CLASSICS 2K03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Aspis, Hoplite, Anachronism
2 Feb 2016
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Document Summary
A way to settle differences between poleis. Greeks viewed heroes (such as achilles, perseus) as those that were good warriors. The focus is on grand duels between heroes, not clashes between armies. A hero"s honour is based on his success in battle, and specifically, success in defeating other heroes from chariots. Heroes drove chariots to their duels then dismounted to fight (anachronism) Chariots were left over from previous versions of the stories where heroes fought. Stories were orally passed down but people forgot what the chariots were for. Even trojan heroes acted like greek heroes. Value system emphasized bravery and success in battle (cowardice was bad) Soldiers used bronze for weapons and armor (as opposed to iron used during classical period) First appeared during the archaic period, continued into the classical period. Named after the shield (hoplon) which they carried ***
