Spartan Mora regiments at Battle of Plataea

[Paullus Scipio]

Paralus wrote:

The source material – Thucydides included – displays a scant regard for our interest in military structure and the changes made to it over the classical period.Indeed...if they weren't so vague/ambiguous we wouldn't be having this lively debate! :wink: That the Spartan army structure altered over time was made certain by diminishing numbers of homoioi.To continue your musical witticisms; "It ain't necessarily so..o..o !"
That the numbers of 'Homioi' declined is undeniable... but it is more likely that the army always had a presence of other Spartans who were not 'full citizens'/Homioi/Peers/Equals/Aristocracy e.g. 'Hypomeiones' and others. As the number of 'Homioi'/aristocrats declined, the numbers of 'non-Homioi' - but still Spartans - in the army will have increased... Thucydides himself hints at same with his description of the Lacedaemonians taken at Sphacteria (Periocoi brigaded with homoioi)....er, no, actually - there is NO mention of Perioikoi IIRC. Thucydides simply says "Altogether 440 Hoplites had crossed over, and of these 292 were taken alive to Athens.....About 120 of the prisoners were of the Spartan Officer class (Homioi)"; the remainder will have been 'other' Spartans, for they are drawn 'by lot from all the lochoi' (Thuc IV.8.9), which probably means 1 'enomotia'/platoon drawn from each of the 12 'lochoi'/battalions ( perioikoi did not serve in the peloponnese as a rule, nor in the Spartan Army itself, save for certain Aristocratic 'volunteers' who were permitted to accompany the King on campaign - but I don't want to digress into another debate about perioikoi ! :wink: ) and the appearance – unheralded – at Mantinea of “units” of Neodamodeis.Not unheralded at all ! Sparta, when unsupported by Persian Gold, was a relatively 'poor' state and always had trouble raising money to pay mercenaries. They therefore, reluctantly, turned to the much cheaper alternative of equipping 'Helots'( serfs) in return for a promise of freedom, especially for campaigns far away. ('Real' Spartan armies seldom ventured out of the Peloponnese). The first thousand or so 'neodamodeis' were raised in 425 BC, and later we hear of a force of two thousand 'neodamodeis' . A force of 700 were raised in 421 to accompany Brasidas to Thrace, and it is these who gain the name 'Brasideoi', as you have noted. So they are hardly "unheralded" at Mantinea in 418 BC. After their service they were all duly 'freed' and settled on the borders of Lakonia...

Whilst there are mora in Xenophon’s Hellenica they are, by the time of Epaminondas’ invasion of Lacedaemon, no longer in existence. At this time there are only twelve lochoi.It is correct that Xenophon makes reference to 6 'Morai' throughout most of the Hellenika, but in book VII refers to 12 'lochoi', however they are essentially synonyms - there were almost certainly 6 Morai ' divided into 12 'lochoi' for most of the Spartan Army's existence. In book VII, Xenophon refers to 'Polemarchs'/commanders of a 'Mora'(equivalent to a modern Brigadier), so 'Morai' must have still existed (Hellenika VII.1.17 and 25), as well as 'lochagoi' ( lochos/battalion commanders, equivalent to a modern Lt Col. He felt no need to enlighten us on the change – seemingly he expected his readers to know.No need for comment, because there was no change, essentially !!

At Mantinea it is likely that Thucydides – or his source – utilised the terminology familiar to other Greeks, that is, “lochoi”. Mora, to my knowledge, is a term used by Xenophon to describe only Spartan armies.

...Agreed! That is a likely explanation for Thucydides - or his source- getting confused. We only hear of Spartan armies using 'Morai'/ Brigades... though Athenian 'Taxeis' may have been larger units/brigades than 'Lochoi'...

The Sciritae, Brasideans and Neodamodeis are distinct units. His language (or the rendering of it in English) can be confusing. Yes he enumerates the line from left to right - that is clear. What also is clear (to me) is the fact that his listing makes plain that the Sciritae, Brasideans and Neodamodies are an entirely different species of infantry animal to "the Lacedaemonians themselves" – else there is no need for the clear distinction.

Thucydides, in his calculations, excludes a part of those clearly delineated as a separate species (the Sciritae). He also, to my mind, excluded the others who, just as clearly, were not part of “Lacedaemonians themselves”: the Brasideans and freed helots.

Largely agreed ! The 'Sciritae' are not Spartans at all, and the others are not 'real' Spartans either, being 'Helots' serving as Hoplites, who will receive 'freedom' in return for their service, but there is still a distinction between 'Sciritae' (technically allies) and the Helots forming part of the actual Spartan Army, even though technically they were not "lakedaemonians themselves", which you would have seen had you stood in the opposing ranks.
You would have seen the unit/lochos of 600 'Sciritae' with whatever shield blazons ( probably individual) they carried, then 7 units/ Morai/ Brigades of the Spartan Army proper - the two independent 'lochoi'/battalions of 'Brasideoi' and 'Neodamodeis' forming one brigade, then the 6 'Morai'(12 lochoi)/Regiments/Brigades, all with "lambdas gleaming", and indistinguishable; then the various Allied contingents with their various shield blazons, and finally the "few Spartans" with gleaming lambdas at the very end.... so in fact, no "internal contradiction" by Thucydides at all !! D

When it comes to Agis’ command decisions, the argument is just as intractable. Firstly he is surprised by the Allies’ readiness to take the field. Secondly, though he has the larger army (which Thucydides states twice), he is overly concerned over his left being outflanked whilst his right overlapped “still farther beyond the Athenians”. At this point he moves two “units”/lochoi (the Sciritae and Brasideans) to the left. well, he wanted to, but as we know it did not happen...You would have it that he may have “intended to extend far enough to overlap the mantineans in turn”. On this Thucydides is rather plain; he moved them to “make the line even with the Mantineans” (5.71.3).Quite right ! I did not take that in.... Further, as Thucydides says, he wished the polemarchs to take two “units”/lochoi from “the he right wing; thinking that his right would still be strong enough to spare” the loss of such “units”/lochoi. All this while Thucydides has been describing wings (“horn”) and I find it unlikely that he thought the Spartan line had yet another “horn” or wing in the middle of the line. As I have already explained in previous posts, Thucydides cannot mean two 'units/lochoi "from the right wing" of the Allied army, for he has told us that only "a few Spartans" stood at the very end of the Allied line ( presumably to keep order and prevent excessive 'right drift') and so he must have meant from the right wing of the Spartan Army.... and the practicalities of time and distance favour this view as well.

Agis may not rank as the greatest of Spartan kings and he was under a cloud. Further, he had ten “Spartans of the officer class” who rode shotgun on him. I would doubt these would allow a command for two “units”/lochoi to be removed from the centre of the line to fill a gap created on the left. If the order went out it was to the right wing of the army.

...yes, for an earlier blunder, but the ten 'supervisors' are not referred to in this instance, and Agis' period of being 'on parole' so to speak may have been over...
I don't think it logical either that if the 'ten' were present and did allow Agis' order, that it follows that the order went to the right wing of the Allied army, for Thucydides is quite explicit that only "a few" Spartans were posted there, not a third of the army (if Thuc. is not mistaken, and he most assuredly is! ) or one sixth if you accept the arguments expounded here ( two lochoi from twelve). As we have seen ( ante) given what he says, Thucydides cannot have meant the right wing of the Allied army, but must have meant the Spartan army....