08-15-2010, 08:13 PM
Quote:I wonder, did Peltasts ever equip the Rhomphaia, or was that generally used by a different type of foot soldier?
As far as I am aware, there is no rhomphaia which is dated earlier than the second half of the 4th c. BC, and the traditional peltast with the crescent pelte, fox-skin cap, zeira, and distinctive boots had disappeared by that point already. The Kazanluk and Alexandrovo wall paintings, which date to before or around the time of the first rhomphaias, show that Thracian soldiers then were largely hellenized as far as costume is concerned and carried oval, bronze-faced, rimless shields. Unfortunately, I've not been able to find a lot of published information on the contexts in which the dozen or so rhompaiai which have turned up were found, but the one example which came from a warrior's burial was found alongside a Phrygian helmet with a few javelinheads, IIRC.
Ruben
He had with him the selfsame rifle you see with him now, all mounted in german silver and the name that he\'d give it set with silver wire under the checkpiece in latin: Et In Arcadia Ego. Common enough for a man to name his gun. His is the first and only ever I seen with an inscription from the classics. - Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
He had with him the selfsame rifle you see with him now, all mounted in german silver and the name that he\'d give it set with silver wire under the checkpiece in latin: Et In Arcadia Ego. Common enough for a man to name his gun. His is the first and only ever I seen with an inscription from the classics. - Cormac McCarthy, Blood Meridian
