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Late Spartans
#1
Did late 4th century and onward Spartans change from the red chiton, Pylos helmeted soldiers of the Peloponessian wars into the heavily armoured Phrygian helmeted phalangites like other city-states?

The only reason I feel that they wouldn't have is because of expenses, but Spartan population was declining, so I don't think it would have been an enormous problem. If they stayed lightly armoured, what advantage would they have over their better armoured enemies?
[Image: parsiaqj0.png]
[size=92:7tw9zbc0]- Bonnie Lawson: proudly Manx.[/size]
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#2
I think you are right. I put the question to a keen wargamer friend who is interested in obscure facts about Hellenistic armies and he sent this reply: " By this time the Spartans had experienced a significant period of population decline and unlike armies of earlier periods, Sparta has to rely upon greater numbers of mercenaries. Unlike other Hellenistic Greek forces the Spartans did not make the gradual change from hoplite to pike armed phalangite with an intermediate period of thureophoroi. Rather the Spartan citizens converted directly from hoplite to pike armed phalanx. Spartiates, periocoi and emancipated helots by this time only contributed about 50% of a Spartan army. The rest were made up of mercenaries with subsidies supplied by Ptolemy Euergetes II. "

I have seen no images so I can't tell you what their helmets or shields were like.

Some Reading
Cartledge, P. Hellenistic and Roman Sparta: A tale of two cities, London, Routledge, 1989.
David, E. Sparta between empire and revolution (404-243 BC): Internal problems and their impact on contemporary Greek consciousness, New York, Arno Press, 1981.
Forrest, W.G.G. A history of Sparta 950-192 BC, 2nd ed., London, Duckworth, 1980.
Fuks, A, 'The Spartan citizen-body in mid-third Century BC and its Enlargement Proposed by Agis IV,' Athenaeum 40, pp. 244-63.
Lazenby, J.F. The Spartan army, Warminster, Aris & Phillips, 1985.
Mossé, C. "Women in the Spartan Revolutions of the Third Century B.C.," in Women's History and Ancient History edited by S. Pomeroy (1991) 138-153
Sekunda, N. "Hellenistic warfare", in Warfare in the ancient world, Hacket, J. (Ed.), London, Guild Publishing, 1989
Peter Raftos
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#3
I would also recommend :

Agesilaos and the Crisis of Sparta (Paperback)
by Paul Cartledge
Tot ziens.
Geert S. (Sol Invicto Comiti)
Imperator Caesar divi Marci Antonini Pii Germanici Sarmatici ½filius divi Commodi frater divi Antonini Pii nepos divi Hadriani pronepos divi Traiani Parthici abnepos divi Nervae adnepos Lucius Septimius Severus Pius Pertinax Augustus Arabicus ½Adiabenicus Parthicus maximus pontifex maximus
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#4
The Spartans were force to convert from spears to pikes when the Acheans, their main enemies of the time converted. Navis was the guy who completed the reformsa of Agis and Cleomenes. Consider that at a time they were close allied with the Ptolemaics and receiving military aid from them that their equipment must have reflected this.
If we take into account that at the Roman period Karakalla had Lakones among his guards then there must have been Spartans in Pretorian Attire.

Kind regards
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#5
Thank you for your replies. Smile

I'll have to pick up some of those books next time I'm shopping.
[Image: parsiaqj0.png]
[size=92:7tw9zbc0]- Bonnie Lawson: proudly Manx.[/size]
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