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Hippeus
''Hippeis'' (, singular ἱππεύς, ''hippeus'') is a Greek term for cavalry. In ancient Athenian society, after the political reforms of Solon, the ''hippeus'' was the second highest of the four social classes. It was composed of men who had at least 300 medimnoi or their equivalent as yearly income. According to the Timocratic Constitution, the average citizen had a yearly income of less than 200 medimnoi. This gave the men who made 300 medimnoi the ability to purchase and maintain a war horse during their service to the state. Its counterparts were the Roman ''equites'' (equestrians) and medieval knights. Early formation In Sparta, the ''hippeus'' was the royal guard of honour. It consisted of 300 Spartan youths under the age of thirty. They would serve as heavily armed infantry soldiers in the King's bodyguard. The Athenian cavalry was formed after the Greco-Persian War in the 5th century BC; it originally consisted of 300 men and then increased to 1,200 men followin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heracles
Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through Amphitryon, Heracles receives the epithet Alcides, as "of the line of Alcaeus (mythology), Alcaeus", father of Amphitryon. Amphitryon's own, mortal son was Iphicles. He was a descendant and half-brother (as they are both sired by the god Zeus) of Perseus. He was the greatest of the Greek heroes, the ancestor of royal clans who claimed to be Heracleidae (), and a champion of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian order against chthonic monsters. In Roman mythology, Rome and the modernity, modern western world, West, he is known as Hercules, with whom the later Roman emperors, in particular Commodus and Maximian, often identified themselves. Details of his cult (religion), cult were adapted to Rome as well. Origin Many popular stories were told ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hippo-toxotai
Toxotai (; singular: , ) were Ancient Greek and Byzantine archers. During the ancient period they were armed with a short Greek bow and a short sword. They carried a little pelte (or pelta) () shield. ''Hippotoxotai'' (ἱπποτοξόται) were mounted archers and rode ahead of the cavalry. The term ''toxotes'' was used to describe the mythic Sagittarius, a legendary creature thought to be a centaur. Unlike cavalry or hoplites, toxotai tended to come from the lower classes of citizens, at least in Athens. They were viewed with prejudice by both the elite and the non-elite in Greek society, many of their contemporaries thought of them as cowards. Classical Athenians usually defined courage in terms of hoplites remaining steadfast in the face of danger, accepting the possibility of injury or death; archers never put themselves in such physical danger, and thus were not courageous. ''Toxotai'' also referred to the class of public slaves, or '' Demosioi'', also known as ''Sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sacred Band Of Thebes
The Sacred Band of Thebes (Ancient Greek: , ) was an elite heavy infantry of select soldiers, allegedly consisting of 150 pairs of Homosexuality in ancient Greece, male couples which formed the elite force of the Ancient Thebes (Boeotia), Theban army in the 4th century BC, ending Spartan domination. Its predominance began with its crucial role in the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC. It was annihilated by Philip II of Macedon in the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC), Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. Formation The earliest surviving record of the Sacred Band by name was in 324 BC, in the Attic orators, oration ''Against Demosthenes'' by the Athenian logographer Dinarchus. He mentions the Sacred Band as being led by the general Pelopidas and, alongside Epaminondas who commanded the army of Thebes (Boeotia), were responsible for the defeat of the Spartans at the decisive Battle of Leuctra (371 BC). Plutarch (46–120 AD), a native of the village of Chaeronea, is the source of the most s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thessaly
Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia (, ), and appears thus in Homer's ''Odyssey''. Thessaly Convention of Constantinople (1881), became part of the modern Greek state in 1881, after four and a half centuries of Ottoman Greece, Ottoman rule. Since 1987 it has formed one of the country's 13 Modern regions of Greece, regions and is further (since the Kallikratis reform of 2011) sub-divided into five regional units of Greece, regional units and 25 municipalities of Greece, municipalities. The capital of the region is Larissa. Thessaly lies in northern central Greece and borders the regions of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia to the north, Epirus (region), Epirus to the west, Central Greece (geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stirrup
A stirrup is a light frame or ring that holds the foot of a rider, attached to the saddle by a strap, often called a ''stirrup leather''. Stirrups are usually paired and are used to aid in mounting and as a support while using a riding animal (usually a horse or other equine, such as a mule). They greatly increase the rider's ability to stay in the saddle and control the mount, increasing the animal's usefulness to humans in areas such as communication, transportation, and warfare. In antiquity, the earliest foot supports consisted of riders placing their feet under a girth or using a simple toe loop appearing in India by the 2nd century BC. Later, a single foot support was used as a mounting aid, and paired stirrups appeared after the invention of the treed saddle. The stirrup was invented in the Chinese Jin dynasty during the 4th century, was in common use throughout China by the 5th century, and was spread across Eurasia to Europe through the nomadic peoples of Centra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Javelin
A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling (weapon), sling, bow and arrow, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with the aid of a hand-held mechanism. However, devices do exist to assist the javelin thrower in achieving greater distances, such as spear-throwers or the amentum. A warrior or soldier armed primarily with one or more javelins is a javelineer. The word javelin comes from Middle English and it derives from Old French ''javelin'', a diminutive of ''javelot'', which meant spear. The word ''javelot'' probably originated from one of the Celtic languages. Prehistory There is archaeological evidence that javelins and throwing sticks were already in use by the last phase of the Lower Paleolithic. Seven spear-like objects were found in a coal mine in the city of Schön ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lance
The English term lance is derived, via Middle English '' launce'' and Old French '' lance'', from the Latin '' lancea'', a generic term meaning a wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generic term meaning a spear">wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generic term meaning a spear or javelin employed by both infantry">spear or javelin">spear">wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generic term meaning a spear or javelin employed by both infantry and cavalry, with English initially keeping these generic meanings. It developed later into a term for spear-like weapons specially designed and modified to be part of a "weapon system" for use couched under the arm during a charge, being equipped with special features such as grappers to engage with lance rests attached to breastplates, and vamplates, small circular plates designed to prevent the hand sliding up the shaft upon impact. These specific features were in use by the beginning of the late 14th century. Though best known as a military and sporting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cuisse
Cuisses (; ; ) are a form of medieval armour worn to protect the thigh. The word is the plural of the French word ''cuisse'' meaning 'thigh'. While the skirt of a maille shirt or tassets of a cuirass could protect the upper legs from above, a thrust from below could avoid these defenses. Thus, cuisses were worn on the thighs to protect from such blows. Padded cuisses made in a similar way to a gambeson were commonly worn by knights in the 12th and 13th centuries, usually over chausses, and may have had poleyns directly attached to them. Whilst continental armours tended to have cuisses that did not protect the back of the thigh, English cuisses were typically entirely encapsulating, due to the English preference for foot combat over the mounted cavalry charges favoured by continental armies. Cuisses could also be made of brigandine or splinted leather, but beginning around 1340 they were typically made from steel plate armour. From 1370 onward they were made from a single plate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mail (armor)
Mail (sometimes spelled maille and, since the 18th century, colloquially referred to as chain mail, chainmail or chain-mail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and the 16th century AD in Europe, while it continued to be used militarily in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East as late as the 18th century. Even today it is still in use in industries such as butchery and as protection against the powerful bites of creatures such as sharks. A coat of this armour is often called a hauberk or sometimes a byrnie. History The earliest examples of surviving mail were found in the Carpathian Basin at a burial in Horný Jatov, Slovakia dated in the 3rd century BC, and in a chieftain's burial located in Ciumești, Romania. Its invention is commonly credited to the Celts, [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orient Méditerranéen De L'Empire Romain - Mosaïque Byzantine -5
The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the continent of Asia – loosely classified into Southwest Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, and sometimes including the Caucasus. Originally, the term ''Orient'' was used to designate only the Near East, but later its meaning evolved and expanded, designating also Central Asia, Southwest Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, or the Far East. The term oriental is often used to describe objects and (in a derogative manner) people coming from the Orient/eastern Asia. Etymology The term "Orient" derives from the Latin word ''oriens'', meaning "east" (lit. "rising" < ''orior'' "rise"). The use of the word for "rising" to refer to the east (where the sun rises) has analogues from many lan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mora (military Unit)
A ''mora'' ( Greek: ,. plural ''morae'') was an ancient Spartan military unit of about a tenth of the Spartan army, at approx. 600 men by modern estimates, although Xenophon places it at 6,000. This can be reconciled by the nature of the Spartan army with an organisation based on year classes, with only the younger troops being mobilised for all but the gravest emergencies. Either way, it was the largest tactical unit in Sparta, if not all Greece, and was often the only force sent out on campaign. A ''mora'' was composed typically of hoplites, men armed with spears, swords and the heavy aspis shield and armoured in a cuirass, greaves and a helmet. This equipment changed over time, with more or less armour being used over different eras. Around 227 BC, Cleomenes III re-equipped some ''morai'' with the Macedonian '' sarissa'' and trained them to fight in the Macedonian pike phalanx. The unit was led by a Polemarch, the third (or arguably second) highest rank in Spartan hiera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Talent (weight)
The talent (Ancient Greek: , ''talanton'', Latin: , Biblical Hebrew: ''kikkar'' כִּכָּר, Ugaritic: ''kkr'' (𐎋𐎋𐎗), Phoenician: ''kkr'' (𐤒𐤒𐤓), Syriac: ''kakra'' (ܟܲܟܪܵܐ),, Akkadian: ''kakkaru'' or ''gaggaru'' in the Amarna tablets, later Aramaic: ()) was a unit of weight used in the ancient world, often used for weighing gold and silver. In the Hebrew Bible, it is recorded that the gold used in the work of the sanctuary ( tabernacle), where the Ark of the Covenant was, weighed 29 talents and 730 shekels , and silver 100 talents and 1775 shekels. (1 talent=3000 shekels. ) The enormous wealth of King Solomon is described as receiving 666 gold talents a year. The talent is also mentioned in connection with other metals, ivory, and frankincense. In Homer's poems, it is always used of gold and is thought to have been quite a small weight of about , approximately the same as the later gold stater coin or Persian daric. In later times in Greece, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
