Hoplites

Defending the Pass at the Battle of Thermopylae

What nation of Asia, did not Xerxes lead against Hellas? —Herodotus

On the Doricus, the vast Thracian plain and beach on the Aegean coast, rose a stronghold. Read more

Hoplites

Famous Military Generals: Chabrias the Athenian

On a warm summer day in the year 378 BC, a large Spartan army stood baffled on the plain of Boeotia in central Greece. Read more

Hoplites

The Athenian Soldier Versus the Spartan Hoplite

The wars fought by Sparta and Athens in the fifth century bc pitted one city-state with ancient Greece’s greatest army against one boasting her most powerful fleet. Read more

Hoplites

Vanguard of Elephants on the Hydaspes River

The Macedonian soldiers stood transfixed on the flood plain as the Pauravan army advanced toward them. The ground shook with each step the great lumbering war elephants took as they advanced toward the wide-eyed Greeks. Read more

Hoplites

Greek Triumph at Plataea

Persian King Xerxes I “The Great” was a man who liked to solicit different opinions before he made a decision on any important matter. Read more

Hoplites

The March of the 10,000 and the Battle of Cunaxa

The Greek hoplite of 401 bc was the most formidable fighting soldier of his day. Every soldier was protected by his panoply, which consisted of his shield, helmet, sword, spear, and greaves (leg guards). Read more

Hoplites

The Battle of Cunaxa and the March of the 10,000

Around 10 am on the morning of September 3, 401 bc Cyrus the Younger’s army was approaching the Babylonian village of Cunaxa, a tiny settlement not far from the Euphrates River. Read more