10-14-2007, 07:41 AM
Hello,
as always, Duncan Heads book "Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars" is a very good source to get an impression and a lot of stalwart facts (p. 114 in this case). Nick Secundas books about the later reformed Seleucid and Ptolemaic armies of the 2nd c. BC also show a lot of them, together with sources.
Unfortunately vase pictures went out of mode in the 3rd c. BC but some grave stelae exist which show thureophoroi. You can perhaps imagine as a "norm" a soldier with a typical coloured (f.e. red, rose, white, yellow, light blue etc.) knee-length chiton with short sleeves or, more common, false sleeves, with a Hellenistic Macedonian Thrakian type helmet, an oval thureos shield of a size of about 85 cm x 45 cm to 100 cm x 50 cm (or even bigger), a straight multi-purpose sword, 2 or 3 javelins and a medium sized spear of the dory type. Boots (plain leather boots or strapped sandal boots with leather or linen socks inside, covering the ankle or reaching to the mid calf) seemed to be common, only few warriors are shown barefoot (contrary to earlier hoplites)
Wether they were "peltasts" in the older sense, namely pure missile troops with javelins, is doubtful. There are some pictures which show thureophoroi bearing spears together with javelins. Perhaps pure javelin troops also existed (I believe so).
The pilos helmet would be a bit outdated in the 3rd c. BC but not impossible. I just recently saw a grave stelae in the museum in Sirakusa of about 300 BC (of a cavalryman) in which an assisting infantry soldier is shown with a pilos helmet with cheek pieces.
The mosaic Giannis mentioned is perhaps that from Praenestum in Italy from the early 1st c. BC? Look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile_mosaic_of_Palestrina
It is argued a lot because some people identify the soldiers as Roman legionaries or praetorianians in Egypt. If so, it would be very strange Roman soldiers. I believe that Ptolemaic Hellenistic soldiers are shown, copied from a earlier Greek antetype. The shown soldiers in the lower left corner could give an image of thureophoroi and thorakitai (armoured soldiers).
I hope you will continue your plan to re-enact such a soldier. It is a very interesting time and the Greeks need manpower all the time.
as always, Duncan Heads book "Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars" is a very good source to get an impression and a lot of stalwart facts (p. 114 in this case). Nick Secundas books about the later reformed Seleucid and Ptolemaic armies of the 2nd c. BC also show a lot of them, together with sources.
Unfortunately vase pictures went out of mode in the 3rd c. BC but some grave stelae exist which show thureophoroi. You can perhaps imagine as a "norm" a soldier with a typical coloured (f.e. red, rose, white, yellow, light blue etc.) knee-length chiton with short sleeves or, more common, false sleeves, with a Hellenistic Macedonian Thrakian type helmet, an oval thureos shield of a size of about 85 cm x 45 cm to 100 cm x 50 cm (or even bigger), a straight multi-purpose sword, 2 or 3 javelins and a medium sized spear of the dory type. Boots (plain leather boots or strapped sandal boots with leather or linen socks inside, covering the ankle or reaching to the mid calf) seemed to be common, only few warriors are shown barefoot (contrary to earlier hoplites)
Wether they were "peltasts" in the older sense, namely pure missile troops with javelins, is doubtful. There are some pictures which show thureophoroi bearing spears together with javelins. Perhaps pure javelin troops also existed (I believe so).
The pilos helmet would be a bit outdated in the 3rd c. BC but not impossible. I just recently saw a grave stelae in the museum in Sirakusa of about 300 BC (of a cavalryman) in which an assisting infantry soldier is shown with a pilos helmet with cheek pieces.
The mosaic Giannis mentioned is perhaps that from Praenestum in Italy from the early 1st c. BC? Look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile_mosaic_of_Palestrina
It is argued a lot because some people identify the soldiers as Roman legionaries or praetorianians in Egypt. If so, it would be very strange Roman soldiers. I believe that Ptolemaic Hellenistic soldiers are shown, copied from a earlier Greek antetype. The shown soldiers in the lower left corner could give an image of thureophoroi and thorakitai (armoured soldiers).
I hope you will continue your plan to re-enact such a soldier. It is a very interesting time and the Greeks need manpower all the time.
Wolfgang Zeiler
