Hoplite Greek (550-225)

Greek Hoplite armies were found not only in mainland Greece, but among the Greek colonies of Italy and Sicily, the so-called Magna Graeca. They were also widespread as mercenaries, employed in vast numbers in Persia and Egypt. Hoplite armies appeared in the 7th century BC, and this fighting system lasted until the 3rd century, gradually rendered obsolete by the widespread introduction of the Macedonian-style pike phalanx. Some Tarentine hoplites were re-armed as pikemen by Pyrrhus in -275 and presumably fully adopted this fighting style in the following decades. Thebes no longer used hoplites as of -250. Sparta clung on to this military tradition until circa -225.

Hoplites

Asides from two units of Tyrant' Bodyguards wearing metal cuirasses, the remaining units have linen cuirasses with pteruges.  Their helmets are a mix of various types, with the more recent versions placing them in the late 5th and 4th centuries BC.

Peltasts

The peltasts of Thracia, named after their crescent-shaped wicker shield, the pelta, led to Greek states adopting similar light-medium infantry. Armed with javelins, they could hassle the enemy but also chase off skirmishers. In the early 4th century, the Athenian general Iphikrates is credited with rearming his peltasts with a 12-14ft long spear, providing them with a small round shield, and training them to fight in phalanxes. The "Iphikratean peltast" is thus a light hoplite. It is believed by some that this type of cheaper to equip hoplite then became predominant on the battlefield, before hoplite warfare died out altogether.

Psiloi
All Greek armies had large quantities of javelin-, bow- and sling-armed light troops. They were often unwilling conscripts.

Some nations, however, and in particular Crete, provided excellent skirmish troops, serving as mercenaries throughout the Greek world and beyond.

 

Cavalry

Light, javelin-armed cavalry were drawn from, or copied on, the northern realms, such as Thessaly and Thracia. The Athenians also had a corps of mounted archers.  The Italian Greeks,beginning with the city of Tarentine, relied on such horsemen.

All Greek armies possessed a corps of heavy cavalry, recruited among the wealthiest members of the community. Greek cavalry was typically unshielded, until the influence of Tarentum in the late 4th century.

Artillery

Artillery was rarely used in the field. One notable exception is the Phokian artillery in the army that ambushed and defeated Phillip II in 355 BC.