Welcome to Historical Tidbit Thursdays. For the next few weeks, we'll follow the timeline presented in the book, "A History of Weaponry" by John O'Bryan. Last week and this week we took a look at Ancient Weapons. This week we're zooming in on the Greek military improvements.
Phalanx - Typical warfare in this period consisted of soldiers standing in simple lines, but the Greeks improved upon this with the concept of the Phalanx whereby several rows of infantrymen formed a symmetrical square. Their shields (aspises) touched each other to form a sort of wall against enemy javelins. They held their spears erect and moved toward the enemy as one intimidating unit.
Dory - A six to ten foot long spear with a butt spike (also known as a lizard killer) which was used if the front tip broke or could be driven into the ground for extra bracing strength as the enemy charged.
Sarissa - Around 359 BC, the Greeks phased out the dory for a longer spear of twelve to eighteen feet in length (talk about cumbersome) and had to be gripped with two hands.
Ballistae - Dionysius the Elder guided the design of an early catapult around 400 BC which more resembled a giant crossbow. Greeks would improve upon the design by adding a new technology - the torsion spring. The tension energy would be stored in the large twisted coils and could launch bigger or heavier projectiles.
Aspis (or Hoplon) - Large bronze-plated oval shield that weighed about sixteen to eighteen pounds used by the Greek phalanx
Source:
A History of Weaponry by John O'Bryan; ISBN#978-1-4521-1054-7
Photo Credit: Phalanx - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalanx
Photo Credit: Dory - https://greekweaponsandarmour.weebly.com/spear.html
Photo Credit: Catapult - http://www.legionxxiv.org/ballista.htm
Photo Credit: Aspis - https://www.moddb.com/mods/rome-at-war2/images/etruscan-aspis
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