Gortynian Hoplites

Description

These Hoplites are the citizens of Gortyn, the greatest city of Crete. Like their forebears centuries ago, they still go to war in muscle cuirasses with belly plates and bronze greaves. Either pilos helmets or more elaborate Attic helmets protect their heads, and finely woven cloaks hang from their shoulders. The Gortynian Hoplites fight in the classical phalanx with spear and sword, and their great, round aspis shields protect them against missiles as well as in melee.

Historical background

The Archaeological Museum of Heraklion has a series of grave stelae from the ancient Cretan city of Prinias or Rhizinia, which was located ca. 25 km north of Gortyn. They all show hoplites in their complete panoply, with crested helmets, round shields, spears, and swords. These stelae, which the author of these lines saw with his own eyes, are among the earliest attestations of Greek Hoplites (cf. Pautasso, Prinias I (2023), p. 212). Finkelstein (The Philistines in the Bible (2002)) suggested that Cretan hoplites served as mercenaries together with Carians, Ionians and Lydians in the Saite army in 7th and 6th century BC Philistia, and this would likely have included men from Gortyn. Such an idea is partly based on the 6th century BC “Spear Song”, a drinking song by the Cretan Hybrias, who boasts to be carrying sword, spear, and shield – so at least back then, many Cretans fought as hoplites (PMG 909). In the Classical period, a bronze plaque from the sanctuary of Hermes at Syma Viannou shows another hoplite, probably from Lyttos, which controlled this sacred place (Chaniotis, Heiligtum und Stadtgemeinde (2001), pp. 324-325). Finally, in the Hellenistic period, we find an epitaph from Gaza, written in elegiac form for a late Cretan mercenary named Charmadas, describing how his home town Anōpolis in southwest Crete was subdued by its enemies (Gortynians?) by spears (SEG 8.269, ll. ll–12). Other grave inscriptions from the Hellenistic period also mention spears as a Cretan weapon (cf. IC I 16.48 + SEG 28.479 = EHC 15; IC II 23.22; III 4.39) and young citizens in Gortyn and elsewhere trained in para-military agelai (“herds”), where they learned to fight in the phalanx (Chrimes, Ancient Sparta (1999), pp. 224-226).

Despite the popular impression that all Cretans fought as archers, there is therefore no doubt that many were actually hoplites. These Gortynian Hoplites differ from most Greek hoplites in that they are using so-called belly-plates, additional bronze armour above the belly and, you know. Several of these have been found around Gortyn and are on display in the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion (again, you have to trust the eyewitness). They are often decorated with two pegasi, and so are those in RIS. While the belly-plates are mostly dated to the Archaic period, the description implies they were kept for generations, and Crete was a wild place, where many archaic traditions survived well into the Hellenistic period. The Diagramma, for instance, a letter which had fallen out of use in most of the Greek world by the Classic era, was still being used in Crete until the mid 2nd century BC (Chaniotis, Verträge zwischen kretischen Poleis (1996), p. 213). That the ephebes were still organised in the aforementioned Agelai was also exceptional and based on similarly archaic practices (Chanitios, Age of Conquest (2018), p. 331). Therefore, we have given the Gortynian Hoplites this extra protection, which makes them more unique and represents the peculiarity of ancient Crete.

Stats

Weapons

Defence

Condition and terrain

In battle: Can sap · Very good stamina

Who can recruit it

A core roster unit for one faction, which can raise it anywhere it holds the right building:

Gortyn

Any faction holding one of the provinces below can field it.

Areas of recruitment