[lit-ideas] Re: Glory [Greek stature]
- From: Robert Paul <rpaul@xxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 06 Dec 2007 19:18:39 -0800
David Ritchie wrote:
I'm annoyed that I haven't been able to put my hands on the right
information, but I can at least make things more complicated for you.
There is no "Greek weaponry" or "Greek armor." These things changed
over time and from place to place.
Yes. Some of the changes though can be (roughly) assigned a date, e.g.,
the introduction of the phalanx, the hoplon shield (whence 'hoplite')
and so on.
The other issue is whether any weapon or armor put before you is representative.
If we only knew the dimensions of the user or wearer, the problem would
be dissolved. I'll bet though that the phalanx tactic assumed a body of
men of (again roughly) the same stature.
re hoplites
'A citizen-soldier of the cities of ancient Greece. Each man had to
provide his own formidable armour (Greek, hopla) – 2.7-m (9-feet) spear,
short sword, large round shield, breastplate, and greaves (shin-pads).
They fought in the close-packed phalanx formation, and were extremely
effective when operating in the plains of Greece. However, over rough
terrain they were vulnerable to fast-moving light infantry. The
professional hoplites of Sparta were pre-eminent in classical times
until their defeat by the Thebans in 371 BC.'
[Oxford reference online]
I found this site of interest
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/shefton-museum/greeks/armour.html
Well *someone [knows]*. There have surely been enough bones excavated for
us to be able to answer the question. If I had a subscription to
Archeology Today, we'd probably know the answer.
Possibly. But I've put as many of the search terms as I can think of
into JSTOR, which sorts through over twenty archaeological journals and
as many anthropological ones and found no joy. I did turn up a note on
Greek Dwarfs, in the American Journal of Archaeology, 1984.
I think our next move is to organize a lit-ideas dig for next autumn.
Robert Paul
David Ritchie,
Portland, Oregon
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