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Marathon 2011
Thanks for posting the images, Giannis. If any more become available, please post or link to them; I'd love to see them.
Cheryl Boeckmann
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Looks like it was a great event! Thank you for the pictures and videos. Congratulations!
André
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I'm home from Marathon....

Several people have asked for an event report. I'll try and tinker one together, but I think Giannis and I will say the same thing--we were working too hard to remember the details.

Still, here's some data that folks have requested.

Contingents (by nationality of origin, not by group name)I may have the number wrong and invite others to update me!

Italy - 9 hoplites, 1 woman

Spain - 5 hoplites

France - 4 hoplites

UK I believe the Hoplite Association had 14 overall military impressions. They provided the essential Persian command structure as well as several hoplites and peltasts. Also several excellent female personas.

Greece - Two organizations, 9 hoplites each, Sunday only. And Giannis, of course, (but for complex reasons, I'm counting him with the Plataeans).

Canada/USA/Greece - (All Plataeans, he said proudly) 23 overall, with 16 military impressions and seven women and children.

Australia - Both groups represented--Sydney Ancients and Melbourne Ancients. Seven military impressions.

So that totals 80 hoplite impressions overall. Sadly--or not sadly--we never got all of them together at once. The Hoplite Association and four Plataeans were Persians nearly all the time... the two larger Greek groups were only present on Sunday,and the Italians were NOT present on Sunday, so we never quite got the whole mass out at once. Still...

Our best Persian force was Sunday's,and I think had sixteen. Word to the wise--we need Persians, Saka, Scythian, and Egyptian impressions for the upcoming 2019 and 2020 actions. And Thracians, etc... We're thinking of suggesting that every hoplite have an alternative Persian/Imperial kit.

We fought an action each day, with live archery and some very limited hand-to-hand between consenting adults. It all went well. Thanks to the UK Hoplite Association for their archery organization, soup to nuts. They have figured out a way to do it that is safe and effective. The "battles" highlighted some kit problems; as an organizer, I felt that there was a distinct difference between some of the commercially available helmets and other gear, and the better stuff--the better made stuff was safer and easier to wear and stood up to being used. These are issues long since addressed in other periods--helmets need to fit well; so do greaves.

We also marched 2.5 kilometers each day to the trophy of Marathon, where we did a ceremony. We did not carry all our kit--most hoplites went in armour but had their slaves (cars) take their helmets and aspides. Many hoplites did at least one march in full kit, though. In Greece, under that sun, on the very ground--it was a useful kit test, and it wasn't really very hard. We had no sun stroke and no heat casualties, which, I feel, reflects well on the organizers. Big Grin

The camps were, to me, the very best part. The Italians, french, Canadians, and UK groups all had period tentage, spread over a couple of acres, with sixty people camping, and the result was, I felt, very authentic. It was, I felt, a great loss to the spirit of the event that we could not have fires or even lamps in the camp--usually, darkness hides the worst failures of a period camp and enhances the best parts, but we were denied that. Still--it looked great, and I saw one gentleman from the American School of Archaeology photographing our cook area while enthusing to a student... so someone liked it...

The groups present decided at our victory dinner to start an organization to promote future events. We'll post more on RAT. We also intend to do this same event in three years, so please all of you who missed it, start preparing. the groundwork is laid--it will be at least 50% easier next time. So get to making kit, and don't forget to bring an Imperial impression as well as a Hellenic one...

On to Marathon 2014!
Qui plus fait, miex vault.
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Sounds interesting! :grin:
Visne partem mei capere? Comminus agamus! * Me semper rogo, Quid faceret Iulius Caesar? * Confidence is a good thing! Overconfidence is too much of a good thing.
[b]Legio XIIII GMV. (Q. Magivs)RMRS Remember Atuatuca! Vengence will be ours!
Titus Flavius Germanus
Batavian Coh I
Byron Angel
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Well said by Christian. Only thing to add, that Giannis wasn't the only Greek-Plataean in the event. Kostas and Giorgos were the other two Greeks that took part in the whole event,and they belong in neither of the Greek-based groups.
Khairete
Giannis
Giannis K. Hoplite
a.k.a.:Giannis Kadoglou
a.k.a.:Thorax
[Image: -side-1.gif]
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I would never forget either of the noble Plataeans, Kostas and Giorgos!
Qui plus fait, miex vault.
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I'm sure many of you have trawled facebook and seen pictures, but here's a couple of my favorites.

[Image: 305327_10150308922269781_130567249780_76...0419_n.jpg]

and my favorite "Heroes of Marathon" shot

[Image: 303217_2170827944986_1075360206_32501757...3253_n.jpg]
Qui plus fait, miex vault.
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Rats. The dread "red x". Facebook, Flickr, and all other "social" sites are blocked here at work. Any chance of attaching the pics? Maybe a new Marathon pics thread. I love looking at the images.

Thanks.
Cheryl Boeckmann
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Quote:I'm sure many of you have trawled facebook and seen pictures, but here's a couple of my favorites.
Very nice pictures!
Robert Vermaat
MODERATOR
FECTIO Late Romans
THE CAUSE OF WAR MUST BE JUST
(Maurikios-Strategikon, book VIII.2: Maxim 12)
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I put up some of the best--all taken from friends and professionals--on a different thread under Greek Reenacting.
Qui plus fait, miex vault.
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Really looked like an amazing event!
And glad no one was thrown in jail!
The most amazing collection of hoplites i have ever seen!
You really pulled it of gentlemen!
The pictures are really inspiring!
Visne partem mei capere? Comminus agamus! * Me semper rogo, Quid faceret Iulius Caesar? * Confidence is a good thing! Overconfidence is too much of a good thing.
[b]Legio XIIII GMV. (Q. Magivs)RMRS Remember Atuatuca! Vengence will be ours!
Titus Flavius Germanus
Batavian Coh I
Byron Angel
Reply
Quote:And glad no one was thrown in jail!
Indeed. Big Grin Did the authorities trouble you in any way? I know you could not do everything you planned, but there were no bothersome incidents involving any unknowing civil servants?
Robert Vermaat
MODERATOR
FECTIO Late Romans
THE CAUSE OF WAR MUST BE JUST
(Maurikios-Strategikon, book VIII.2: Maxim 12)
Reply
We had no trouble with the civil authorities. In fact, after some initial and rather eventful misunderstandings that featured me and Giannis undergoing fairly hostile interrogation by the town authorities... oh, what fun that was... anyway, after that,w e got increasing cooperation from the town--starting slowly, but as the event went on, more warmth, more responsiveness, and more fresh water... We went from hesitant toleration to genuine acceptance (and even some hero worship) which was lovely.

I'm a veteran military officer and sometime member of the US military's NCIS, and I played both cards early and often with some success with the local firemen. My friends Jevon and Derek (both have badges) did the same or similar. I think it helped--it certainly didn't hinder. But we never had a problem about, say, weapons or armour.

On balance, the fears of the local authorities came down to just two things--ancient religion, and fires. The fear in Greece of an sudden outbreak of pagan religion is--well, you have to see it to believe it. And truth to tell, we saw that they have reasons for their fears, in the establishment. Not from the reenactors, though...

Fires were a bigger issue. the fear of fire is real, and based entirely on fact, unlike the religious problem. We were camped in a very, very valuable resource--the beach park at Schinias, with magnificent old trees. They would have burned like torches had we screwed up, and as a responsible adult, I could totally understand the hesitation of the security services and the town at letting us build fires. They don't know how much we train for this in North America; they only know that if we prove to be yaboes, their beautiful forest will burn. So we spent a fair amount of time on that subject, nearly every day.
Qui plus fait, miex vault.
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Very glad to hear that!
Greece is a wondeful place, and the people can be amazing.
They can be very tolerant, which some people abuse.
But I am glad you were able to win them around!
I have wanted to see and do something like this for a while and it is great to see
people doing it! i very much want to see this for myself now!
The whole image created by you can only be a good thing for reenacting in Greece, and world wide!
Right on! Smile

During the fires in 2007, my family in the Peloponese lost both homes and farm, when the village burned with the rest of the country that year. So I understand their fear.
Visne partem mei capere? Comminus agamus! * Me semper rogo, Quid faceret Iulius Caesar? * Confidence is a good thing! Overconfidence is too much of a good thing.
[b]Legio XIIII GMV. (Q. Magivs)RMRS Remember Atuatuca! Vengence will be ours!
Titus Flavius Germanus
Batavian Coh I
Byron Angel
Reply
Khaire,
I just wanted to come on here and say that we have officially started planning for Marathon 2014. Although it will not be a "big anniversary," we are using it as a springboard for Thermopylae, Salamis, and Plataea at the end of the decade.
On May 5th and 6th, we'll be meeting with officials from the Town of Marathon and also with members of the Ephorates towards all this planning. It is our goal to have 300 Hoplites and 50-100 Persian (and allied) impressions at Marathon 2014. We already have commitments that will vastly increase the Army of the Great King...
I expect we will look at the weekend of September 6-7 2014 as our target date--but I can also guarantee that it's too early to say for sure.
All of us who did Marathon 2011 have formed an association to move this forward, and we look forward to being joined by other groups who weren't able to make the last occasion. At the same time, we also hope that groups that concentrate on Roman reenacting might consider doing a second impression. We have a unique opportunity over the next ten years to recreate a pivotal moment in the history of the West--really, of the world--a clash of rival civilizations that allows for victories and defeats by BOTH sides and some really good, authentic reenacting on original sites and with the support of both local and international communities.
We're already aware of two good quality Persian groups forming--one in Europe and one in the US--my own group is working on an alternate impression as Egyptian Marines; there are Scythians, both mounted and dismounted, and Thracians.

Exciting times. Hope you are interested. Please contact me or Giannis if you are.
Qui plus fait, miex vault.
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