Hector fell in the dust and Achilles shouted out in triumph: ‘While you were despoiling Patroclus, no doubt, in your folly, you thought yourself quite safe, Hector, and forgot all about me in my absence. There, as Hector charged at him, noble Achilles aimed his ash spear, and drove its heavy bronze blade clean through the tender neck, though without cutting the windpipe or robbing Hector of the power of speech. Now, the fine bronze armour he stripped from mighty Patroclus when he killed him covered all Hector’s flesh except for one opening at the throat, where the collarbones knit neck and shoulders, and violent death may come most swiftly. Bright as the Evening Star that floats among the midnight constellations, set there the loveliest jewel in the sky, gleamed the tip of Achilles sharp spear brandished in his right hand, as he sought to work evil on noble Hector, searching for the likeliest place to land a blow on his fair flesh. Achilles ran to meet him heart filled with savage power, covering his chest with his great, skilfully worked shield, while above his gleaming helm with its four ridges waved the golden plumes Hephaestus placed thickly at its crest. So Hector swooped, brandishing his keen blade. His secondary armament was a double-sided, leaf-shaped slashing sword of about 60 cm length.‘…With this, he drew the sharp blade at his side, a powerful longsword, and gathering his limbs together swooped like a high-soaring eagle that falls to earth from the dark clouds to seize a sick lamb or a cowering hare. The hoplite’s principal armament was a thrusting-spear between 2 and 3m in length, with a long, leaf-shaped iron blade at the top, and a spiked iron butt at the bottom. Weighing perhaps 7 kilos, the shield was held using an arm-band combined with a hand-grip. The round hoplite shield, which had a convex shape and could be up to a metre across, comprised a core formed of wooden strips covered by an outer plate of bronze. Leg, arm, and sometimes hand and foot guards were very much the exception. Body-armour was of bronze for those who could afford it, typically in the form of a muscled cuirass, but most men seem to have made do with the linen cuirass, a stiff shirt, and shoulder plates, all formed of many layers of linen glued together. The helmet was surmounted by a crest of dyed horse-hair. The most popular was the Corinthian helmet, which covered the whole of the head, leaving only the eyes, nose, and mouth clear. Hoplite helmets were made of bronze in a variety of designs. Most would have had some form of body-armour, and some may have had greaves on the lower legs, and perhaps a guard for the right arm and hand. Each, though, would have had the basics of helmet, shield, spear, and sword. There was therefore no official uniform or standardised equipment, and the appearance of a hoplite phalanx would have varied from man to man. Items of equipment were almost certainly passed down the family line and replaced only when necessary. The panoply – the full set of arms and armour – was expensive. Roughly a third, mainly formed of prosperous peasant-farmers, were deemed rich enough to equip themselves to fight as hoplites – heavy infantry – in the phalanx. Men were ranked by wealth, and their service obligation reflected their resources. The Athenian Army was a city-state militia in which every able-bodied, adult, male citizen was obliged to serve. Shield: between 80cm and 1m in diameter, and formed of bronze facing, wooden core, and leather lining, plus armband, handgrip, and other internal fittings.Greaves (optional): muscled lower-leg guards of bronze, flexible enough to clip on and off.with face enclosed by cheek-pieces and nose-guard, with dyed horse-hair crest, and head protection from leather lining or woollen cap. Sword: about 60cm in length, double-edged and leaf-shaped.Long thrusting-spear: between 2 and 3m in length, with leaf-shaped iron blade and pointed iron butt.Linen corselet: layers of linen glued together to a thickness of about 5mm to form a series of strips and plates held together with straps and ties.Shield design: either individually chosen or representing clan, neighbourhood, or tribe.In pitched battle, the army formed a single phalanx of 10,000 men, a kilometre wide, eight ranks deep, protected by a wall of overlapping shields with a hedge of spear-blades projecting above.
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