From the beginning of Greek times warfare was a large part of Greece and its society. Some of the major changes in warfare were weapons and armor used by Greek soldiers. In early times, Greek soldiers fought individually and were not fitted with advanced protection. They would usually be wearing a simple helmet that would protect most of their face, as well as a hard leather breastplate. The soldier's weapons included a spear which was a hardened piece of wood with a sharp bronze tip. Spears were generally the height of the warrior and were best for close range combat. However, the spears could sometimes reach up to twenty feet long. Another common weapon of the Greek warrior was the sword which tended to be three feet long and was not practical weapons on the battlefield. Part of the Greek military included a group of archers who carried basic bows and arrows. All of these weapons however were not efficient enough to be effective on the battlefield.
As time went on, the Greek military structure started to advance and the equipment began to change drastically. The new type of soldier the Greeks used in battle was known as a Hoplite. Unlike the early soldiers, the Hoplites fought in a formation called the Phalanx in which the soldiers fought as a group instead of by themselves. In the Phalanx, warriors would line up in a square formation and use their shields to guard the person to their left. This way, all of the men will be protected and the formation would be difficult to penetrate. The Hoplite had arms that were far greater than the early Greek soldier. The Hoplite was equipped with a javelin, a much shorter and lighter spear. The javelin was an ideal throwing weapon. It had a soft iron tip which helped to penetrate armor more easily making it possible to kill enemies at a faster rate. The Hoplite also had a bronze shield called a hoplon which was large enough to cover a soldier from the neck to the knee. He also wore a bronze breastplate, bronze leggings, and the bronze Corinthian Greek. Another weapon the Hoplite may have carried was the gladius which was a small, maneuverable sword. One of the other major changes in warfare was the invention and introduction of mechanical artillery. The crossbow which replaced the bow, was much more effective at penetrating armor. It allowed soldiers to stay at a range but still have an affect on the battle. Herodotus said, “When the Persians fired their bows they hid the sun with their arrows.” This shows that ranged weaponry was an important aspect of war. Horses were also introduced into battle around 400 B.C. Types of horse soldiers were the horse archers and the chariots. These mounted units allowed soldiers to travel distances more quickly and also catch up to their enemies.
Throughout Greece, most of the cities had the same type of military. However Sparta revolved around military and were the most advanced in all of Greece. The Spartan society had a remarkably strong military because Spartan men were trained from birth to be tough warriors. The Spartan training involved competitions, beatings, stealing and fighting which prepared the boys for war. Spartans were so focused on training that they spent almost no time on regular Greek education. Lykourgos himself said, “They learned reading and writing for basic needs, but all the rest of their education was to make them well-disciplined and steadfast in hardship and victorious in battle.” (These Were the Greeks H.D. Amos pg. 51) In addition to the fact that Spartans were military based, more time was spent on making better armor, weapons and battle plans. This allowed Sparta to have more warfare benefits than anyone at that time. Because of this, Spartans were the most military strong city in Greece.
In Greek times, warfare represented the government of the city states. If the city was without a military, they would undoubtedly fall. The army's would then reflect greatly on the society it is protecting. If the military of city state was weak, it would reveal that the city it is fighting for wasn't governed well. Not only did the troops reflect the society, they also reflected the governmental leader and the politics. If a city's ruler led a weak army, the people of the city may go against the ruler and overthrow him.
