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Agrianian peltas.This peltast holds three javelins, one in his throwing hand and two in his pelte (shield) hand as additional ammunition.. A peltast (Ancient Greek: πελταστής, peltastes) was a type of light infantry originating in Thrace and Paeonia and named after the kind of shield he carried. [1]
Because individuals provided their own equipment, there was considerable diversity in arms and armor among the Hellenistic troops. [4] The poorest citizens, unable to afford the purchase or upkeep of military equipment, operated on the battlefield as psiloi or peltasts; fast, mobile skirmishing troops.
At Pydna, the corps fought as part of the phalanx, in which they were butchered to the last man. The Peltast corps was probably 5,000 strong, with an elite battalion of 2,000 called the agema. [1] [39] [40] The corps was probably organized into chiliarchiai and subdivided like those of the phalanx. [1] As for term Hypaspist, it still lived on ...
During the Peloponnesian War, mercenaries from Thrace and other outlying regions were hired by both sides as hoplites and peltasts. In 401 BC , many Greeks supported Cyrus the Younger in his campaign against Artaxerxes II and fought at the Battle of Cunaxa .
Pages in category "Military units and formations of the Hellenistic world" The following 21 pages are in this category, out of 21 total. This list may not reflect recent changes .
In the 4th century BC, the main type of mercenary infantry was the peltast, to the extent that this became a synonym for mercenaries in general.A few illustrations of the early 3rd century BC still show a small round pelte shield in use but by the mid-3rd century BC it has been replaced by the thyreos.
The Peltasts were assigned special missions, such as an ambush in Lycestis [17] or the storming of Cephallenia, as shock troops. [18] The elite of the Peltast corps were known as the 'Agema'. The term peltast was also used by Diodorus Siculus to describe the Iphicratean hoplite, introduced by the Athenian general Iphicrates.
Many of these would have been mercenary troops, hired from outlying regions of Greece. For instance, the Agrianes from Thrace were well-renowned peltasts, whilst Crete was famous for its archers. Since there were no decisive land-battles in the Peloponnesian War, the presence or absence of these troops was unlikely to have affected the course ...