Spartan and other Greek army camps

[sitalkes]

Hi, I'm reading "Shades of Artemis" by Jon Martin, a novel about Brasidas. In it he describes a Spartan army camp precisely, as being arranged carefully like the spokes of a wheel. Is there any basis of fact for this description? Is anything known about the organisation of Greek army camps, or did they just put up a pallisade when they thought it necessary, with no organisation on the inside?

There are several "nit picks" in this book - tidal mud flats in Southern Greece, where titdal movements are almost non-existant, for instance. Mostly I just get annoyed at the large number of cavalry actions being fought by Spartans and other Greeks at the start of the Pelopponesian war in the book. There is even reference to a class of Spartan knights, who fight mounted. It's great to read a dramatisation of the lives of Brasidas and Thucydides though.

Chris

[hoplite14gr]

Plutarch in the life of Lukoyrgos mentions that he was the first to tacle camp issues. The Spartans were superior to other Greeks on that sector.
Probably only alexander took the matter so seriously.

Polyvios and Dio Cassius pint the contrast that Roman camps were artificially fortified and could be set up anywhere while the Greeks tried to find a naturally strong location and just set a perimeter with felled logs.

Poor camp security costed the third battle of Thermopulae in 191 b.C.

hope it helps

[PMBardunias]

I do know that they were round. Xenophon states that corners were useless- seems the romans didn't read Xenophon :wink:

[hoplite14gr]

Corners are generally considered volunerable.
After all round towers slowly displaced square towers in fortifications for that reason and very sharp corners appeared with Vaubaugne in the 17th century.

The romans for the most part facesdinept besiegers (Alesia comes to mind).
But even a proper fort with shortcomings is better than no fort at all as the third battle of Thermopylae demonstrated.

Kind regards