Description
These Hoplites represent a picked group of the most able and audacious men Pergamon has on offer. Philetairos, the founder of the Attalid dynasty, made best use of Seleukos’ treasury – which he was meant to guard! – to provide them with the finest possible equipment. Protected by muscle cuirasses or linothorakes with pteryges, greaves and colourful Thraco-Phrygian or Phrygian helmets, these Hoplites will be able to hold the line long after lesser troops have had to sound the retreat. Armed with a classic, round aspis shield, a dory-type spear, as well as a xiphos sword for close combat, Pergamene hoplites are a valuable asset on the field of battle.
Historical background
Pergamon was founded in the 5th century BC, but only gained prominence during the Hellenistic period, when it became the capital of the Attalid dynasty. Philetairos (343 BC – 263 BC), the founder of the dynasty, utilized the rivalry between the successors of Alexander the Great to his utmost advantage. Having initially served under Antigonos I Monophthalmos in Phrygia, in 302 BC he betrayed his former overlord to serve his rival Lysimachos, instead. The latter entrusted him with the fortress of Pergamon, holding a treasure of some 9,000 talents at the time. In 282 BC, Philetairos repeated his old trick, now transferring his allegiance to Seleukos I, who allowed him an unprecedented measure of independence, due in large part to being based further away in Syria. Philetairos had one shortcoming: he lacked a son to succeed him. In order to prevent his dynasty from ending before it had well established itself as an independent power in Asia Minor, he adopted his nephew, Eumenes I (d. 241 BC), as his son and successor. In 262 BC, Philetairos defeated the army of Antiochos I near Sardis in Lydia, thereby establishing Pergamon as an independent kingdom for his dynasty. Under the Attalids, the city became a leading centre of Greek civilization (Britannica, ‘Pergamum’; ‘Philetaerus’; ‘Eumenes I’).
Griffith (Mercenaries, 1935, pp. 171-176) argues how, in times of war, Pergamene citizens fought in the field army. Inscriptions in honour of the garrison of Lilaia in Phokis, sent by Attalos I around 209-208 BC, attest a military unit of Pergamene citizens serving alongside Mysians and other Greek mercenaries. Pergamene citizens might also have moved abroad to fight against Nabis between 195 and 192 BC. Lacking any real evidence about their equipment, in RIS we have opted to depict them as somewhat old-fashioned but – thanks to the treasure usurped by the Attalids – lavishly equipped Hoplites. Even if archaic, such heavily armoured citizens remained a useful asset on the battlefield well into Hellenistic times.
