Pentakosiarch ( gr, πεντακοσιάρχης, pentakosiarches; in

Modern Greek Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the ...

usually πεντακοσίαρχος, ''pentakosiarchos''), meaning "commander of 500". is a Greek military rank.

Antiquity

It was first adopted in the

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

of the

Army of Macedon An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

(cf.

Aelianus Tacticus Aelianus Tacticus ( grc-gre, Αἰλιανὸς ὀ Τακτικός; fl. 2nd century AD), also known as Aelian (), was a Greek military writer who lived in Rome. Work Aelian's military treatise in fifty-three chapters on the tactics of the Gree ...

and

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

, ''Life of Alexander'', 76). The pentakosiarch commanded a pentakosiarchy (πεντακοσιαρχία, ''pentakosiarchia'') of 512 men, composed of two '' syntagmata'' of 256. Two pentakosiarchies in turn formed a chiliarchy and were commanded by a

chiliarch Chiliarch is a military rank dating back to antiquity. Originally denoting the commander of a unit of about one thousand men (a chiliarchy) in the Macedonian army, it was subsequently used as a Greek translation of a Persian officer who functioned ...

. During the time of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

, selection of the ''pentakosiarch'' was based on merit. An account, for instance, described a contest of valor at Sittakene for

hypaspists A hypaspist ( el, Ὑπασπιστής "shield bearer" or "shield covered") is a squire, man at arms, or "shield carrier". In Homer, Deiphobos advances "" () or under cover of his shield. By the time of Herodotus (426 BC), the word had come ...

where six ''pentakosiarch'' and three ''chiliarch'' were selected. In the Roman army, the equivalent of ''pentakosiarch'' was the ''primicerius'', who led 512 men.

Modern Greece

The rank was revived for the irregular forces of the Greek rebels during the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

(1821–1829). On 14 December 1868, a Royal Decree authorized the creation of thirty 'independent pentakosiarchies of volunteer light infantry' () for the

Greek Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the ...

, intended to serve as a

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. Numbered consecutively from 1 to 30, each was in turn composed of four hecatontarchies of 150 soldiers and 10 officers and NCOs each. With the pentakosiarchy commander and six other soldiers, including a flag-bearer, each pentakosiarchy numbered a total of 647 men.Royal Decree of 14 December 1868, published i
ΦΕΚ 62/1868
/ref>

References

Military ranks of Greece Ancient Greek military terminology Military ranks of ancient Macedon {{mil-hist-stub