τοῖς δὲ εἴδεσιν [ἣτε]g πεζικὴ διακόσμησις πολυμερής ἐστι καὶ ἡ ἱππική. ἡ γὰρ τῶν ἐλεφάντων μονοειδής ἐστι καὶ ἡ τῶν ἁρμάτων. ἡ μὲν οὖν πεζικὴ σύνταξις τριχῇ διῄρηται. ἡ μὲν γάρ ἐστιν ὁπλιτῶν, ἡ δὲ πελταστῶν, τρίτη δὲ ψιλῶν. καὶ [τὸ]h μὲν τῶν ὁπλιτῶν βαρυτάτῃ παρὰ πάντας τοὺς πεζοὺς κέχρηται καθοπλίσει κατὰ τὸν Μακεδονικὸν τρόπον, ἀσπίσι περιφερέσι καὶ δόρασι περιμηκεστέροις. τὸ δὲ τῶν ψιλῶν πάντων κουφοτάτῃ κέχρηται παρασκευῇ, μήτε θώρακας ἔχεῖ, μήτε προκνημῖδας, μήτε θυρεοὺς ἢ ἀσπίδας βαρείας, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἑκηβόλοις χρώμενον τοξεύμασιν [ἢ]i ἀκοντίοις, ἢ λίθοις ἐκ σφενδόνης ἢ ἐκ χειρός. εἰς τοῦτο δὲ τὸ γένος καὶ τὸ [τοῦ ἀργίλου]j ὅπλον κατατάττεται [καὶ στολὰς ἀντὶ θώρακος. τὸ δὲ τῶν πελταστῶν]k καὶ αὐτὸ μὲν ἔχει τὸν ὁπλισμὸν ἐμφερῆ τῇ Μακεδονικῇ [παρασκευῇ],l κουφότερον δὲ ἐκείνης τὸν καθοπλισμόν. τούτοις γαρ πέλτης μικρόν ἐστι καὶ ἐλαφρὸν ὅπλον καὶ τὰ δόρατα πολὺ τῶν [σαρισσῶν]m [μεγέθει]n λειπόμενα. δοκεῖ δ’ [τούτων ἡ]o ὅπλισις μέσην ἔχειν τάξιν τῶν ψιλῶν καὶ τῶν ἰδίως λεγομένων ὁπλιτῶν, βαρυτέρα μὲν οὖσα τῶν ψιλῶν, κουφοτέρα δὲ τῶν ὁπλιτῶν. διὸ καὶ οἱ [πλείους καὶ]p τούτους μετὰ τῶν ψιλῶν [συντάττουσιν].q
τῆς δ’ ἱππικῆς δυνάμεως, ἣν ἐχωρίσαμεν ἀπὸ [τῆς]r τῶν ἁρμάτων, ἐν ταῖς [ἴλαις]s κατατασσομένης ἡ μέν ἐστι κατάφρακτος, ἡ [δέ]t οὐ κατάφρακτος. κατάφρακτος μὲν ἡ τούς [τε]u ἵππους καὶ τοὺς ἄνδρας θώραξι πάντοθεν σκέπουσα. τῶν δὲ μὴ καταφράκτων οἱ μέν εἰσι δορατοφόροι, οἱ δὲ ἀκροβολισταί. δορατοφόροι μὲν οὖν εἰσιν οἱ ἀπὸ τῶν ἵππων τοῖς πολεμίοις συμπλεκόμενοι καὶ πλησίον δόρασι μαχόμενοι. τούτων δὲ οἱ μὲν θυρεοὺς ἔχουσι καὶ καλοῦνται θυρεοφόροι, οἱ δὲ χωρὶς θυρεῶν [αὐτῶν]v μόνον δόρασι μάχονται, οἳ καὶ ἰδίως δορατοφόροι καλοῦνται, ὑπ’ ἐνίων δὲ [ξυστοφόροι].w ἀκροβολισταὶ δὲ τῶν ἱππέων λέγονται οἱ πόρρωθεν βάλλοντες. τούτων δὲ οἱ μὲν δορατίοις χρῶνται, οἱ δὲ τόξοις. καὶ δορατίοις μὲν οἱ καλούμενοι Ταραντῖνοι. τῶν δὲ Ταραντίνων δύο εἰσὶ διαφοραί. οἱ μὲν γὰρ [τοῖς]x δορατίοις πόρρωθεν βάλλοντες [ὑποκοντισταὶ]y καλοῦνται [καὶ]z ἰδίως [δὲ]aa Ταραντῖνοι λεγόμενοι. τινὲς δὲ τῶν Ταραντίνων ἐλαφροῖς δορατίοις χρῶνται, [ἅπαξ τὲ]ab ἢ δὶς προεξακοντίσαντες τὸ λοιπὸν συμπλέκονται τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐγγύθεν ἀπομαχόμενοι παραπλησίως τοῖς [ειρημένοις]ac δορατοφόροις. οὗτοι δὲ καλοῦνται ἐλαφροί. [ὥς τε τῶν Ταραντίνων τοῦς μὲν ἰδίως καλεῖσθαι Ταραντίνους πόρρωθεν [ἀκοντίζονται].ad τοῦς δὲ ἐλαφροὺς λέγεσθαι, τοῦς πλησίον μαχομένους].ae οἱ δὲ τῶν ἱππέων τόξοις χρώμενοι ἱπποτοξόται λέγονται, ὑπ’ ἐνίων δὲ Σκύθαι.
τοσαῦται μὲν οὖν εἰσι τῶν ἐν τοῖς στρατοπέδοις διαφοραὶ τοῦ μαχίμου γένους, τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἐννέα – ὁπλιτῶν, πελταστῶν, ψιλῶν. ἱππέων – δορατοφόρων ἱππέων, ἀκοντιστῶν ἱππέων, τοξοτῶν ἱππέων, καταφράκτων, ἁρμάτων, ἐλεφάντων.
2. On the nine distinct parts of the army: hoplites, peltasts, light troops, lancers, mounted javelineers, mounted archers, heavy cavalry, chariots and elephants1
I will begin with the preparations that are absolutely necessary in war, the forces for which fall under two categories: land-based forces and naval forces. Land-based forces are those that fight on the land. Naval forces are those that fight on board ships, either on the sea or on rivers. However, the organization of naval forces I will reserve for another place, and concentrate, for the moment, on those things pertaining to land-based forces.2
The levies that make up land-based forces are those who either fight in or command armies, or those that do not fight but remain in the camp for some other necessary purpose. Those that fight are those that stand in an ordered battle-line and who either assault or repulse the enemy with their weapons. The others act as physicians, merchants, servants and others who follow the army and minister to it. Fighting men can be either infantry or mounted troops. The infantry fight on foot while some of the mounted troops use horses [cavalry], others use elephants, and still others use horses to draw chariots. These are the general differences between the different kinds of land-based forces.
Both the cavalry and infantry can come in a variety of types; only the elephants and the chariots never alter in their form. Infantry can come in one of three forms: the hoplites [ὁπλίται], the peltasts [πελταστάι] and, thirdly, the psiloi [ψῖλοί] or ‘naked’ troops [i.e. the light infantry and skirmishers]. The hoplites carry the most equipment of all of the different types of foot soldier, using, according to the Macedonian manner, round shields and long spears [δόρατα].3 The psiloi, conversely, carry little or no equipment. They have neither body armour nor greaves, nor do they use long or round shields of any weight, but fight from a distance by casting missiles such as arrows, javelins and stones (either by hand or by using a sling). The peltasts wear the style of armour known as ‘argilos’, which is similar to Macedonian armour only lighter.4 This type of soldier carries a small shield, and his spear is much shorter than the Macedonian pike.5 As such, his armour is in between that of the ‘heavy infantry’ and that of the ‘light infantry’ (being lighter than that of the hoplite but heavier than that of the psiloi) and this has often caused the peltasts to be confused with the ‘light infantry’.6
The forces of cavalry, which were previously distinguished from chariot-mounted forces, can either be considered kataphracts [κατάφρακτοι] or not. Kataphracts cover both themselves and their horses with armour [i.e. they are heavy cavalry]. Those that are not kataphracts can either be lancers [doratophoroi, δορατοφόροι] or acrobolists [ἀκροβολιστάι]. Lancers are those that join with the enemy and fight with a lance from horseback. Of these, some carry long shields and are sometimes referred to as ‘targeteers’ [thyreophoroi, θυρεοφόροι]. Others carry only the lance and no shield and are properly called ‘lancers’ or xystophoroi [ξυστοφόροι, ‘pikemen’]. acrobolists fight from horseback with missile weapons. Some use javelins, others use bows. The type of cavalry known as ‘Tarantine’ particularly use javelins.7 of the ‘Tarantines’, there are two kinds: one that throws small javelins from far off, and are therefore referred to as ‘darters on horseback’ [hippakontistai, ἱππακοντισταὶ], while others use light javelins and then, after they have spent one or two, close with th
e enemy and fight like lancers, of which I have already spoken, and fight hand-to-hand. These are commonly called ‘light cavalry’ [elaphroi, ἐλαφροί]. However, proper Tarantine cavalry are those who fight from a distance. Horsemen who use bows are known as ‘mounted archers’ [hippotoxotai, ἱπποτοξόται] and are sometimes called ‘Scythian cavalry’.
These then are the differences in the nine types of troops that are found in the camp: of the infantry, there are the hoplites, the peltasts, and the psiloi (or ‘naked’); of mounted troops, there are the lancers, the darters, the mounted archers, and the heavy cavalry. Lastly, there are the chariot corps and the elephants.
γ’ Πῶς οἱ ἀρχαῖοι ὡρίσαντο τὴν τακτικὴν τέχνην
Ἑκάστης δὲ τῶν [εἰρημένων]a φάλαγγος συστήματα καὶ ἡγεμονίας καὶ τάξεις καὶ ἀριθμὸν ἐπιτήδειον περιεχούσης καὶ ὀνόματα χάριν τῶν παραγγελλομένων εἴς τε τὴν καθημερινὴν γυμνασίαν καὶ συνάσκησιν. καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἀγῶσιν, ἀναγκαῖον περὶ [ἑκάστων]b εἰπεῖν. τὸ μὲν οὖν ἐν τῇ τακτικῇ [πρωτοστατοῦτος]c ἐστι παραλαβόντα πλῆθος ἀνδρῶν ἄτακτον τοὺς ἐπιτηδείους ἐκλεξάμενον καθ’ ἣν ἕκαστον προσήκει χώραν συντάξαι. [τουτέστι]d καταλοχίσαι καὶ συλλοχίσαι, ἀριθμόν τε τοῦ παντὸς πλήθους ὁρίσαι [συμμέτρον]e καὶ εὐχρήστως ἔχοντα πρὸς [τὸν]f κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον. τὸ γὰρ συντετάχθαι τὸ στράτευμα ἔν τε πορείαις καὶ στρατοπεδείαις [ἐν αὐταῖς τε ταῖς]g παρατάξεσιν ὠφελιμώτατόν [ἐστι].h εὑρίσκομεν γὰρ πολλάκις μεγάλας δυνάμεις συντετριμμένας διὰ τὴν ἀταξίαν ὑπ’ ὀλίγων συντεταγμένων. ὅρον δὲ αὐτῆς ἔθεντο Αἰνείας μὲν ἐπιστήμην εἶναι πολεμικῶν κινήσεων, Πολύβιος δέ, [ἄν τις πλῆθος τακτικὸν]i παραλαβὼν τοῦτο συγκρίνῃ καὶ καταλοχίσας συλλοχίσῃ παιδεύσῃ τε χρησίμως τὰ πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον.
3. How the ancients defined the tactical arts1
Since each phalanx contains within itself distinct bodies, certain individual officers of command, subordinate classes, and a certain number of men, distinguished by proper terms, and suited for daily exercise, training and battle, it seems particularly relevant to treat each of these things separately. It is the first duty of a commander to select the fittest men out of the general levy and to appoint each of these men to their proper place (that is, to arrange them into files and to form these into larger bodies) and to organize a total levy that will be suitable to conduct the war on the desired scale. The skill to organize an army, to march and encamp with skill, and to fight effectively, is a matter of no small consequence, for it has often been the case that a mighty but disorderly army has been defeated by a handful of men who were well disciplined and trained. Aeneas calls this a ‘science of warlike motions’. Polybius calls it ‘a skill whereby a man can take a given number of men, arrange them into files and bodies that mutually support each other, and instruct them in all of the matters pertaining to war’.
δ’ Τί ἐστι λόχος καὶ τί καταλοχισμὸς
Τὸ μὲν οὖν καταλοχίσαι ἐστὶ τὸ ποιῆσαι λόχους. ὁ δὲ λόχος ἐστὶν ἀριθμὸς ἀνδρῶν ἀπό τινος ἡγουμένου καὶ τῶν μετ’ [αὐτοῦς]a ὄπισθεν ἑπομένων μέχρι τοῦ τελευταίου. τὸν δὲ ἀριθμὸν τοῦ λόχου οἱ μὲν ὀκτὼ ἀνδρῶν ἐποίησαν, οἱ δὲ δώδεκα, οἱ δὲ δεκαέξ. ἔστω δὲ νῦν ἑκκαίδεκα ἀνδρῶν ὁ λόχος. συμμέτρως γὰρ ἔχει πρός τε τὸ μῆκος τῆς φάλαγγος. καί, ἐάν τε διά τινας χρείας διπλασιάζηται τὸ βάθος, ὥστε ἐπὶ τριάκοντα δύο ἄνδρας γενέσθαι. ἢ συναιρῆται καὶ ἐπ’ ὀκτὼ ἄνδρας βαθύνηται, οὐδὲν ἐμπόδιον γενήσεται τοῖς ὄπισθεν τασσομένοις ψιλοῖς. [εἴ τε γὰρ ἀκοντίζουσιν]b ἢ σφενδόναις χρῶνται ἢ τοξεύμασιν, [εὐκόπως]c ὑπερθήσουσι ταῖς βολαῖς τὸ τῆς φάλαγγος βάθος.
4. What is a file and the distribution within the file1
To organize men into ‘files’ [λόχοι] is to arrange men one behind the other.2 A file [λόχος] is a number of men, beginning with a ‘commander’, and continuing with a group of ‘followers’ in order to the last man. The numbers that make up a file vary, for some make it with eight men, some with twelve, and others with sixteen.3 for this exercise, we will base the file upon sixteen men as that number is proportionate to the different configurations of the phalanx, and also because it allows the depth of the phalanx to be easily increased to thirty-two men, or lessened and so decrease the depth of the phalanx to eight men. None of these configurations will hinder the use of light troops positioned behind the line as, regardless of whether they are using javelins, or slings, or arrows, they should be able to easily cast their missile weapons over a phalanx of any size.4
ε’ Πόσων ἀνδρῶν οἱ ἀρχαῖοι τοὺς λόχους ἔταξαν, καὶ ποῖος αὐτῶν ἀριθμὸς πρὸς παράταξιν ἐπιτήδειος
Ὁ μὲν οὖν ἄριστος ἑκάστου λόχου πρῶτος καὶ ἡγούμενός [ἐστιν],a ὃς καὶ λοχαγὸς ἐπονομάζεται καὶ ἡγεμὼν καὶ πρωτοστάτης. ὁ δὲ τελευταῖος τοῦ λόχου οὐραγὸς καλεῖται. ὁ λόχος δὲ ὅλος καλεῖται στίχος, ὀνομάζεται δὲ καὶ δεκανία. ὑπὸ δέ τινων ἐνωμοτία. τινὲς δὲ τὴν ἐνωμοτίαν τέταρτον τοῦ λόχου μέρος ἀπεφήναντο καὶ τὸν ἡγούμενον τῆς [ἐνωμωτίας]b ἐνωμοτάρχην, τὰς δὲ δύο [ἐνωμωτίας διμοιρίας]c ἐκάλεσαν καὶ τὸν ἡγούμενον αὐτῆς διμοιρίτην, ὥστε τὸ ἡμιλόχιον καὶ διμοιρίαν καλεῖσθαι καὶ τὸν ἡμιλοχίτην διμοιρίτην. [οὖτος δὲ [ὲστι],d ὁ τοῦ λόχου επιστάτης].e καὶ ὁ μὲν τοῦ λοχαγοῦ ὀπίσω τεταγμένος καλεῖται ἐπιστάτης, ὁ [δ’]f [τούτου]g κατόπιν ὁμοίως πρωτοστάτης, ὁ δ’ [τούτου κατόπην]h ἐπιστάτης, ὥστε ὅλον τὸν στίχον ἐκ πρωτοστατῶν καὶ ἐπιστατῶν συντετάχθαι παραλλὰξ τεταγμένων. δεῖ δὲ τὸν λοχαγὸν [καὶ τὸν οὐραγὸν]i διαφέρειν τῶν ἄλλων. μετὰ δὲ τούτους ἤδη τοὺς τῶν ἡμιλοχιῶν ὥσπερ οὐραγούς. ὁρίζονται δὲ τὸν λόχον [οὕτω].j στίχον ἐξ ἐπιστατῶν κατ’ ἀρετὴν ὑπὸ λοχαγῷ τεταγμένων.
5. How men of ancient times were arranged in the files and the numbers that make up the formation1
The best man of every file [lochos, λόχος] is positioned in the front and is known as the ‘file leader’ [lochargos, λοχαγός], the ‘commander’ [hegemon, ἡγεμών] or the ‘fore-stander’ [protostates, πρωτοστάτης]. The man at the rear of the file is known as the ‘rear commander’ [ouragos, οὐραγός] or the ‘bringer up’. The file as a whole is called a
dekad [δεκάδος] or an enomotia [ἐνωμοτία].2 There are those that call only one fourth of the file an enomotia, and the commander of such an enomotarch [ἐνωμοτάρχης], while two enomotiae are called a dimoiria [διμοιρία] under the command of a dimorites [διμοιρίτης]; in other words, a half-file is sometimes called a dimoiria led by a dimorites and this unit covers the rear of the line.3 The man that stands behind the file leader is called a ‘follower’ [epistates, ἐπιστάτης], and after him comes a ‘leader’, and then there are more ‘followers’, so that the whole file consists of both leaders and followers placed one after the other.4 The file-leader should excel all of the other men in the file in bravery and then, after him, should come the dimorites and the ouragos. A file is therefore defined as a column of men, who are arranged according to their worth, after the file leader. (See Plate 1.)
ς’ Τί ἐστι συλλοχισμός
The Tactics of Aelian Page 4