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Dark Age Warfare
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I've been reading Men of Bronze: Hoplite Warfare in Ancient Greece lately and its made me wonder about Dark Age warfare, especially the sources. The contributors universally talk about the duels between the aristocrats. Nowhere is there any mention of the possibility of massed warfare. However, massed warfare in the Dark Age would seem to fit the mold well. The contributors to the book accept that the Iliad is at least partially a reflection of contemporary reality, and there is much massed combat within that poem. Many of the contributors even believe that, while the focus of the poem is on the heroes, it is the nameless masses that are the real drivers of combat. In addition, previously existing massed warfare would solve the chicken and egg problem that much of the hoplite panoply (especially the Corinthian helmet) was created for massed combat rather than individual duels. However, the possibility of the phalanx being a simple evolution of previous Dark Age combat rather than an entirely new formation is not considered within the book. So what are our sources for Dark Age warfare that have caused scholars to not even consider the possibility of massed combat during the Greek Dark Age?

Ethan
Ethan
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Messages In This Thread
Dark Age Warfare - by The Imperator - 06-27-2016, 07:48 PM
RE: Dark Age Warfare - by Dan Howard - 06-27-2016, 11:39 PM
RE: Dark Age Warfare - by Dikaiopolis - 07-19-2016, 05:22 PM

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