A
peltast (
Ancient GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
: πελταστής) was a type of
light infantryTraditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. Light infantry was distinct from medium, heavy or line infantry. Heavy infantry were dedicated primarily to fighting in tight...
in
Ancient GreeceAncient Greece is the civilisation belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the...
who often served as
skirmisherSkirmishers are infantry or cavalry soldiers stationed ahead or alongside of a larger body of friendly troops. They are usually placed in a skirmish line to either harass enemy troops or to protect their own troops from similar attacks by the enemy...
s.
Description
Peltasts carried a crescent-shaped wicker shield called
pelte (Latin:
peltarionA peltarion, pelta or pelte was a crescent-shaped wicker shield commonly used in the ancient world before the 3rd century BCE and gradually replaced in some cases with the thureos. Xenophon describes the shield as "round" but such round shields are rare in contemporary art. It could either be...
) as their main protection, hence their name. According to
AristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology.Together with Plato and Socrates , Aristotle is one of...
the pelte was rimless and covered in goat or sheep skin. Some literary sources imply that the shield could be round but in art it is usually shown as crescent shaped. It also appears in
Scythian ArtScythian art is art, primarily decorative objects, such as jewelry produced by the nomadic tribes in the area known classically as Scythia, which was centred on the Pontic-Caspian steppe and ranged from modern Kazakhstan to the Baltic coast of modern Poland and to Georgia...
and may have been a common type in central Europe. The shield could be carried with a central strap and a hand grip near the rim or with just a central hand-grip. It may also have had a carrying strap or baldric as Thracian peltasts slung their shields on their backs when evading the enemy. Peltasts' weapons consisted of several javelins, which may have had throwing straps to allow more force to be applied to a throw.
Development
In the
ArchaicThe archaic period in Greece is a period of Ancient Greek history. The term originated in the 18th century and has been standard since. This term arose from the study of Greek art, where it refers to styles mainly of surface decoration and plastique, falling in time between Geometric Art and the...
period, the Greek martial tradition had been focused almost exclusively on the heavy infantry or hoplites.
The style of fighting used by peltasts originated in
ThraceThrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded on the north by the Balkan Mountains, on the south by the Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea and on the east by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara...
and the first Greek peltasts were recruited from the Greek cities of the
ThracianThrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded on the north by the Balkan Mountains, on the south by the Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea and on the east by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara...
coast. On vases and other images they are generally depicted wearing the costume of Thrace including the distinctive
Phrygian capThe Phrygian cap is a soft, red, conical cap with the top pulled forward, worn in antiquity by the inhabitants of Phrygia, a region of central Anatolia...
. This was made of fox-skin and had ear flaps. They also usually wear patterned tunic, fawnskin boots and a long cloak called a zeira decorated with a bright, geometric, pattern. However, many
mercenaryA mercenary is a professional soldier hired by a foreign army, as opposed to a soldier enlisted in the armed forces of a sovereign state. He or she takes part in armed conflict on many different scales, and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain...
peltasts were probably recruited in Greece. Some vases have also been found showing hoplites (men wearing
Corinthian helmetThe Corinthian helmet originated in ancient Greece and took its name from the city-state of Corinth. It was a helmet made of bronze which in its later styles covered the entire head and neck, with slits for the eyes and mouth...
s,
greaveA greave is a piece of armour that protects the leg. Often in matched pairs , greaves may be constructed of materials ranging from padded cloth to steel plate...
s and
cuirassCuirass , the plate armour, is formed of a single piece of metal or other rigid material or composed of two or more pieces, which covers the front of the wearer's person...
es, holding hoplite spears) carrying peltes. Often, the mythological
AmazonsThe Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Classical and Greek mythology. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia...
(women warriors) are shown with peltast equipment.
Peltasts gradually became more important in Greek warfare, in particular during the
Peloponnesian WarThe Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 B.C., was an Ancient Greek war, fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases...
.
XenophonXenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens and Xenophon of Thebes, was a soldier, mercenary, and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
in the
AnabasisAnabasis is the most famous work of the Greek professional soldier and writer Xenophon. The journey it narrates is his best known accomplishment and "one of the great adventures in human history," as Will Durant expressed the common assessment.- The account :Xenophon accompanied the Ten Thousand,...
describes peltasts in action against Persian
cavalryCavalry were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat. Cavalry were historically the second oldest and most mobile of the combat arms...
at the
Battle of CunaxaThe Battle of Cunaxa was fought in 401 BC between Cyrus the Younger and his elder brother Arsaces, who had inherited the Persian throne as Artaxerxes II in 404 BC. The great battle of the revolt of Cyrus took place 70 km north of Babylon, at Cunaxa, on the left bank of the Euphrates River...
in 401 BCE where they were serving as part of the mercenary force of
Cyrus the YoungerCyrus the Younger, son of Darius II of Persia and Parysatis, was a Persian prince and general. The time of his birth is unknown, but he died in 401 BC. The history of Cyrus and of the retreat of the Greeks is told by Xenophon in his Anabasis. Another account, probably from Sophaenetus of...
. In [1.10.7] '
TissaphernesTissaphernes was a Persian soldier and statesman, grandson of Hydarnes.In 413 BC he was satrap of Lydia and Caria, and commander in chief of the Persian army in Asia Minor...
had not fled at the first charge (by the Greek troops), but had charged along the river through the Greek peltasts. However he did not kill a single man as he passed through. The Greeks opened their ranks (to allow the Persian cavalry through) and to proceeded to deal blows (with swords) and throw javelins at them as they went through. ' 'ho gar Tissaphernês en têi prôtêi sunodôi ouk ephugen, alla diêlase para ton potamon kata tous Hellênas peltastas: dielaunôn de katekane men oudena, diastantes d' hoi Hellênes epaion kai êkontizon autous' '.
XenophonXenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens and Xenophon of Thebes, was a soldier, mercenary, and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
's description makes it clear that these peltasts were armed with swords, as well as javelins, but not with spears. When faced with a charge from the Persian
cavalryCavalry were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat. Cavalry were historically the second oldest and most mobile of the combat arms...
they opened their ranks and allowed the cavalry through while striking them with swords and hurling javelins at them.
They became the main type of Greek mercenary infantry in the 4th century BCE. Their equipment was less expensive than traditional hoplite equipment and would have been more readily available to poorer members of society. The Athenian general
IphicratesIphicrates was an Athenian general, the son of a shoemaker, who flourished in the earlier half of the 4th century BC....
destroyed a
SpartaSparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the River Eurotas in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From c. 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars...
n
phalanxThe phalanx is a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons...
in the
Battle of LechaeumThe Battle of Lechaeum was an Athenian victory in the Corinthian War. In the battle, the Athenian general Iphicrates took advantage of the fact that a Spartan hoplite regiment operating near Corinth was moving in the open without the protection of any missile throwing troops. He decided to ambush...
in 390 BCE, using mostly peltasts. In the account of
Diodorus SiculusDiodorus Siculus , was a Greek historian who flourished in the 1st century BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doing than is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca historica...
,
IphicratesIphicrates was an Athenian general, the son of a shoemaker, who flourished in the earlier half of the 4th century BC....
is credited with re-arming his men with long spears, perhaps in around 374 BCE. This reform may have produced a type of "peltasts" armed with a small shield, a sword, and a spear instead of javelins. Some authorities, such as J.G.P. Best, state that these later "peltasts" were not truly peltasts in the traditional sense, but lightly-armored hoplites carrying the
pelte shield in conjunction with longer spears--a combination that has been interpreted as a direct ancestor to the Macedonian phalanx. However, thrusting spears are included on some illustrations of peltasts before the time of
IphicratesIphicrates was an Athenian general, the son of a shoemaker, who flourished in the earlier half of the 4th century BC....
and some peltasts may have carried them as well as javelins rather than as a replacement for them. As no battle accounts actually describe peltasts using thrusting spears it may be that they were sometimes carried by individuals by choice rather than as part of a policy or reform. The Lykian sarcophagas of Payava from about 400 BCE depicts a soldier carring a round pelte but using a thrusting spear overarm. He wears a pilos helmet with cheekpieces but no armour. His equipment therefore resembles
IphicratesIphicrates was an Athenian general, the son of a shoemaker, who flourished in the earlier half of the 4th century BC....
's supposed new troops. 4th century BCE peltasts also seem to have sometimes worn both helmets and linen armour.
Alexander the GreatAlexander III of Macedon, popularly known as Alexander the Great , was an Ancient Greek king of Macedon who created one of the largest empires in ancient history...
employed peltasts drawn from the
ThracianThe ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes who spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
tribes to the north of Macedonia, particularly the
AgrianoiThe Agrianians a Paionian-Thracian tribe, who chiefly inhabited the area of present-day Pčinja District of southern Serbia, north of the Thracian Maedi tribe, who were situated in what is now the Greek region of Macedonia and Western Thrace. In the times of Philip II, the territory of the...
. In the 3
rd century BC peltasts were gradually replaced with
thureophoroiThe Thureophoroi was a type of infantry soldier, common in the 3rd to 1st Century BCE, who carried a large oval shield called a thureos which had a type of metal strip boss and a central spine. They were armed with a long thrusting spear, javelins and a sword. They also usually wore an iron or...
. Later references to peltasts may not in fact refer to their style of equipment as the word peltast became a
synonymSynonyms are different words with identical or very similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn and onoma . The words car and automobile are synonyms...
for
mercenaryA mercenary is a professional soldier hired by a foreign army, as opposed to a soldier enlisted in the armed forces of a sovereign state. He or she takes part in armed conflict on many different scales, and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain...
.
Anatolian Peltasts
A tradition of fighting with javelins, light shield and sometimes spear existed in
AnatoliaAnatolia is a geographic region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Iranian plateau to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Aegean Sea to the west...
and several contingents armed like this appeared in Xerxes I's army which invaded
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
in 480 BC. For example the
PaphlagoniansPaphlagonia was an ancient area on the Black Sea coast of north central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus to the east, and separated from Phrygia by a prolongation to the east of the Bithynian Olympus...
and
PhrygiansIn antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
wore wicker helmets and native boots reaching half way to the knee. They carried small shields, short spears, javelins and daggers..
Peltasts in the Persian Army
In Greek depictions of Persian troops from the mid 5th century BC onwards soldiers very like peltasts begin to appear. They are equipped like
GreekGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
or
ThracianThe ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes who spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
peltasts but are dressed in a typically Persian manner. They often carry a light axe know as a saggaris as a sidearm. It has been suggested that these troops were known in
PersianPersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and to some extent in Iraq and Bahrain, and has a status of official language in the first three countries under different names...
as takabara and their shields as
taka.. The Persians may have been influenced by
GreekThe Greeks , also known as Hellenes, are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions, who can also be found in diaspora communities around the world....
or
ThracianThe ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes who spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
peltasts. Another alternative source of influence would be the native
AnatolianAnatolian means of or pertaining to Anatolia , or a person from Anatolia, including:Biology* Anatolian Black, a breed of cattle.* Anatolian buffalo, a domestic animal of Anatolia....
tradition. One source of such troops may have been hill tribes such as the
KurdsThe Kurds are an Ethnic-Iranian ethnolinguistic group mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
,
MysiansMysians were the inhabitants of Mysia, a region in northwestern Asia Minor.-Origins according to ancient authors:Their first mention is by Homer, in his list of Trojans allies in the Iliad, and according to whom the Mysians fought in the Trojan War on the side of Troy, under the command of Chromis...
or
PisidiansPisidia was a region of ancient Asia Minor located north of Lycia, and bordering Caria, Lydia, Phrygia and Pamphylia. It corresponds roughly to the modern-day province of Antalya in Turkey)...
. In
GreekGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
sources these troops are called either peltasts or
peltophoroi (bearers of pelte).
'Peltasts' in the Antigonid Army
In the Hellenistic period the Antigonid kings of Macedon had an elite corps of native Macedonian 'Peltasts'. However this force should not be confused with the skirmishing peltasts discussed earlier. The 'Peltasts' were probably, according to F.W. Walbank, about 3,000 in number, although by the
Third Macedonian WarThe Third Macedonian War was a war fought between Rome and King Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC King Philip V of Macedon died and his talented and ambitious son, Perseus, took his throne. Perseus married Laodike, daughter of King Seleucus IV Keraunos of Asia, and increased the size of his army...
this went up to 5,000 (most likely to accommodate the elite
AgemaIn ancient Macedonia, the Agema, meaning literally "the guards", were the elite guards.They were hypaspists and asthetairoi, and later argyraspids . In the eastern Diadochi States they were the infantry guards of the King...
which was a sub-unit in the 'Peltast' corps). The fact that they are always mentioned as being in their thousands suggest that in terms of organization the 'Peltats' were organized into Chiliarchies. This elite corps was most likely of the same status, of similar equipment and role as Alexander the Great's
HypaspistsA "Hypaspist" a squire, man at arms, or "shield carrier". In Homer, Deiphobos advances "ὑπασπίδια" or under cover of his shield...
. Within this corps of 'peltasts' was its elite formation, the
AgemaIn ancient Macedonia, the Agema, meaning literally "the guards", were the elite guards.They were hypaspists and asthetairoi, and later argyraspids . In the eastern Diadochi States they were the infantry guards of the King...
. These troops were used on forced marches by
Philip V of MacedonPhilip V was King of Macedon from 221 BC to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of Rome.-Early life:...
so this suggests that they were lightly equipped and mobile. However at the
battle of PydnaThe Battle of Pydna in 168 BC between Rome and the Macedonian Antigonid dynasty saw the further ascendancy of Rome in the Hellenic/Hellenistic world and the end of the Antigonid line of kings, whose power traced back to Alexander the Great.-Campaign:...
in 168 BC, Livy remarks on how the Macedonian 'Peltasts' defeated the
PaeligniThe Paeligni or Peligni were a people of ancient Italy, first mentioned as a member of a confederacy which included the Marsi, Marrucini and Vestini, with which the Romans came into conflict in the Second Samnite War, 325 BC....
and of how this shows the dangers of going directly at the front of a phalanx. Though it may seem strange for a unit that would fight in phalanx formation to be called 'peltasts', we must remember that 'pelte' would not be an inappropriate name for a Macedonian shield. They may have been similarly equipped with the Iphicratean hoplites or peltasts, as described by Diodorus.
Deployment
Peltasts were usually deployed on the flanks of the
phalanxThe phalanx is a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons...
providing a link with any
cavalryCavalry were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat. Cavalry were historically the second oldest and most mobile of the combat arms...
or in rough or broken ground. For example in the Hellenica [3.2.16]
XenophonXenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens and Xenophon of Thebes, was a soldier, mercenary, and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
writes 'When Dercylidas learned this (that a Persian army was nearby), he ordered his officers to form their men in line, eight ranks deep (the
hopliteA hoplite was a citizen-soldier of the Ancient Greek City-states. They were primarily armed as spear-men and fought in a phalanx formation. The word hoplite A hoplite was a citizen-soldier of the Ancient Greek City-states. They were primarily armed as spear-men and fought in a phalanx formation....
phalanxThe phalanx is a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons...
), as quickly as possible, and to station the peltasts on either wing along with the cavalry.' 'hôs de tauta êistheto ho Derkulidas, tois men taxiarchois kai tois lochagois eipe paratattesthai tên tachistên eis oktô, tous de peltastas epi ta kraspeda hekaterôthen kathistasthai kai tous hippeas, hosous ge dê kai hoious etunchanen echôn: autos de ethueto.'. They could also operate in support of other light troops such as archers and slingers.
Tactics
When faced by hoplites peltasts operated by throwing javelins at short range. If the hoplites charged they would flee. As they carried considerably lighter equipment than the hoplites they were usually able to evade successfully especially in difficult terrain. They would then return to the attack once the pursuit ended, if possible taking advantage of any disorder created in the hoplites' ranks. At the
Battle of SphacteriaThe Battle of Sphacteria was a land battle of the Peloponnesian War, fought in 425 BC between Athens and Sparta. It resulted from the failure of peace negotiations after the earlier Battle of Pylos...
the Athenian forces included 800 archers and at least 800 Peltests.
ThucydidesThucydides was a Greek historian and author of the History of the Peloponnesian War, which recounts the 5th century B.C. war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 B.C...
in the
History of the Peloponnesian WarThe History of the Peloponnesian War is an account of the Peloponnesian War in Ancient Greece, fought between the Peloponnesian League and the Delian League . It was written by Thucydides, an Athenian general who served in the war. It is widely considered a classic and regarded as one of the...
[4.33] writes 'They (the
SpartanSparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the River Eurotas in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From c. 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars...
hoplites) themselves were held up by the weapons shot at them from both flanks by the light troops.....Though they (the hoplites) drove back the light troops at any point in which they ran in and approached too closely, they (the light troops) still fought back even in retreat, since they had no heavy equipment and could easily outdistance their pursuers over ground where, since the place had been uninhabited until then, the going was rough and difficult and where the Spartans in their heavy armour could not press their pursuit.'
'hoi de peri ton Epitadan kai hoper ên pleiston tôn en têi nêsôi, hôs eidon to te prôton phulaktêrion diephtharmenon kai straton sphisin epionta, xunetaxanto kai tois hoplitais tôn Athênaiôn epêisan, boulomenoi es cheiras elthein: ex enantias gar houtoi katheistêkesan, ek plagiou de hoi psiloi kai kata nôtou. tois men oun hoplitais ouk edunêthêsan prosmeixai oude têi spheterai empeiriai chrêsasthai: hoi gar psiloi hekaterôthen ballontes eirgon, kai hama ekeinoi ouk antepêisan, all' hêsuchazon: tous de psilous, hêi malista autois epitheontes proskeointo, etrepon, kai hoi hupostrephontes êmunonto, anthrôpoi kouphôs te eskeuasmenoi kai prolambanontes rhaidiôs tês phugês chôriôn te chalepotêti kai hupo tês prin erêmias tracheôn ontôn, en hois hoi Lakedaimonioi ouk edunanto diôkein hopla echontes.'
When fighting other types of light troops, peltasts were able to close more aggressively as in melee they had the advantage of possessing shields, swords and helmets.