The Makedonian phalanx -- why such depth?

[Paullus Scipio]

Paralus wrote:

Paullus Scipio wrote:
This is simply a "chicken and egg" translation problem. The word used is 'hyp-aspist'=shield -bearer, not the generic word for 'servant'...there are over 40 words in the ancient Greek lexicon for, or that relate, to 'servant', but "hyp-aspist" is not one of them ! The translator in this case simply did not want to sound clumsy by the more literal; “shield bearer”

If the fellow described in Anabasis is not a slave then you are suggesting he is a paid free man whose task it is to carry Xenophon’s arms?

...you seem to have misinterpreted what I wrote.........I said nothing of whether 'Hypaspist' was free or slave or helot, merely that the word referred specifically to 'shield-bearer', and not generic 'servant'.

All describe a person performing the duty of the “squire” (for want of a better word).

I wrote:

'Hypaspist' means specifically shield-bearer, sometimes in the sense of 'squire', not generic 'servant'.....

We are in broad agreement, I see..... :wink: D