Stefane,yes I don't disagree with anything that you said but in some way I still disagree
...Yes,I had that grave stele in mind and by the way did you hear on tv that another such boeotean stele is returned in Greece from the Getti museum!!!
I'm mostly based on art for my arguement...see for example the sculptures on temples...when showing civilians they almost all wear shoes.When it comes to soldiers they're barefoot,and not only the heroic nude ones!When sculpted hoplites wear shoes they're so light sandals that the only thing that remains today is the sole(I suppose the strings were bronze or painted...).And I still don't know why you think being barefoot even in hard terrrain is not possible,the same time that even today in some places people spend their whole life barefoot.We also know that when they wanted to walk far distances they took off their sandals not to destroy the leather soles(that would be on clean roads though and not in the fields)After all humans were built to walk barefoot and not only in paved roads!
Other types of shoes were introduces after or during the Peloponnesian War when,as we all know,war changed dramatically in Greece.
Today we see scenes of war that may be inaccurate but most of us have not been in war.This was not the case in the ancient city-state,right?
Khairete
Giannis
P.S.I'm not sure about what I said about taking off their shoes when walking far distances.I think I've read it in the interpretation of a sculpture where the person has the sandals hunging one from each side of the neck.Unfortunately I can't remember more...