Post by kartadolofonos on Dec 4, 2007 19:01:09 GMT -5
These hoplites are from the great city of Athens. Twice men such as these threw back the might of the Persian Empire. The most powerful Greek City in history, the forces of Athens campaigned in Persia, Thrace, Egypt, Italy, and –fatally– Sicily.
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The Bosporan Kingdom saw the fusion of various races united by the influence of Greek Culture and Language. These Hoplites, though made up of men mostly of Greek descent, also contain Thracians and Scythians; fierce fighters in their own right who will do as well as any Greek in the heat of battle.
These men are fierce soldiers, and have been battled hardened in constant wars with the barbarian tribes of the north; and have been toughened by the harsh climate of the steppes. They are more flexible than the average Hoplite, but perhaps less able to deal with the more heavily armed alternatives; and certainly no match for the Phalangite based armies of the Successor states to the South.
Byzas set sail from his home city of Megara with instructions form the Delphic Oracle to found his new city “opposite the blind”. The hidden meaning of this command only became clear when he came upon the Greek city of Chalcedon on the Asiatic side of the Bosporus. He realised that they were the blind, for an obviously better site lay less than a mile away on the European side. Here Byzas founded his city and named it after himself. The city prospered through trade, exploiting its commanding position over the sole entrance in to the Black Sea.
In 339BC the Byzantines won an important victory in battle underneath a waxing moon. The victory was attributed to Artemis and they adopter her symbol, the crescent moon, as their own. This can be seen depicted on the unit’s shield.
Corinth’s wealth once rivalled that of Athens, being based mainly on control over the isthmus; and many pottery and craft advances were first begun in Corinth, only to be improved upon by the Athenians. Corinth was a major participant in the Persian Wars, contributing 50 ships and 5,000 hoplites. In the destructive Peloponnesian Wars that followed, Corinth fought against Athens as a member of the Peloponnesian League; but then later turned against Sparta in the so-called ‘Corinthian War’ along with Thebes and Argos – no doubt backed by Persia, scared of the Spartan Hegemony.
On their shields is the image of Pegasus, the famous winged horse who aided Bellerophon against the Amazons and the feared Chimera. Bellerophon was a native of Corinth, grandson of the city’s founder Sisyphus.
Cretans are more renowned for their fine ranged units; but as one would expect from an island with a close connection to Sparta both in terms of military and government, Cretans can prove good fighters.
They carry the emblem of a bulls head, synonymous with Crete and its legendary King Minos.
Widely accepted as the birthplace of Aphrodite, these men bear the turtle on their shields as a symbolic reference to the Goddess of Love. The turtle also featured on many Cypriot coins.
Cyrene was originally established by colonist from Thera in 630BC. Controlling the fertile coast, they were blessed by a unique climate that allowed multiple harvests a year. Their most important crop was Silphium, a medicinal herb that grew only in that region and brought great wealth; shown by the depiction on many coins minted in Cyrene.
The image depicts Triton, a son of Poseidon and messenger of the seas; who was said to abode near Libya.
Ephesus was famous throughout the Greek World for its Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, which took 120 years to build. It was destroyed in 356BC by an individual purposely burning it to the ground; his motive was fame, so that he might be known throughout the world. The Temple burnt down on the same evening as the birth of Alexander the Great, some say that the Goddess was too busy looking over the birth of Alexander to watch over her own temple. The Temple's reconstruction was begun in 323BC.
Artemis, along with her twin brother Apollo, was widely worshipped throughout Asia Minor. Many of the city’s coins display a Bee, a symbol associated with both Gods. It is this symbol that these men adorn their shields with.
Pergamum, a powerful and rich Greek City-Kingdom, fought in the style of the Successor states – using the Macedonian Phalanx tactics. However not all were trained in this style, and not all could afford to be equipped as such. These men fight in a more old fashioned style of warfare, though they have adopted a longer spear and lighter armour. Though not on par with the Macedonian Phalanx, they can still hold a line in battle and are more than able to deal with less heavily armed opponents, such as the warriors of Galatia.
Their shield depicts Athena, who was widely worshipped in Pergamum, and who often appears on their coinage. Pergamum, though a relatively new Greek City, supported many older cities of the Greek mainland, giving offerings to temples and games; especially to the temple of Athena at Athens.
The island of Rhodes was said to be a result of the union of Helios and the nymph Rhode. Helios is depicted on many Rhodian coins and these hoplites bear the image of the God as a symbol of their city.
While the city states of Greece were faced with the threat of the mighty Persian Empire; Syracuse itself was faced with the threat of a powerful, rich and expanding Empire of its own – Carthage. Many times the armies of Carthage and the numerous nations of her empire descended upon the Sicilian Greeks, but failed to ever take Syracuse itself.
Athens, though it too held command over an empire and a great fleet, failed to defeat the Syracusans; to their ultimate downfall and against the prophetic warning of Pericles. Soon after the Peloponnesian War, in 401BC 3,000 Syracusan hoplites joined Cyrus the Younger’s ‘Army of the Ten Thousand’, the famous Persian Expedition recorded by Xenophon.
As one would expect from an illustrious city that can boast such a rich military past, Syracuse can produce fine soldiers, and have a great source of manpower and resources in Sicily. On their shield is shown the image of Arethusa, who fled to the island of Ortygia to escape the advances of the river god Alpheus.
These Hoplites show Taras, a son of Poseidon and the mythological founder of the city, riding upon a dolphin; an image to be found on the coins of the city.
Though at one point the dominant power in Magna Graecia, who viewed itself as the benefactor of all the Greek States in Italy;
282BC again called for the aid of an Epriot King - Pyrrhus of Epirus; marking the beginning of the Pyrrhic Wars.
After the annihilation of the Sicilian Expedition, and the eventual defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War, Syracuse became a strong naval power, rivalling that of Carthage. Such naval innovations as the Corvus were down to the Syracusans, and they proved themselves excellent sea-men.
They are armed primarily with a bow, but being more heavily armoured; they are more able to hold their own in close combat than other ranged units; learning their fighting skills from the confined fighting associated in naval warfare where attempts are made at boarding the enemies ships.
However, these should not be expected to fight in a main battle – they are naval units after all – but instead should fill the role of archers. Their heavy armour makes them less vulnerable to counter attack, but this also makes them slower than other ranged units; so may suffer in a prolonged skirmish, and should definitely be kept out of the way of cavalry.
They bear the Triskelion, a symbol associated with the island that was once called ‘Trinacria’; and a symbol that was often printed on the coins of the famous Agothecles.