HUM 2 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Phalanx, Hum Network Limited, Iliad
Jeff Koo
Hum 2
Culture of Ancient Greece and Rome
Fall 2019
4 Units
Warfare & Warrior Ethos
Aristocracy & Warfare:
● Exclusive right to arms and to war
○ Men were buried with their weaponry; it was an extension of their identity and
signaled their honour; a part of them
● Honour/shame & reputation
○ What they did on the battlefield was heard of when they came back and discussed
● Agon
● Courage
● Personal glory
○ Glory for the demos as well not just personal
Hoplite Warfare:
● Free citizen army of the demos
● Collective mentality & cooperation
● Weaponry & formation
○ Hoplon & the phalanx
■ Hoplon is a smaller shield that covers half of your body and half of the
person next to you
■ Phalanx formation:
● 8 people wide and about 12 people deep (ex: 300 movie)
● You sort of push the front men in a particular pattern
● Everyone looks the same and works together
● “Equality”??
○ Begins to call attention to the privileges and the power of the aristocracy
○ Free citizen army has no class or privilege in the actual army
● Weapons are not buried, they are passed along if they survive
○ Symbolic of a shared endeavour over generations
Homer & the Heroic Age
● Homer was a bard who performed epic poetry in the mid-8th century (c. 750’s ish)
● A bard is an oral storyteller
○ Mostly targeted the upper class audience; speak to cultural values
● The Illiad is an epic poem
● Homer did not invent these stories, they had been around for a very long time
○ Oral, shared stories
● City states were emerging at the time of Homer’s performances
○ City states were known as a polis
● The function of an epic poem:
○ To commemorate shared events through recording traditions via performances
● Epic poems come from the Greek word ‘epos’ (word)
Document Summary
Exclusive right to arms and to war. Men were buried with their weaponry; it was an extension of their identity and signaled their honour; a part of them. What they did on the battlefield was heard of when they came back and discussed. Glory for the demos as well not just personal. Hoplon & the phalanx person next to you. Hoplon is a smaller shield that covers half of your body and half of the. 8 people wide and about 12 people deep (ex: 300 movie) You sort of push the front men in a particular pattern. Everyone looks the same and works together. Weapons are not buried, they are passed along if they survive. Begins to call attention to the privileges and the power of the aristocracy. Free citizen army has no class or privilege in the actual army. Symbolic of a shared endeavour over generations.
