05-07-2010, 06:59 PM
I get it now! An overhand grip and downward, 'dagger-like' strike certainly would have worked well in a very confined space. This also helps explain various references to the Spartan preference for especially close-in fighting. Added to your apt notes on helmet design and utility, this all goes a long way toward reinforcing the idea that the Spartans weren't wild-eyed, fanatical fighting machines (take that, Frank Miller!). Rather, they seem to have been extremely practical men, who picked their contests carefully (refusing battle in poor circumstances) and with calculated resolve took every step reasonable to tilt the odds in their favor when they did choose to engage. Knowing the practical realties of war better than anyone else, the Spartans at their height appear to have earned their great success in major pitched battles by simply being better prepared (in equipment, in organization, in formation skills, and in determined attitude) than their opponents.
It\'s only by appreciating accurate accounts of real combat past and present that we can begin to approach the Greek hoplite\'s hard-won awareness of war\'s potential merits and ultimate limitations.
- Fred Eugene Ray (aka "Old Husker")
- Fred Eugene Ray (aka "Old Husker")
