09-18-2010, 01:35 AM
Folks,
Since my last posting I've had time to decompress by both reading the thread in it's entirety and gathering with a couple of my closest friends (Christian and Aurora) to conduct a few further experiments. One of the results of that is that I have an ice pack on my face as I type this, but more on that later. I'm going to respond in sections as this will progress more naturally in that fashion.
*** The Classical Stance ***
When I used the term "classical" stance, I am referring to a stance for pushing consistent with the descriptions of Arrian in Tact. 16.13-14, where he tells us that men don't stand shoulders square to front, but rather pushes on the shoulder and the side of the man in front of him. This is also consistent with Xenophon's Cyropaedia, where he tells us in 7.1.33 that the Egyptian's shields are an aid to pushing when set on the shoulder.
When this is combined with the many images and figures of hoplites, a stance with the hips anywhere from 45 to 90 degrees off of the line of the shield would appear to be consistent, and satisfy Arrian and Xenophon.
Thus, the pushing stance looks much like this:
[attachment=1:3fwks02o]<!-- ia1 Othismos - Classical.JPG<!-- ia1 [/attachment:3fwks02o]
Christian, Aurora, and I all tried it out, and while as an inveterate fencer he tends to adopt a 90 degree stance, while Aurora and I tend more to the 45 degree range, all of us were able to exert forward pressure against a fixed object (a wall) despite the difference . As we exerted that pressure the shield was pushed back from the more commonly seen shield square across the front guards we see on vases, where the shield is angle out from the body at the bottom, until it was pushed back into our leg. So, there were in effect 4 points of contact: our shoulders, our elbow, hand, and thigh.
*** Combining Pushing in the "Classical" Stance ***
If Arrian and Xenophon are correct, and the art representative, we should be able to combine our pushing efforts in this stance.
First Christian put his aspis to my side and shoulder and pushed as hard as he could. I could feel the increased pressure in my shoulder and my thigh as I was driven harder against the wall. However, the convex surface of the aspis nestled so perfectly into the curvature of my side above the hip that there was no rotational pressure at all; the additional force was being transferred directly through my body to my shoulder, while the counterpressure of my leg kept the shield from rolling under. Finally Aurora joined the file, and added her not inconsiderable strength to the press. The pressure on my shoulder and thigh increased even further, and the lead aspides literally groaned aloud under the strain. Throughout this, neither Christian or I felt the least pressure driving our bodies to rotate square to the fore.
*** Conclusion: Pushing from Classical Sources ***
Based on this, I am comfortable concluding that the method for collective pushing that can be derived from Arrian and Xenophon and classical imagery is a functional method for delivering addition force. In addition, one of the arguments against, namely that the pressure from behind must drive the body square to fore does not appear to be borne out by experiment. Rather, the convex outside face of the aspis fits neatly into the curvature of the body in this stance, and force is directed straight through to the lead shoulder. Pressure on the face of the shield does cause the bottom lip to the aspis to be pushed back, but it makes contact with the thigh when it is perpendicular. Its my feeling that this allows the force generated by an individual hoplite's efforts to be be delivered straight ahead. When many individuals are combined in a file pushing creaties an additive effect that produces a significant force because it is all directed in a line parallel to the ground, as shown in the following diagram:
[attachment=0:3fwks02o]<!-- ia0 Classical Othismos File - Arrow.JPG<!-- ia0 [/attachment:3fwks02o]
Since my last posting I've had time to decompress by both reading the thread in it's entirety and gathering with a couple of my closest friends (Christian and Aurora) to conduct a few further experiments. One of the results of that is that I have an ice pack on my face as I type this, but more on that later. I'm going to respond in sections as this will progress more naturally in that fashion.
*** The Classical Stance ***
When I used the term "classical" stance, I am referring to a stance for pushing consistent with the descriptions of Arrian in Tact. 16.13-14, where he tells us that men don't stand shoulders square to front, but rather pushes on the shoulder and the side of the man in front of him. This is also consistent with Xenophon's Cyropaedia, where he tells us in 7.1.33 that the Egyptian's shields are an aid to pushing when set on the shoulder.
When this is combined with the many images and figures of hoplites, a stance with the hips anywhere from 45 to 90 degrees off of the line of the shield would appear to be consistent, and satisfy Arrian and Xenophon.
Thus, the pushing stance looks much like this:
[attachment=1:3fwks02o]<!-- ia1 Othismos - Classical.JPG<!-- ia1 [/attachment:3fwks02o]
Christian, Aurora, and I all tried it out, and while as an inveterate fencer he tends to adopt a 90 degree stance, while Aurora and I tend more to the 45 degree range, all of us were able to exert forward pressure against a fixed object (a wall) despite the difference . As we exerted that pressure the shield was pushed back from the more commonly seen shield square across the front guards we see on vases, where the shield is angle out from the body at the bottom, until it was pushed back into our leg. So, there were in effect 4 points of contact: our shoulders, our elbow, hand, and thigh.
*** Combining Pushing in the "Classical" Stance ***
If Arrian and Xenophon are correct, and the art representative, we should be able to combine our pushing efforts in this stance.
First Christian put his aspis to my side and shoulder and pushed as hard as he could. I could feel the increased pressure in my shoulder and my thigh as I was driven harder against the wall. However, the convex surface of the aspis nestled so perfectly into the curvature of my side above the hip that there was no rotational pressure at all; the additional force was being transferred directly through my body to my shoulder, while the counterpressure of my leg kept the shield from rolling under. Finally Aurora joined the file, and added her not inconsiderable strength to the press. The pressure on my shoulder and thigh increased even further, and the lead aspides literally groaned aloud under the strain. Throughout this, neither Christian or I felt the least pressure driving our bodies to rotate square to the fore.
*** Conclusion: Pushing from Classical Sources ***
Based on this, I am comfortable concluding that the method for collective pushing that can be derived from Arrian and Xenophon and classical imagery is a functional method for delivering addition force. In addition, one of the arguments against, namely that the pressure from behind must drive the body square to fore does not appear to be borne out by experiment. Rather, the convex outside face of the aspis fits neatly into the curvature of the body in this stance, and force is directed straight through to the lead shoulder. Pressure on the face of the shield does cause the bottom lip to the aspis to be pushed back, but it makes contact with the thigh when it is perpendicular. Its my feeling that this allows the force generated by an individual hoplite's efforts to be be delivered straight ahead. When many individuals are combined in a file pushing creaties an additive effect that produces a significant force because it is all directed in a line parallel to the ground, as shown in the following diagram:
[attachment=0:3fwks02o]<!-- ia0 Classical Othismos File - Arrow.JPG<!-- ia0 [/attachment:3fwks02o]
Cole
