11-24-2009, 04:45 PM
Quote:Anyway, if the question is "Were the Hippeis primarily a royal guard" then I think the answer must be "no", since they seem to have been constituted as a "civic" body and since after all we see them functioning in other capacities (e.g. in the Cinnadon affair, in which one of the Hippagretai seems to have despatched some of the Hippeis with Cinnadon on his "mission" [X. H. 3.3.9]).
But that said, it's perfectly defensible to argue that from 1st Mantinea onward, the Hippeis customarily fought "in attendance on the King" or "around the King" (???? ??? ???????) when they were on the field, whether as a whole body or in a sizable detachment.
I find that a rational assessment based on what little evidence we have. I would caution that if there were a place of honor along any given battle-line, then this might attract both the King and an elite unit. They could be forming on the location, not each other. Thus causality becomes murky, for that place would be customarily where "the king and the hippeis stand."
Would you agree, given your assessment, that calling the Hippeis a "Royal bodyguard" and the Hippagretai choosers/leaders of the body guard is obscuring their full purpose and role in society?
Paul M. Bardunias
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A Spartan, being asked a question, answered "No." And when the questioner said, "You lie," the Spartan said, "You see, then, that it is stupid of you to ask questions to which you already know the answer!"
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A Spartan, being asked a question, answered "No." And when the questioner said, "You lie," the Spartan said, "You see, then, that it is stupid of you to ask questions to which you already know the answer!"
