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Document Details :

Title: From Horsemen to Hoplites
Subtitle: Some Remarks on Archaic Greek Warfare
Author(s): BROUWERS, J.J.
Journal: BABESCH
Volume: 82    Issue: 2   Date: 2007   
Pages: 305-319
DOI: 10.2143/BAB.82.2.2020779

Abstract :
In the present article, I argue that the horse was originally an integral part of the accoutrement of the heavy-armed warrior (the so-called ‘hoplite’). In particular, I draw attention to the double-grip or Argive shield. I attempt to demonstrate that this type of shield was specifically developed for use by men who rode to the battlefield on horseback, the so-called hippobatai. As such, this article resurrects a hypothesis originally suggested by Detienne in 1968, namely that the hoplites of the Classical period find their origins in the mounted infantry of the Archaic age.

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