Achaian Slingers

Description

One of the classic weapons of Achaia was the sling. The beaches of the Corinthian Gulf provided stones in abundance so that the training of slingers was easy and convenient. Consequently, the Achaians were among the best slingers in the ancient world. Only protected by small, round Pelte shields and a Petasos hat, these slingers rely on their speed, agility and precision. The triple straps of their slings give them additional stability which helps them to aim at specific body parts of their opponents even from great distances. The Achaian Slingers are available both as citizens and mercenaries.

Historical background

Before the Hellenistic period, the Achaian League had never been a major player in Greek politics. Though the confederation was already established by the middle of the 5th century, the poleis of Achaia were small and insignificant. Its function was thus mainly ritual and it regulated the religious cults of the region. The main deity of this part of the Northern Peloponnese was Zeus Homarios, whose temple in Aigion served as the central meeting place for the members of the confederation. During the Peloponnesian War, some of them were forced to support the Lakedaimonians and the Peloponnesian League, but they never played a very active role. In 371 BC, a massive earthquake shocked the region and caused a tsunami which rolled over Helike, at that moment the leading city-state of Achaia. Its complete destruction further diminished the League’s political and military significance.

When Philip II reached for hegemony over Greece, the Achaians nevertheless supported Athens and the Boiotian League in their resistance (Dem. On the Crown, XVIII, 237). After the alliance was defeated at Chaironeia in 338 BC, Philip did not dissolve the League (as is popularly claimed) since we know from Hypereides I, 18 that it was still in existence in 324 BC. However, after the death of Alexander, one of the diadochi did indeed dissolve it as Polybios, who was himself cavalry commander (Hipparchos) of the League, attests (Polyb. II, 40, 5). The end of the confederation brought conflict to this region of Greece, as its cities could now fight against each other. It therefore only took the Achaians a few decades to re-establish their organization. After all, thanks to the small size of the poleis and their democratic constitutions, Achaia had always been one of the most peaceful areas of the Hellenic world.

In 281/280 BC, the western Achaian poleis Tritaia, Dyme, Pharai and Patrai (which took the leading position) set up a new Achaian League (Polyb. II, 41). In the 270s, they managed to either convince or force the pro-Macedonian tyrants of Aigion, Bura, Karyneia, Lention, Aigeira and Pellene to abdicate. In supporting Pyrrhos of Epeiros and subsequently joining Athens, Sparta and the Ptolemaic Empire in the Chremonidean War (267-261 BC) against Antigonid Macedon, they soon became a bigger player on the international stage than they had ever been before.

The new situation resulted in an increased need for soldiers. Though the Achaians would soon adopt contemporary equipment such as the Thureos shield and later on the Sarissa, its army originally still fought in the traditional ways. One of the classic weapons of Achaia was the sling. The beaches of the Corinthian Gulf provided stones in abundance so that the training of slingers was easy and convenient (Kern, Ancient Siege Warfare 1999, p. 275). Other hilly areas of Western Greece such as Akarnania, Aitolia or Elis had similar traditions (Ashley, Macedonian Empire 2004, p. 48), but the Achaians were especially renowned. It will suffice to quote the words of Livy, who was probably following Polybios:

"A hundred slingers were recruited from Aigion and Patrai and Dyme. These peoples were trained from boyhood, in accordance with a tradition of the race, in hurling with a sling at the open sea the round stones which, mingled with the sand, generally strew the coasts. [5] In consequence they use this weapon at longer range, with greater accuracy and with more powerful effect than the Balearic slinger. [6] Moreover, the sling is not composed of a single strap, like those of the Baleares and other peoples, but the bullet-carrier is triple, strengthened with numerous seams, that the missile may not fly out at random, from the pliancy of the strap at the moment of discharge, but, seated firmly while being whirled, may be shot out as if from a bow-string. [7] Having been trained to shoot through rings of moderate circumference from long distances, they would wound not merely the heads of their enemies but any part of the face at which they might have aimed.” (Liv. XXXVIII, 29, 4-7)

As they were among the best slingers of the ancient world, it is no surprise that the Achaians were also used as mercenaries. The men described by Livy above were recruited by the Romans to assist them in their siege of Same in the Ionian Sea, and Philip V of Macedon had 300 Achaian Slingers in his army in 219 BC (Polyb. IV, 61, 2; Walbank, Philip V 2013, p. 38). Though some of these were certainly allies, Achaian Hoplites were also often recruited as mercenaries and there may have been more instances of Achaian Slingers in foreign armies than we securely know of.