04-03-2009, 04:11 AM
That's a tricky question, Ruben, and might lead us into yet another debate !! 
(
I'll try to be brief here.
Suffice to say that what the manuals are trying to do is divide Infantry into three basic types: viz, 'Hoplites'/Heavy infantry/Infantry of the line, who are shielded, armoured and either spear or pike armed ( Macedonian style) and fight hand-to-hand; Light Infantry are 'the opposite' to heavy, being un-armoured,shieldless and who use slings, arrows or javelins to fight at a distance. In between are 'Medium troops/peltasts' who are more lightly equipped than the Heavy Infantry, and who can both fight at a distance/skirmish and hand-to-hand if necessary. As described elsewhere, the thureos was adopted following the Gallic invasion of Greece. The thureophoroi who in effect succeeded the peltasts in the third century are sometimes termed euzonoi ( light troops) and fulfill the role formerly taken by peltasts.
For example Plutarch, describing the Achaean citizen troops following the adoption of the Thureos says they skirmished from a distance, but were ineffective at close quarters, and that their tactics were peltastikes (peltast-style). They were evidently not a great success as 'hand-to-hand' fighters, and it is probably significant that those Greek poleis ( cities) that experimentally replaced their Hoplites with Thureophoroi usually quickly re-equipped as a 'Macedonian-style' phalanx. By the 2nd century BC, the typical mercenary seems to have been mainly this type.
( I'll try to be brief here.
Suffice to say that what the manuals are trying to do is divide Infantry into three basic types: viz, 'Hoplites'/Heavy infantry/Infantry of the line, who are shielded, armoured and either spear or pike armed ( Macedonian style) and fight hand-to-hand; Light Infantry are 'the opposite' to heavy, being un-armoured,shieldless and who use slings, arrows or javelins to fight at a distance. In between are 'Medium troops/peltasts' who are more lightly equipped than the Heavy Infantry, and who can both fight at a distance/skirmish and hand-to-hand if necessary. As described elsewhere, the thureos was adopted following the Gallic invasion of Greece. The thureophoroi who in effect succeeded the peltasts in the third century are sometimes termed euzonoi ( light troops) and fulfill the role formerly taken by peltasts.
For example Plutarch, describing the Achaean citizen troops following the adoption of the Thureos says they skirmished from a distance, but were ineffective at close quarters, and that their tactics were peltastikes (peltast-style). They were evidently not a great success as 'hand-to-hand' fighters, and it is probably significant that those Greek poleis ( cities) that experimentally replaced their Hoplites with Thureophoroi usually quickly re-equipped as a 'Macedonian-style' phalanx. By the 2nd century BC, the typical mercenary seems to have been mainly this type.
"dulce et decorum est pro patria mori " - Horace
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
