Minion Monday: The Hoplite
For today, the first Minion Monday, I thought I'd talk about Greek hoplites - the standard Greek infantry of the Hellenistic period, and, consequently, one of the standard minion types available in Demigod.
Hoplites were the most common type of foot-soldiers in from the 7th to about the 4th century BCE. Any ordinary male citizen of the Greek city-states who had sufficient means (that is, the money to pay for it) was expected to provide his own equipment - at minimum, a spear and a shield.
All of the Greek city-states had some system of compulsory military service. Athens required all 18-20 year-olds to serve, while Sparta required all male citizens over the age of 20 to be part of the standing army. Thebes had its Sacred Band - an elite force of the Theban army comprised of 150 pairs of male lovers who swore to defend each other to the death.
All Greek hoplites were armed with an 8-foot long wooden spear known as a doru or dory and a ~3-foot, deeply-dished wooden shield known as an aspis.
Protection came in a variety of forms: leather-lined bronze helmets; a bronze, leather, or linen breastplate (linothorax); and bronze graves to protect the shins.
Hoplites were organized into regiments (lokhoi) of several hundred men each. Each lokhoi fought in ranks eight or more men deep (known as a phalanx), the first rank of which was known as the promachos line. Phalanxes stood in close ranks, with half of the shield of one man protecting his neighbor on his left side.
This meant that phalanxes often moved forward at a right angle - each man seeking to keep behind the shield of his neighbor. The result was that the right flank, which was unshielded, broke first. Competent commanders kept their best troops on their right flank to avoid this, and it was also the flank that was attacked first by cavalry and other units.
Greek hoplites advanced at a walk, usually accompanied by drumming or warcries. Once they engaged the enemy, the hoplites would thrust their spears over-arm (to get over the enemy armor), after which the lines would push and shove against each other or draw swords for close-quarter fighting. The engagement would end when one side broke ranks and retreated.
How Do Hoplites Function In Demigod?
Hoplites in Demigod are some of your best infantry minions. Their Combat of 3 means that they will win a fight more often than not, especially against weaker opponents like hypaspists (to be covered in a future article). Being equipped with a spear means that they will push back opponents 3" versus the standard inch - perfect for getting out of combat or allowing an archer to line up a shot.
However, all of this comes at a cost - the hoplite's large aspis shield means that he moves a little slower than heavily-armed opponents - all things to keep in mind when choosing your minions!
