Macedonian Phalanx Illustration

[Tarbicus]

So you do support the idea that blue represents iron in these paintings?

I'm coming to that opinion, I must admit, and maybe I was too definite in that last post. But I can see the case for both painted and reflection. Why would a bucket be painted blue in real life? Maybe to protect it from rust, and there was a very cheap blue paint?

What concerns me is whether the artists would be conscious of the blue reflection given to iron when painting a depiction. Why not just grey which we see even today so many times when armour is illustrated? They had the black and the white pigments to mix. I don't know enough about ancient Greek practices in art to say yes or no, to be honest.

[MeinPanzer]

So you do support the idea that blue represents iron in these paintings?

I'm coming to that opinion, I must admit, and maybe I was too definite in that last post. But I can see the case for both painted and reflection. Why would a bucket be painted blue in real life? Maybe to protect it from rust, and there was a very cheap blue paint?

What concerns me is whether the artists would be conscious of the blue reflection given to iron when painting a depiction. Why not just grey which we see even today so many times when armour is illustrated? They had the black and the white pigments to mix. I don't know enough about ancient Greek practices in art to say yes or no, to be honest.

There are also a few problems with it being reflections. First of all, at this point it doesn't appear that artists endeavoured to produce any fancier lighting effects than basic shading. They also certainly didn't make an effort to give the impression of reflection on other shiny white or grey objects.

Also, the scene in which the man carries a blue pale is set at night - all the men carry torches with them on their way to a symposion (which is the next scene).

[Ross Cowan]

Another of Johnny's fearsome phalangites can be found enhancing the plates section of my 'For the Glory of Rome: A History of Warriors and Warfare'.

I was struggling to find a suitable phalanx/phalangite illustration to complement the chapter about the Pyrrhic War, but I saw some of Johnny's other work here on RAT and contacted him about the possibility of working on an illustration for the book. No sooner had I asked, and it was done! Now 'Glory' features a splendid reconstruction of a sarissa-wielding phalangite, illustrating perfectly why the legionaries sustained such a mauling at the battles of Heraclea and Ausculum.

(This is veering off-topic, but special thanks also Graham Sumner and Jim 'Tarbicus' Bowers for their excellent illustrations .)

Cheers,

R!

[hoplite14gr]

Ruben I found the article in the old magazine.
They quote Appian and Polybios about the Bythinians in Nicoplolis (47 BC) but they are not specific.
Kind regards

[MeinPanzer]

Ruben I found the article in the old magazine.
They quote Appian and Polybios about the Bythinians in Nicoplolis (47 BC) but they are not specific.
Kind regards

Thanks Stefanos, I'll make sure to check it out.

[D B Campbell]

They quote Appian and Polybios about the Bythinians in Nicoplolis (47 BC) but they are not specific.

For the battle of Nicopolis (47 BC), see [Caes.], BAlex. 36-41 (no mention of phalanx or pikes, as far as I can see).

(I don't think Appian records the battle of Nicopolis, does he? And Polybius, of course, was long dead by 47 BC.)

[MeinPanzer]

They quote Appian and Polybios about the Bythinians in Nicoplolis (47 BC) but they are not specific.

For the battle of Nicopolis (47 BC), see [Caes.], BAlex. 36-41 (no mention of phalanx or pikes, as far as I can see).

(I don't think Appian records the battle of Nicopolis, does he? And Polybius, of course, was long dead by 47 BC.)

Yep, I checked them out yesterday. Appian doesn't even mention the battle, but only briefly talks about Mithridates' final battle in a roundabout way, while Polybius cuts off his coverage at 146 BC (as you say, he obviously couldn't be writing in the first century BC...). Plutarch mentions it, but in his coverage no Bithynians and no phalanxes are mentioned.