Figure 27 Detail of Protocorinthian pitcher (the “Chigi Vase”); height of figured band 5 cm, ca. 640 BC.
Rome, Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia, no. 22679.
Source: © 2015. Photo Scala, Florence. Courtesy of the Ministero Beni e Att. Culturali.
HOPLITE A heavily armed foot soldier, equipped with helmet, shield, spear, and body armor
covering his torso and shins (figures 27 and 36).You know that those who bravely hold the line
and press toward engagement at the front
die in less numbers, with the ranks behind
protected; those who run lose all esteem.Thus, the success of this mass formation, known as the “hoplite PHALANX,” depended upon the
coordination of the individual hoplites’ movements, no less than upon the strength, courage, and sheer
number of the men included in the phalanx. For this reason, the hoplite’s early training included singing
and dancing in a boy’s chorus, so that he might become accustomed from an early age to moving in rhythm
with his fellows. For this reason, also, the phalanx was accompanied, as we can see, by a musician
playing an aulos, the same instrument that accompanied the inspiring elegies of Callinus and Tyrtaeus (and
whose sound was undoubtedly as stirring and intimidating as that of the bagpipe). The bravery and