Forgive my loose usage of the term "Archaic", since strictly speaking that includes the popular Persian War era.  In this case I mean the centuries before about 550 BC, when we can see significant differences in clothing and equipment, compared to the Persian Wars.  While this era saw the rise of the hoplite and the development of the phalanx itself, it is surprisingly obscure in terms of literature and history.  Between the Trojan War and the Persian Wars, there are virtually no commonly-known events or even personalities, so it can be more difficult to communicate the significance of the era to the public.  There are archeological remains, however, and there is certainly plenty of artwork in the form of Black-Figure and Geometric vase paintings.        And there is cool stuff!  The early form of Corinthian helmet, the narrower Doric chiton (with armholes at the sides), the bell cuirass, and the Naue II-type sword--subtle details which combine to give a noticeably different appearance overall.  Javelins with throwing loops are commonly seen, or pairs of spears, implying a phalanx with its own missile capability. Clothing: Narrow Doric chiton, generally with decoration on the hem, sometimes made in wrap-around fashion with the opening at the front Helmet: Archaic Corinthian, Illyrian, even a Kegelhelm if you go early enough Armor: Bronze bell cuirass, early greaves; upper and lower arm guards (right arm only) are also known, as well as thigh guards. Shield with whatever "early" features can be traced (depth, rim angle, etc.), and early emblems Spear, often with optional javelin with throwing loop. Optional sword, Naue II style

The Doric chiton is generally depicted as narrow and not baggy, without the later pleats and draped look.  There is often decoration at the hem and neck.  Mine is made from an old blanket, and the color is a shade that madder can give.  The decoration is embroidered with purple wool yarn.	My Archaic helmet is described on the Helmets page.	I made my "iron" Naue II sword by grinding it out of 1/4" mild steel scrap with an angle grinder.  The blade is about 21" long, and the hilt is ebony (African blackwood).  http://www.hippeis.com/forum/index.php?topic=1191.0

PELOPONNESIAN WAR

       The changes from the Persian Wars to the Peloponnesian Wars are subtle, but should not be glossed over or ignored.  Probably one of the most significant was that the Corinthian helmet was out of style and would have been quite rare.  Thracian and Chalcidian types were the most common, and inexpensive pilos or bell helmets were becoming popular.  Body armor seems to have been less common overall, though the muscled cuirass and leather spolas were still seen.  Much of these changes accompany the growing use of mercenaries and professional troops to supplement or replace the traditional "militia" forces.

While light troops throwing javelins and rocks had long supported the hoplite, Thracian mercenaries became popular after the Persian Wars.  These men typically fought unarmored, carrying javelins and a shield called the pelta, for which they are named.  This was smaller than the aspis and apparently made of wicker covered in hide, and generally had a crescent shape.  Thracians wore distinctive caps (often of fox skin), colorfully patterned cloaks, and tall lace-up boots.        At left is Dan Zeidler in his favorite Thracian kit.  His cap is wool, and his boots are converted from modern "Apache" boots by replacing the fringe with flaps.  He made his pelta from a pair of wicker door mats sewn together and cut to shape, covered with leather front and back.  He frequently commented on its light weight, compared to the typical aspis...        At right, my own Thracian gear is worn for the first time by Chris Goshey.  Eat my dust, Dan!

Here Quinton J. has deserted the barbaric Legio III Cyrenaica (ahem!) to play peltast for the day.  He wears my wool Thracian cap and carries the (at that time) unfinished wicker pelte that I got from Joe Balmos.        Finding fabric for a convincing Thracian cloak may be impossible without having it custom-woven!  They all had horizontal stripes which were zig-zagged, crenelated, wavy, etc.  Something of an approximation might be a blanket or serape of Mexican style, such as those from Crazy Crow Outfitters, http://www.crazycrow.com/pendleton-wool-blankets-and-accessories .  But you'd want something at least 72" wide (with stripes horizontal).  (Photo by David McDavitt.)        Finished pelte below!  The face is covered with thin leather whip-stitched on with hemp, and painted with milk paints.  The porpax is two crossed leather bands (one of several variations seen in artwork), and the antilabe is twisted leather thongs.  The carrying strap is woven fabric band.  The shield is three feet wide.

And the other main components.  The cloak is called a zeira, and while the originals presumably had all their decoration woven in, I sewed everything on by hand.  The boots I originally made for fantasy use, largely a 15th century pattern.  I opened up the front and added laceholes and flaps.  They are made of deerskin.  The cap is wool, and I'm not quite satisfied with the pattern.  There is usually a turned-up bit across the front, but I wasn't able to make that work with the flaps hanging down at the sides.  Some caps had no point or a flatter top, others had a larger raised part (like Dan's, above), while the coolest ones were made of fox or genet hide complete with the animal's head at the front and the tail hanging down the back.

Iphikrates is said to have replaced sandals with boots which were easier to lace up, and these became known as "Iphikratids".  While many sorts of footwear are depicted in Greek art, we don't know if any of the boots we see are supposed to be Iphikratids.  Most likely they were an ankle-boot, since a knee-high boot would presumably involve as much lacing as any sandal.        Below are my Iphikratids in progress.  I based the yellow paper pattern at top on Giannis' old sandal pattern, and made a cardboard and cloth mockup at bottom before cutting out the leather.  I believe this to be a more accurate pattern, the upper wrapping around the back of the foot with no seem up the back.  The edge of the uppers wrap under the insole and are glued to hold them until they are stitched.  An insert fills the space between these edges.  The outer sole is sewn on with "channeled" stitching, the stitch holes being driven into a shallow slit cut into the face of the leather, to protect the thread from wear.  The last photo shows the inside, with a needle on each end of a single length of thread, and no channeling needed inside.

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Shield--Aspis/Hoplon	Armor	Weapons	Bibliography	The BRONZE AGE

While the heavy infantryman of Macedonia and Hellenistic Greece was referred to as a hoplite, and fought in a phalanx, the modern term "phalangite" is often used to distinguish him from the popular hoplite of 500 BC.  His weapon was the sarissa, a two-handed pike, and his phalanx could be up to 16 ranks deep.  It was a very different form of combat!        At left, the debut of my Macedonian kit at the Virginia Junior Classical League convention, November 2014.  The Phrygian helmet was made in India, probably by Al-Hammd, and it's actually a pretty good helmet.  I am supported by a peltast and a thureophoros.  I am actually holding my long spear in these photos, since having the assembled sarissa with a crowd of students around was just a tad dangerous!  (Photos by David McDavitt.)        At right is the 2015 convention, and I decided to put the pike together for a while.  It's about 19 feet long and approximately 9 pounds.  And it's hard to get it all in one photo!  Several of the teachers asked to try it out, which has never happened with a regular spear.  It was also funny to see the students come around the corner and watch their eyes go up and up as their mouths hung open!

The sarissa was originally 18 to 20 feet long and probably weighed 8 to 10 pounds.  It could be made of ash, though cornel wood is also mentioned.  The shaft tapered from about 1-3/8" at the butt to less than an inch at the point.  There is no real evidence that the shaft was ever made in two pieces, and in fact a number of surviving 16th and 17th century pikes are tapered ash of that length, and are known to be perfectly functional weapons.  The head would have been quite small and light to prevent the sarissa from being unmanageable, and there was a heavier buttspike.           Various artifacts have been identified as sarissa parts, though there is little artwork to confirm these theories, and reconstructions have met with widely varying success.  A short piece of iron tube from Vergina has often been hailed as a coupling sleeve for a two-piece sarissa shaft, but this is complete speculation as well as unnecessary.  There also seems to be a tendency to use the largest surviving spearheads as sarissa points, which of course is illogical considering the tremendous leverage they have at the end of a long pikeshaft.  (Note that 16th and 17th century pikes always had small points!)         It should be noted that a two-piece sarissa shaft may be a matter of necessity for a modern reenactor, considering the problems of storage and transportation!  It is also difficult to find ash poles of sufficient length.  Beyond that, beware of reconstructions which are untapered or too flexible.

HOPEfully at some point my blacksmithing nephew will be able to forge a nice iron Vergina-style sauroter for my sarissa, the type with the four flanges.  In the meantime, I cobbled this together out of several brass odds and ends, based on a couple examples from Olympia.  Obviously the real ones were cast in one piece!  This one is a little light, but even at a full 2 pounds it won't really do much to balance the weight of a 19-foot shaft!

My shield or pelte is 26 inches in diameter, and is basically made the same way as an aspis but without the rim.   I used poplar planks for the "donut" method.  The front and back are covered with canvas, and the fittings are based on some from Olympia.  The carrying cord has a slip knot on it and has yet to be adjusted, since it will be used to sling the shield around my neck to leave my hands free to hold the sarissa.  So far I have only done a couple brief tests, but it seems to work best with the porpax actually resting on my left forearm, otherwise the shield rests too low and exposes my upper torso.        The decoration is taken from the tomb fresco at Agios Athanasios.  The 8-point star and peltiform motifs are VERY common in Macedonian artwork, not just on shields.

Literally "door carrier", this Hellenistic soldier was named for his tall oval shield, the thureos.  It is clearly Celtic in origin, having a wooden spine boss and a horizontal handgrip.  Thureophoroi were widely used as mercenaries by Alexander's Successors, from the 3rd century BC onwards.  Many of them came from Galatia and other Celtic areas.  Chris G. wears a Boeotian helmet and a xiphos. Clothing: Narrow (Doric) chiton with armholes at sides, or Ionic chiton, or sleeved tunic, sandals/shoes/boots, chlamys, etc. Thureos shield--oval, flat or dished, wood covered w/ leather/hide/linen/felt, wood spine boss, horizontal grip Helmet: Thracian, Phrygian, pilos, Chalcidian, Boeotian/bronze petasos, various Macedonian types (possibly iron!) Armor: leather or quilted linen tube-and-yoke; or NONE; possibly mail (like Roman hamata) after 300 BC Spear, possibly javelins Sword: Xiphos or kopis

Though the thureos is generally accepted to have been flat, it may have been slightly dished, though not as deep as the aspis.  In either case, it was most likely made of a single layer of vertical planks laid edge-to-edge, thickest in the center and thinner at the rim.  The wood core would be covered with leather, rawhide, or fabric.  Obviously, if modern plywood is used, it must be completely covered.  The wooden boss and spine might have been covered as well, but can be nailed and glued in place over the covering.  A bronze or iron strip or butterfly boss can be seen in artwork as well.  The total height can be anywhere from 3 to 5 feet, but something in the 4-foot range seems typical.        My thureos at left is c. 3/8" plywood, planed down to a quarter-inch thick at the rim.  It is covered with canvas front and back, and painted with casein/milk paint.  The leather rim is stitched on.  It is 39" tall by 23" wide.  The boss is carved from a single piece of wood, something I grabbed off the firewood pile.  The spines are about an inch thick and 1-1/2" wide where they meet the boss, tapering down to c. 5/8" thick by an inch wide.