Cretan Archers

[PMBardunias]

Any opinions on why the bow survived as a traditional weapon in Crete, but not in similar mountainous regions in mainland Greece, such as the fringes of southern Laconia?

[Marcvs75]

Cities and countries began more and more to rely on mercenaries and Cretan archers were considered elite mercenaries. Many Cretans could make a good living serving as bowmen abroad. So future generations of Cretans may chose to specialize them self as bowmen for good pay and make use of their good reputation.

In mainland Greece the slinger and javelin was more in use. Cheaper and easier to handle. Both were deadly weapons, especially the slinger.

Crete as being an island with commercial ties throughout the Mediterranean were sooner influenced By eastern folk who brought in the bow.

All these are pure speculations on my part

[hoplite14gr]

Composite bows were known in the Bronze Age. The art died of in Mainland Greece but in Crete it somehow survived.

Cretans lived most months of the year in the mountains with their herds.
Modern sheperds still live that way. The mountain is hardly suitable for the heavily armored warrior.

Most conflicts were about animal theft. It is still an issue there.
Thought the phalanx existed and there were some conflicts in the plains much fighting was done in tough terrain so the bow had its use among not helity armored mountain dwellers.

Archers are useful also on ships and Cretans like all islanders were chiefly mariners.

Kind regards

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

However,as far as I remember,Homer doesn't imply anywhere that Cretans were good archers,does he?

[hoplite14gr]

Meriones - follower of Idomeneas king of Crete is the epitome of a good marksman. Homer bothers more with Idomeneas and close combat but archers existed.
Kind regards

[PMBardunias]

Cretans lived most months of the year in the mountains with their herds. Modern sheperds still live that way. The mountain is hardly suitable for the heavily armored warrior.

Hey Stephanos, This is why it suprises me that the composite bow was not used in the Mani- where until recently the type of hill fighting you describe was a common fact of life. They often referred to their sons as "guns" into the modern era, so I wondered why not "bows" in the ancient.

Why the composite bow survived at all also interests me. Do we know who made these? It is not an easy process and I had always assumed that in the Bronze age the use of composite bows was a privaledge of the upper class.

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

I had always assumed that in the Bronze age the use of composite bows was a privaledge of the upper class.

Why would that be? OK with bronze armor and boar tusk helmets that were expensive to find and make. But the composite bow was consisted of materials easy available to the lower class farmers. Wood,sinew,horn...
Khaire
Giannis

[hoplite14gr]

Remember most sources reflect the prejudice of upper class city-gentlemen.
Therfore they wrote about urbanized Cretans but theydid not care much to write about what they percieved as uncouth peasants.

Each of us had his full with a set of tasks to fulfil a project.
In Classic Cret a part of this tasks would be to make a bow.
We talk of argrarian famnilies where time wa snot runnig as fast as in our time and every family member who could walk and talk was a pair of working hands. So as Yannis said, they had materials and they could spend time making things.

Also in Mani this type of fighting appeared at Byzantine era and developed to counter Franks Albanians and Turks.
In ancient time the Spartan used the "perioikoi" status as a trump card.
If you were a peasant archer or slinger you could trade animal products of your herd with an agricultural kleros. Why risk looting them.
Remeber it was a cattle-sutling issue that started the 1st Messenian War.

In Crete every hillock was occupied by a Doran free family (that means armed) and when thing went tough with the opposite hillock weapons solved the issue. And of course urban folk didn´t care much.

Kind regards