HISTORY 1M03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Hoplite
22 Apr 2016
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Document Summary
The rules and rituals of hoplite warfare reflected the interests of the citizen-farmer-solider. A new kind of polis and new kind of war. But athens was not a hoplite republic but an imperial, naval democracy. Athens was a new type of polis not tied to the interests of a limited hoplite-farmer citizenry. A new, innovative kind of polis innovated a new kind of warfare. Led to a distinctive athenian character, less conservative, cautious, and introspective than many other greeks. Rather than leave the peloponnesians in the field, athens adopted a defensive strategy and transformed into a city island behind their walls. With all the people crammed into the city, a plague struck in 430 bce and killed 20% of the population including pericles. Despite this, for the first six years, the war went in athens favour. In 449: the battle of naupactus, the athenians defeated a larger fleet of peloponnesian ships.
