...

. They were armed with a variety of missile weapons and might have a dagger or short sword. The psiloi fought as skirmishers. Their task was to harass the enemy phalanx before the clash, to try to provoke disorder and protect their own lines from enemy skirmishers. They would be sent to occupy imposing terrain around and within the battlefield, as well as to disrupt the enemy in any way during his march, deployment or encampment. Just before the charge of the line, the psiloi would be recalled through the

and deployed behind it or on its wings. They would avoid close combat with more heavily armed opponents unless they had the advantage of especially favorable terrain. ''Psiloi'' could be used tactically, to constantly harass an enemy, unable to engage them. A famous engagement of ''psiloi'' against ''hoplitai'' was in the

Battle of Sphacteria The Battle of Sphacteria was a land battle of the Peloponnesian War, fought in 425 BC between Athens and Sparta. Following the Battle of Pylos and subsequent peace negotiations, which failed, a number of Spartans were stranded on the island of ...

, in which the

Athenian Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

''psiloi'' helped defeat a force of

Spartan Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the valley of Evrotas river in Laconia, in southeastern Pe ...

''hoplitai'', with powerful ramifications for the military reputation of the Spartans.

Roman Empire

''Grosphomachoi'' is the Greek term used by

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

to describe the Roman Republic's youngest and lowest class of citizen soldiers in the

Roman army The Roman army () served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of the W ...

, the ''

velites ''Velites'' (; : ) were a class of infantry in the Roman army of the mid-Republic from 211 to 107 BC. ''Velites'' were light infantry and skirmishers armed with javelins (), each with a 75cm (30 inch) wooden shaft the diameter of a finger, with ...

''. The ''grosphomachos'' – the Roman ''veles'' – was equipped with javelins Polybius calls ''grosphoi'' and which in Latin were termed '' veruta''. These were short, light weapons whose long metal points were designed to bend to prevent re-use by the enemy once thrown. They were deployed as skirmishers in front of the heavier infantry of the legion. ''Velites'' were used against the

Carthaginians The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people, Semitic people who Phoenician settlement of North Africa, migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Iron ...

war elephants A war elephant is an elephant that is trained and guided by humans for combat purposes. Historically, the war elephant's main use was to charge the enemy, break their ranks, and instill terror and fear. Elephantry is a term for specific mil ...

in the

Punic Wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Ancient Carthage, Carthaginian Empire during the period 264 to 146BC. Three such wars took place, involving a total of forty-three years of warfare on both land and ...

. Polybius describes the typical ''veles'' as having a helmet and ''parma'', a small round shield.Polybius, I.33.9, VI.21.7, VI.22.4. Greek language military treatises of Late Antique and later Byzantine periods of the Roman Empire call all light troops ''psiloi'', regardless of their defensive equipment. They were used as skirmishers, but they were often deployed in regular lines behind or among the heavy infantry ranks, usually equipped with bows.

Notes

Military units and formations of ancient Greece Ancient Greek infantry types Military units and formations of the Hellenistic world Military units and formations of the Byzantine Empire