05-01-2013, 06:22 AM
Sean, Xenophon mentions a number of offices regarding the 10,000 but I would anyways expect them to have been organized according to Spartan standards.
He mentions strategoi and lochagoi (2.5.30.1.), he mentions a hypostrategos (3.1.32.4.), taxiarchoi (3.1.37.2.) as well as hypolochagoi (5.2.13.2.), pentekontarchae and enomotarchae (3.4.21.3.). So, in reality, there are many offices in the mercenary army of the 10,000, a good number of them junior.
And of course in the less militaristic Greek states, there also (most possibly) were military offices, not just during war and certainly not just generals. Take for example the hipparchikos (regarding the training of the Athenian cavalry in peace time), in which, Xenophon again, mentions the following offices :
pempadarchos, dekadarchos, phylarchos and hipparchos - the two first being junior officers (translation : leader of 5 and 10 respectively for those who do not know ancient Greek). I am sure that if the Athenian cavalry had junior offices, surely the infantry had too.
I nevertheless personally also believe, as I have stated in my first post that the evidence points at the men usually not having a specific, pre-determined place in the line since day 1 of the campaign, which was the point of junior officers in more organized Greek armies, so a less organized system would be my suggestion in which junior offices were handed out more liberally.
He mentions strategoi and lochagoi (2.5.30.1.), he mentions a hypostrategos (3.1.32.4.), taxiarchoi (3.1.37.2.) as well as hypolochagoi (5.2.13.2.), pentekontarchae and enomotarchae (3.4.21.3.). So, in reality, there are many offices in the mercenary army of the 10,000, a good number of them junior.
And of course in the less militaristic Greek states, there also (most possibly) were military offices, not just during war and certainly not just generals. Take for example the hipparchikos (regarding the training of the Athenian cavalry in peace time), in which, Xenophon again, mentions the following offices :
pempadarchos, dekadarchos, phylarchos and hipparchos - the two first being junior officers (translation : leader of 5 and 10 respectively for those who do not know ancient Greek). I am sure that if the Athenian cavalry had junior offices, surely the infantry had too.
I nevertheless personally also believe, as I have stated in my first post that the evidence points at the men usually not having a specific, pre-determined place in the line since day 1 of the campaign, which was the point of junior officers in more organized Greek armies, so a less organized system would be my suggestion in which junior offices were handed out more liberally.
