THE EVOUTION OF THE MYCENAEAN ARMY 6

NICOLAS GRGURlC i s
an Austr.. l..... graduat e
archaeolo9ist who wrote
hi s Honours thesis on the
Myce.... ean ar my. He ts.
writing .. doctoral thesi s
on c ivi l i an use of deteonsive
architectu.... In fronti er
Aust ral ia. Hts other i nterests
in clude wargami ng, l ivin g
hi story and coll ect i ng black
powder f ireM",S. He l ives
in So uth Au stn. li ll .
ANGUS McSRI DE Is one of
the wortd' s most respected
hi st ori<:<ol lll ustrat ors , and
has c o nt ri buted to mor e than
90 Osprey ti tles In t he past
t h...... decades. Born In 1931
of Hi ghl and pa r ents but
or phaned as a c hi l d , he was
ed ucated at Canterbury
Cathedr.. l Choi r School. He
worked In adverti si ng agencies
from 1947, and aner nation.. 1
servi c e, " mi 9nl t ed t o South
Afric.. . He now l ives and
works in C.. pe Town.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Emerge nce of Mycenae
Mycenaean dominance
The evidenc e: I lomer , and the ar chaeological record
Xeoli thic and Early Bronze Age
E.arl)' ~ I c e n a e a n armies: heavy infan try. light infantry
a nd chario ts
Respo nse to new chall enges fro m c. 1300 BC - foruficaucn,
ami di spc-rsed deployment
The destr uct ion of the palace-states
IDENTIFIABLE TROOP CATEGORIES
Heavy infant ry: shields - spears - helmets - tactical
implications - swords - changes from <:. 1300 HC
Skirmi she rs and light infan try: arc hers - light infa ntry
swords men - tactical implications - j a\d inmen - changes
from c. 1300 BC
Chariot rv: the Aegean chariot - box chari ots - dual
chario t.. - q uadra nt chariot.. - rail chariot.. - armament
and poss ible tact ics - the chariot ' charge' - the Dendra
armour - late r chariotrv
Cavalry
MILITARY ORGANIZATION
Battl efield organizati on
Command str ucture
I Iigher o rga niza tion: the evidence and the arguments
Unit sizes
Issue s of eq uipment
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
THE PLATES
INDEX
3
8
49
58
60
64
Elite 130
The Mycenaeans
c. 1650-1100 BC
O SPREY
I-' U BLlS H I N G
Nicolas Grguri c . Illustrat ed by Angus McBr ide
Consultant editor Martin Windrow
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Acknowledgements
First and foremost the aut hor would li ke to thank Michael
Kumnick . wi t hout whose artistic skil l the briefi ngs tor Angus
McBride' s st riking col our plates would not have been
possible. and tor putting up with my nit -picking. Thanks
also go to Or Margaret O'Hea of me University of Adelaide,
who SlJpported and supervised my research on t his topic as
an Hof1OurS student: to Prof Or Hans-GOntt1er Buchl'1oIz tor
grant ing permission to use many of hiS own images; t o the
Hellenic MiniStry of Cutt lJre; and t o my family.
Art ist 's Note
Readers may car e t o note t hat the original pai nt ings from
which me cciocr plat es in this ococ were prepared are
available to- pri vate sale. AIl reproduct ion copyright
whatsoever is ret ained by the Publ ishers. All enqumes
should be addressed to:
Scorpio Galiery.
PO Box 475,
Hai/sham,
E.Sussex
BN27 2SL,
UK
The Publishers regret that t hey can enter mto no
correspondence upon t his matter.
st eaere cup tl'om trMl Co-etan
pal ace of Hag ia Triada, 16th
ce nt ury BC, It show$ $OfT>e
............ts of C'Ian military
equipment subsequent ly adopted
IIy the Mycenaeans. such as the
long t hn>sti ng sword and, just
visi ble a t the la ft, part of ill
'lower' shoeld. (Coul1e$y of
the Heracli on Museum)
THE MYCENAEANS
c.1650-1180 BC
INTRODUCTION
T
he civilization spanned a pe riod of 4OD-!'>OO years, fro m
the early lfith century BC unul its declin e in the 12th centu ry BC.
DlII iul; uun; it e vol ved From the role o f envio us admirer of
the more adva ncec Minoan civilization based o n nearby Crete , into a
civilization whose power and influence eclipsed th at of th e Minoans and
dominated Orccce and the Aegean,
' The Myccnaeans' is not a d esignation th at would have been
recognized by the Classical autho rs. To the Creeks, their earliest ances tors
Wt-"IT referred to various ly as 'Acbaeans', ' Dana,ms ' and ' Argivcs'. These
' R'Te terms th at came down to them through epic poetry and numerous
legend s, which were o ften r ontradicrorv, Indeed , this pe riod remained in
the realm of lege nd until the late 19th ce nt ury AD, when Heinrich
Schl iema nn, in search of treas ure and physical proof of Homer 's Troj an
War, bega n excavating the site ot Myccnac . ..... hich Homer says was the seat
of King Agamemnon.
JU:>l ill :> il1e rhe chadel 's S";: ll icJll<1 11 11 unear t hed burials
which. to judge by th eir wealth, be longed to the highest class of
Mycenacan society, These bur ials contained a
wealt h of wave goods of gold, silver, bronze ,
ivory and ceramic - with gold predominating.
Schlie mann in ter p re ted these burials as the
mortal remains of the heroe s of Horner's epics. In
this he was mistaken; what he did not kn ow at LIe
time was that he had uneart hed the tombs of a
dynasty th at reigned some years before the
supposed date o f th e Trojan War (c. 1260-1250
BC) ,' Although Schlie man n's identificati ons were
at fau lt , he rightly claimed that he had discover ed
a new world for archaeology . Th rough Ins enter-
p rise a forgotten civilization was reborn, and rook
its name fro m th is city,
Later res earch and excavation showed that this
civilization pervaded not only the Greek mainland
but the Aegean islands and countries bordering
on the cent ral and eastern Mediterranean. Many
more sites were fo und in this region,
the same cultural characteristics as Mvcenae -
similar archi tectural styles. art, pottery. language,
rel igio n, and weapons, Several of these were
3
4
100 M i le,
Centres of MycenH an
cl wllization. (George Mylonas,
Mtcenat!' and the
Age, 0 1966 Pri ncet on Unive rs ity
Pre S$; reprint e d by pe rml105lon
0' Prlnceton Universi ty Pr ess)
found to have been great palace-based cities o n a scale riva lling
it-.elf, such as Tiryns and Pylas in the vtyce naean heartl and of the
Peloponnese, which were established around 1650 BC.
Emer gence of Mvc ena e
The early history of toe Myccnacan perio d is notable for its penchant for
all things Minoan. The Minoan civi lizatio n of Cr ete can be traced as far
bad as c.3000 BC; i t therefore had more time to dewlop i ts culture than
the mainlanders, helped la a large ex tent by dose in te ract io n with
surrounding civi lization s in the form of seabo rne trading. The Minoan
charac ter of earl y an is so marked that it led some to believe
that the southern part of Oreecc must have been a Cretan colo ny. It has
since become apparent that th is similari ty .hl" resu lt of in fluence
rather than colonization. One disti n ct area of Minoan influence a ll the
:\Iyccnaeans was that of warfare; indeed. most of the earl y weapo n and
a rmour t}pes th at are cha racteri stic of th e Mycen aca ns ac tually
ori gi na ted on Minoan Crete. Onc notable exception is th e c har io t,
however, which appears to have been introduced on 10 Crete by the
Mycenacans rather than the other way around.
The earlier Minoan cult ure was not Gree k, and wrote using an as yet
undecipbered syllabic sc- ript called Linear A. The Mycenaeans, however,
were Greek, as was demonstrated by the deci pherment of their scr ipt
known as l-inear It The language of th is script is an early form of Greek,
showing that the history' of Mycenaean culture is both geographically
and ethn icall y pan of the history' of Greece. The I.inear B script comes
to us in th e form of small day tablets mostly found in the rui ns of (he
palaces, (he most informative coming from Pylas and Mvcenaean
Knossos. The subj ect matte r of th ese tablets is not nar rative but
bureaucrat ic: that is, they' record the daily business of the palace-based
society and econo my. Some of th ese tablets record aspects of the military
organizati on of the palace-state, and have provi ded an important source
of information about the Mycenaean army.
Mycenaean dominance
In around 1400 BC the centre of Minoan power 0 :1 Crete, Knossos . was
destroyed. probably by an eart hquake. It seems th at th e Mvcenaeans of
mainland Greece took advantage of this disaster to take over Crete ; they
rebuilt MOSSO,s as a Myccnacan palace, and Crete became a \ Iycenaean
:a ngdom. \\'i th the remova l of its main rival, Myccnacan civilization
became the dominant cultural powe r in the Aegean. The Myccuacans
used the ir regional dominance to expand their tradi ng networks and
devel oped close contacts wi th surrounding civilizations. notably those of
the Ne-ar East such as the lIittites, Syrians and Egvp rians. There is even
evi dence that the Egyp tian and Mycenaean armies employed each
othe-r's troops as mercenaries . Although there is evidence that the
\ Iyccnaeans sent all expeditionary force to the coast of Anatol ia
(modem Turkey) to light the Hini tes, th eir usual enemies were most
likely competing palace-sta tes, and ' barbarians' from th e less contro lled
regi ons of Greece. At times palace-states seem to have
formed confederations, as described in Homer ' s I!iad.
The evidence: Homer, a n d the ;:n c h a e o l o g i ea l r ecord
The works of poetry att rib uted to Homer have always been closely
associated with the study of Mycenaean history', and thei r relationship
with the evidence that comes down la us from the Mycenaean period
sho uld be un derstood. Although Ho mer 's epic s are tentatively set in the
Mycenaean period, it is generally believed that these stories originated
much later, in aroun d the Bth centu ry RC, some 300 years afte r th e en d
of the Mycenaean civilization and during Ore ece's ' Dark Age' , where
accura te referen ces to the Mycenaea pe riod are found in Homer, these
must he th e re sult of fol klore preserved via oral history. However, as an
historical record of the Mvcenaean civiliza tion and of Mvcenaean
. .
wa r fare the great po et 's writings have limited value. This is because
the accura tely remembered elements wer e combined with inventi ons
and po st-Myce naean ele me nts, as well as much later inclusions and
adaptations fro m th e Cla.ssical period and later.
What we know of the Mvccnacan army - a terra use d in th is text for
brevi ty, to mean all armies of that broad civi lization, across th eir whole
timespan - comes to us almost entirely through archaeology. The sources
of such archaeologi cal evide nce <CO we have include pictorial survivals, e.g.
wall gravestones: precious obj ects: textual sources in th e form

These limest one slill9 stones

art e..id ence fo r eany Gr98k
wu ponry. Most such projK t iles
wer e mad e of unfired ( la y: these
parti cular examples come from
Th. 8.... ly and date to the La te
Nf oli t hic period, that is, be fore
2500 BC. lCourt esy Profe s $Ot"
Or H.Q. Buchhok)
of the Linear B table ts: and finds of actual weapons and equipment
Compared (0 cont<-"IIlporary civi lizations such as the Egyp tians and
Hittites, th is overal l body of evidence is '"Crr limited , the pictorial
c...-idcnce is often highly sryli7ed and the textual evidence Iragmentarc.
Xevcrt heless, i t is possible to reconstruct th e Mycenaean army in
surprising detail fTOID the.' available evidence. Onc of the reaso ns for th is
is that the evidence wc.' d o have cove rs a ...-idc rar:gc of ~ p c c u of
Myccnacan warri ors, from dres s and equipment, th rough formations and
tactics, to higher organization and logistics.
There is a distinct lack of secondary info rmation available for t ~
Myccnacan army. This is a conspicuous omission in the study of ancient
warfa re, g-iven the very militaristic character of Mycenaean cult ure.
As Lord Tavlou r says in his Thl' My t1'afa TU, ' It would almost seem as if
tht'} loved strife for its own sal e' . Previ o us books on the \tycenaean
civi lization in genera l often have 2. sma ll chapter Oil war fare and
weaponry', but th is 15 usually ei ther little more than a summary of the
type. of weapons and annour known, or heavi ly infl uenced by Homer's
heroic images of individual d uelling warriors. The characteristic items of
th e Mvrenacan war rior's equipment are always described - such as the
boar's-t us k hel me t, figure-of-eight shield, and t he ' Dendra Cui rasv' - bu t
usually lit tle or no a-tempt is made 10 discuss where :hcse items fined
in to the ove rall functioning of the \ l ycellaea n army. Art icles in
academic journals describing Mvccnacan art efact forms, such as swords,
are also plentiful, bur fail to contribut e gr eat ly to o ur understa ndin g of
what kind of soldiers used these swords and what their tactical role was.
It is only when all of the evide nce is observed as a whole that a more
complete pict ur e eme rges. That pi cture is of a quite conventiona l La te
Bronze Age army, yet with uniquely Mvccnaean characteristics.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE
MYCENAEAN ARMY
The earliest weapons kn own to ha ve been used by t he mainl and Greeks
were sli ngs and bows, with bauleaxes and stone maces for hand-to-hand
comba t. The earli est examples come from the Neolithic and Ea rly
Bronze Ages (before about 2150 BC). These weapo ns sugge st a veIl'
infor mal mode of war fare waged by tr ibal ho rdes rather than by
organized armies. Slings and bows continued to be use d throughout
the Myccuaean period; but as ar mies became more orga nized and
formali zed duri ng the Middle Bronze Age (between c.2150 and 1550
BC) , banl eaxes and clubs fcl l out of use. As bronze-working skills .....ere

developed these sto ne weapons were r eplaced by

swords an d spears.
The earliest evidence for organized Mycenaean
armies comes from the late 16th century BC, and
shows a strong: Miuoan influence which lasted
throughout the pe riod. TIle earlyarmv of c. 1600 to
1300 BC was compos ed of a core of heavy
speannen supported by swordsmen. ligh t infantry,
skirmis hcrs and heavy chariots. This type of army
was well suited to fighting set-piece battles against
simi larly organized opponen ts such as rival palace-
states. The swordsmen and ligh t irf an try were also
suited to fighting in rough terrain, :'>0 were useful
to r ligh ting the ' barbarians' who bved III the
mountainous, semi-civilized regions outside Myce-
naean control. This military organization, with
.ts mixture of heavy speannen and chariots and
.ightc r auxiliaries, proved effective for a long
period during wh ich the o nly enemies it faced
we re of these t w-o type'> However; durin g the 13Th
centu ry BC the Mycenaean military system
underwent a maj or change in equipment and
tactics, me reason for whic h may have been a factor
in rho eventual collapse of the civilization.
This new type of army first appears in the
archaeologi cal reco rd in the artefacts from the
palace at Pylos that are dated to the nth century
BC. 1'),105 lies in the region of Messe nia on the
west coast of the Pelo ponnese. When the palace
was exc avated between 1939 and 1966, it yiel ded a
large cache o f Linear B table ts. an d frescoes with
a milita ry th eme. This eviden ce po rtr.tys a much
lighte r army wi t h a focus on mobility, and sUHgests
more di spersed mel ees. This change in tactical doctrine may reflect an
increase in seaborne raids along the Mycenaean coast by fo re igne rs.
This new th reat \\7\S possibly caused by the d.spl acemem of ' arge
numbers of people due to an inc re ase in natur al dis asters and war
throughout the lands su rrounding the Medit errane an at th is ti me . The
l Sth cen tury BC was the time when many of the Mycenaean centres,
Mycenae included, erected h uge stone r ampar ts around their citadels,
such fort ificati ons cle arly reflecting: a fear of impend ing attack. It was at
this ti me that the military leadership at Pyla s issued orders for thc
deployment of bodies of troops along its coastline to guard agai nst
seaborne invaders.
What happened next is unclear, except for the significant fact that
so o n a fter th e se orders ....ere trans cri bed on to day ta ble ts Pylos was
d es troyed, in about 1200 BC. Xearly all of the other Mycenacan centres
were also destroyed at aro und this time. The causes of this period of
destructio n are still a topi c of d ebate amo ngs t scholars. Some possibl e
explanati ons are that it was caused by war fare . natural d isasters, soci al
revolu tion or a combi nation of these factors. Some of the cities were
rebui lt and reocc upied, b ut the Mvcenaean civilization as it had
I vory plaque from Del os depicting
an early pt' ri od spearman.
Thi $ l r ~ shows the three
eharacteristl c elements of this
t roop type: th e figure-of-eight
shiel d, boar's-tusk helmet, and
$pear. (Aft er Taylour, 1972)
7
8
'-Y..."., d itiun .., . r'....
ot..eight shiekl . Th is pteee
nl eaSlJres 14.3cm l( 9.5cm and
"."y have been 8t t&ched to
pi ece of fumit..... Of" used
as a door handl Such i vory
mi ni at ures are the only three_
d imens i onal reprel>entations
ot these s hiel d s t hat VIe have.
Thi s pi ece dat es fro m the
13th century BC, when t he
$hlel d "'ad l alletl
'fOft'I actual use but sllnrived
115 a religi oys or decorative
moti f. (Co urt esy National
Arc:haeoIogical Museum, Athens)
previously been known was gone. Greece de scended into a dark age, her
event ual emergence fro m which is now known as the Classical per iod.
IDENTIFIABLE CATEGORIES OF TROOPS
HEAVY INFANTRY
The backbone of a Mvccnaean armv was its heavy in fantry. In the ea rly
period (c. I 650-1300 BC) they were armed with a long spear (rnkhos) as
their ma in Wf' apon , and a swo rd . Clo thing was min imal, co nsisti ng only
of a cloth kilt or loincloth. and wa rri ors went barefoot; however, th is lack
of body armour was compensated for by a lar g-e shield whi ch
covered the body from neck to shi ns, as well as a helmet.
The identifica tion of this t)p e of warrior as a heavy infantryman
comes fro m an analysis of the practical implications of his armour and
weaponry. This type of sold ie r fought in t he typical heavy infant ry
manner, wh ose fundamental characte ristics a re that he fi gh ts 'shoulder
to shoulder' in compact, massed format ions. Tha t these Mvcenaean
'warriors fough t in su ch formations is st ro ngly suggeste d by their
eq uipmen t as well as by depictions.
Shields
One of the most diagnostic signs of a heaw infant ryman is his shiel d .
This, in both of its patt e rns (i.e. ' figure-of-eigh t ' and ' tower ' shiel ds) ,
protects the body fr om n ec k to foot. Th ese sh iel ds app ea r to have been
mad e of wickerwork upon a wooden fr a me; t hey we re faced wi th one or
more layers of hide , as can be seen in sever al colou red d epi ctions of
them from frescoes. Th ey were carried by means of a teiamorc. a stra p
which passed over the left sh oulder d iagonally. Thus supported, the
shiel d left bot h h ands free. Such a lar ge sh ield tell s u s sp eci fic t hings
about its fu n ct ion . The wa rrio r would have been very well p rotected
from all m ann er of spear and sword t hrusts. j avelins. arrows, sling-shots,

A sel ection of socketed

spearheads from the Mycenaean
world. Three are of t he sl i t-
socketed ty pe, which w er e
e asi er to ...ake than the fully
deve l oped so c k et ed type.
(Cou rt esy Professor
HG.Buchholz, and the Briti sh
Museum)
Drawing of a 's hoe- soc ket ed'
spearhead, with r ecesses e it her
,; i d" ur Ih" bl"d" inlo whi ch"
spl i t shaft waS fixed. This wa s
the predec essor of the socketed
spear head proper. (After Taylour,
1972)
9
10
The ' Sea Battle ' fntsc.o fro ....
Abo ti ri on the Aegean i$land
ofThet"i1, 1500 BC. Thl$ ls _ of
t1... very few surviving
of a n act ual lonnation of
M:tcenaean heavy infantry. Each
of the tower shiel ds i$ eo.-.ed
with a different eolourfll
pa"emed hide, fepnl6efl ted ....
bl ack., brown. grey a nd ye lk)w.
(Courtesy Prehistoric N ,,"um
of Thera)
ere. However, he paid for this protection with a serious re striction of his
mobility. One could imagine that if a warrior tried to run with such a
sh ield while still h oldi n g h is spear with both h an ds . the fo r mer wo uld
bounce around YCf}' awkwardly, banging against hi s ann, lower face and,
particu larly, his sh ins. It is impossible [ 0 knowwhe n the lower shiel d was
first introduced into me Aegean: no archaeological remains of such
shields have been fo und (doubtles s d ue to the fact that they were made
o f pe rishable materials), b ut the earliest de pictions of them oc cur at
\ Iycenae and are dated to around 1600 BC.
A boss is a common fea ture of a heavy infantrym an 's shi eld throughout
th e anc ient peri od; i t all ows th e shi el d to be used o ffensive ly. This
feature, alo ng with the curve ofthe surface. would have made the figure-
of-eigh t sh ield especially good fOT p rising apart enemy shield-walls and
breaking into a d ensely packed fo rmati on. In th is respe ct it wou ld have
been far superior to the tower shield. The figure-of-eigh t shiel d is mo re
technically d eveloped than th e tower shield, and is th erefor e likely to be
a somewhat late r in novation. As far as is kn own, the earli es t p ictu res of
th ese shields date fro m around 1600-1550 BC at Myccn ae, hut they are
fo und in t he sa me context as th e towe r shi el ds. The figure -of-eigh t
shield is not flat in oroflle as some tower shields appe ar 10 be, bu t is
concave; i t would the reby afTord a d eflective abilit y that would greatly
increase its stren gth . In ad dition i t had an elongated ' boss' , in th e fo rm
of a raised ri dge of wood or tough leath er. Th is and the chara cteristic
'wai sted' sh ape, were deliberate elements wh ich mus t have been deve-
loped fo r p ractical reasons.
The fu nction of the wais t cut-outs is someth ing of a mys tery, as there
are nu actu al d epi ctions showing th em being p ut to any di rect us e. If a
line ofsoldiers fo rmed up in cl ose order with figu re-of-eight shiel d s, th e
cut-o uts would form a series of roughly diamond-shaped holes. It is
possible that these were useful when th e heavy speann an used his
secondary weapon, the th rusting swor d . Each soldier wo uld have une of
these ho les to hi s ri ght front, and could th rust at hi s enemy th ro ugh it
while still re ta ining th e full -body p rotection of h is shi el d. This possi bility
is fu rt her supported by th e fan that the xtycenaean sword in use at th is
time was indeed better sui ted to thrusting than slashing.
It is also conceivable that the series of holes pr esen ted in the shield-
wall might have accommodated the 5pear, but th is seems unlikel y for two
related reasons. Firstly, th e depi ctions do not show the spear being used
this way; they show it being wielded wi th both hands, normally at
shou ld er level and wi th the sh iel d worn around the back. Secondly. the
spears used by these troops would have been both heavy and u nwie ldy
for the war rior to grip in hi s right hand alone, as he would bnve to if he
were ming it to thrust th rough t he sh ield cu t-out; and if he held it near
its central point of balance he would both wast e half of iLS length, and
disru pt th e ranks beh ind hi m,
A questi o n re mains as to how th e figure-of-eight shi eld wa s
distri buted amo ngs t th e heavy infantry, It appears to haw been used at
the same time as the towe r shield, but it is u nclear whether it was
reser'ved for units. or mi xed in wi th tower shi el ds to give the
formation a ' biti ng edge' . Perhaps perso nal p reference or wealth car-no t
be ruled out,
One of the most s pect acul ar
fi nds rel ating t o the Mycenaean
mili tary i s t hi s 16th c entury BC
b ronze dagg er w ith a miniature
fight i ng scene inlaid into its
bl ade , It sh;>W$ both the t ower
and f JgunHIf-eight shields., t he
way they _re worn by means of
re'amon, and l he way the spear
was wl ekted, It also 5hows an
archei' woriJng in conjunction
with the heavy i nfant ry. lGeorge
My401\llS, Mycenae and the

Pri ne et on Preoss;
"pri"'ed by of
Princet on Univer.lity Press)
Boar's-I\lsk I>e"meL Th e p+e<:es
of I\l sk we", found in a
Mycenaean tomb and t he helmet
was reco<'lStrucled ba sed on
depictions found on plaques
and patlony. This one dates to
the 10, .... M.,.ocnoca" peri Dd ; n
the 13th c ent ury BC, l Courtesy
Nat ional Archaeological Museum,
Athens)
Spears
The early Myccnacan cons isted of a long
wooden sh aft about 12ft long ....ith a so cke t c cl
spearhead mad e of bro nze, Th e earliest style of
spearhead was of unusual form and is sparsely
represen ted: the blade had a shoe-socket cast o n
onc or both sides of it. into which the spl it end of
the wooden shaft W,L'i inserted. Examples have
been found at Sesklo, Lcukas, Asinc and Mycenae,
and th is style of spearhead seems to be of mainland
on gm, However, the more common type of
spe arh ead , in use through ou t th e whole of the
Mvcenaean period, was a narrow leaf-shaped blade
....i th a strong mid-ri b and a socketed base, This was
secu red to the shaft by a metal collar at the base of
th e socket, as wel l M by holes through the socket
for pins. The origin of thi s type seems to be Cretan.
Several tong, heavy spea rs of th is kind were buried
in the Shah Gra..-es at and depictions
show it in use by heavy infan uv. Most of the
spearheads found dale to the early :\Iycenaean
pe riod; not manyexamples have survi ved fro m the 11
13th c:ent ury BC ivory ......y
depic:ting a warrior _ .. ring
.. bQ.ar's- tusk helmet , from
Mycenae. This was probatKy one
of many used to d ecorat e 8 c hest
or pi ec:e of fumiture. " ot e the
ch eek g uards f ound on 1.0 11'''
exa mples . (Co urtesy Nati onal
Arehaeologic a l Mu" eum, Athe" ,,)
later penod, although it continues to appea r
on later depictio ns. The reason fo r this co uld
be the lack of rich gr.1ves from the later period .
There were two "'ays in wh ich the socketed
spearhead could be made. They could eit her
be cast wi th the socket complete. or more
~ i l l l r l y mad e with the soc-ket slit an d flat ; rh is
W.1S then curved around to form a soc ket, ,...it:t
the slit running laterally alon g the socket
where the two ends were j oined . The le ngta
of th e spearheads fro m tip to base or soc ket
normally ranged betwee n Bin an d l z!n.
al tho ugh some are mor e than 16in long.
Some early de picuous sh ow the spear
being" ,...-i clded at the level of the shoul ders
wi t h both hand s, while others sccm to be hel d
ill the rig-ht ha nd only. However, the metho d
of holding the spea r wi t h both hands ,
hnrizontal at th e level of the shoulder, is only
ceeu when th e shi e-ld i.. sh mg around 10 the
spean uau 's back. Wh en th e ....a rrior is wiel ding
the spear in any ot her way, he is sho....-n wi6
t he shid d worn in front of his body.
The boar's-tus k helmet
Thi s type of warri or d id no t need to wear
body ar mo ur because of the full -body
protection affor ded by the large sh ield.
1I0....'eve r; it was no rmal for them 10 wear a
boar's-tus k hel met. for the obvious reaso n
th at the head was nut protected by the shield.
.-\. series of boar' s tusk-s, neatly cut lengthwavs
in to oblong plates an d pierced in t he co r- ners "'; th h oles, were sewn on
to a conical frame of leather. The d irec tion of th e cm....e of the tusks ....-as
made to alternat e in each successive row, of wh ich there were norm ally
four or Fi ve. The crown of the hel met was ei the r ad orned wit h a pl ume
or terminated in a knob: and some had neck and/ or chee k guards.
Nearly e"(' IJ' re presentation of a Mycenaeau h eavy in fant ryman wears a
boar's-rusk hel met. Th ese h el mets - a purel y Aegean cont ribut ion to th e
hi storv of armour - would not on ly have look ed impressive b ut would
also have be en ' ef}' protective.
12
~ image of a bQ.ar's-tusk hel mel
e ngra ved on to a Cretin doubl ..
81e. (Co urtesy Professor Or
HG.B uchholz)
Thi s type of helme t is fullydescribed by Homer, although it had gone
OUT of use long befo re his day and did not survive the Myceneean
pe riod. It may have originated in Crete, but it is impossible to know for
sure d ue to a lack of reli ably dated fi nds. One bronze do uble axe head,
said to come from Knossos, has a bo ar 's-rusk helme t engraved on both
sides. Thi s axe is dated to be twee n 1700 and 1450 BC; if it doe s indeed
date back to 1700, the n it is the ol dest known depiction of such a
helmet, and that they d.d origi nate on Cre te. Whatever the
case, the mainland adopted it not long after this; an actual example was
found at Mvce n ae, d at ed 10 soon after l !l!')O RC Then" arc many
depic tions of the boar 's-tusk hel met in Mycenaean ar t: it is worn by
....-arri ors depic ted on rings and e ngravi ngs . it is a popular motif in
inlay wor k, and it is figured on th e ' Siege Rhyton' cup fragments. This
type of hel met's mos t popular period appears to have been c_1550-15oo
BC, and numerous fragments of :he cm and pierced tusks have been
found in tombs all over Greece.
AnOll'l e r exampl e of an ivory i nl ay
portraying a boor's_t usk helmet,
In ca sa Irorn Mycenaea n
Cret e, 14th-13th centur ie s BC.
Thi s Is of rel iiltive ly si mpl e
c onst N ct l on, havi ng only t h ree
rows 01 sl iced tu sk .... wi1:to a
knob at t t,e top and no cheeIt
g....rd.. (Courtesy National
Art::haeologieal Museum, Athensl
13
Sele ct ion of Lat e Mi noan and
Mycena ean helmet ty pes taken
from depictions and .... "'ivin;
examples. Fol l owing th..
discovery of a sui t olbronn
armour at Dendra, ' helmet B' h",s
actually b..... n identi f ied as a
shouldK piece from such a s uIL
Due to the ab&trMot ns t " re of
depictions such as ' F' and ' H' ,
details ol l .... ir construc!lon
:re unknown . (Alter Ventrls
&. Chadwick)
...
v
A B c
D
Tactical imp lications
Mvcenaean warriors armed with a long: spear, a tower or figure-of-
eight shield and a helmet fulfilled the typical tactical role of heaw
infantrymen. Thei r ' \'eapo ns and armour tell us thi s: due to his
relative lack of manoeuvrabili ty th is rypc of infantrym an needed
H G F E
Ot h er helmets
Besides the boar's-rusk helmet, several othe r types are known . A conical
hel met of shee t bronze with cheek pieces ....-as found in o ne of the
Knosstan warrior tombs; it is pierced w'ith holes for aua cbing a felt or
leather lining. Dated 10 about 1450 BC, it the refore probably belongs to
the period of Mycena can control mer the region. Other finds of parts
of th is type of helmct have bee n made on Rhodes and Cyprus.
Two other 1)pes of hel met can he seen on a gold rin g and a
seal fro m Crave Circle A at Mycenae, 1>O[h dated to the 16th
century BC. The heavy infantryman on the seal wears an odd type
of hel met composed of what look like two thick ' rolls'
surmounted by a composite knob and a horn, Th e helmet worn
by a swordsman on the gold rin g- is of a simple de sign, possi bly
made of bronze or thick leathe r and surmounted by what looks
like a tufted cockade or pompon. Another fonn of helmet is
shown on a Crero-Mycenaean vase fro m a tomb at Isopata, ne ar
Knossos . It has six concentri c bands which some int erpret as str ips
of leather, and others as th ick padding- Sl 'WIl together at interva ls.
A similar helmet, whose sections have a more pronounced bulge,
is sho....-n on the fragments of a faien ce relief from Mycenae.
Con ical bfonz. hMmfll with
cheek guards, lound in a
warrior's t omb on Cret e and
reconslrucled from more I....n
a hundred l ra gments. One 01
the rare surviving .....ples of
My<:enaean hel mets other than
t he boar's-t usk type, it dates
t o 1450-1425 BC. (Cau"es)'
Pl'OfesSGr Dr HG.Buchhalzl
14

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15
&rty Mi_and Mya!naean
sw ords d ating f ...... between
e . 1900 a 'ld c. '400 BC. The
shorter eQmpl e, third from right,
w as acl .... l ly found In Tul1<.ey to
wh.... it had been traded. The
rema' nGeI' were (I, sc overed in
Greeee and Crete. (Courtesy
Profe-s$Or Or H-G.8uchholz)
Minoan and M,cenaean daggen;,
and sword !second from le ft).
The left hand dagger i s from
Cret .. and I s very earl y, datinq t c
0. 2150-1900 BC, lon g bef or e t he
appearance of the Myce"aea"
civilizati on. The t wo at right date
t o t he later Mycenaean period,
c. 1300-12oo BC. (Courtesy
Professor Or H- G.Buchholz)
,

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Swords
Seco nd only in Importance to the long, heavy spear in th e Mycenaean
ar moury was th e swo rd 0 1' pakrm a, of whi ch abu ndan t
examples have been recovered from the Shaft Gra ves - in
which every wa rrior was apparently equi pped with ma ny mor e
than he would have needed duri ng h is lifetime. All show
notice abl y fine workmansh ip , whe ther plain, p ractical
examples or richl y decorated pieces . The earlies t swords (Type
A) h ave rou nded shoul ders, shor t tan gs and pronounced mid-
ribs: the forebears of this type are cer tain ly Minoan. Alongs ide
these thrus ting sword s (whi ch h ave bee n confu si ngl y
described as ' ra piers') in the Shaft Graves was fo und anothe r
kind (Type B) ; these are less wel l represen ted than the former,
an d only o ne example \\'3.5 found in the earlier Crave Circle B.
Sword Type B has square or point ed sho ulders. a lon ger tang
an d a sh orter blade. It may have develo ped from the flanged
to be organized in a drilled , close-order fonnati on in order to
be effective. A warrior accoutred in this way and fightin g on his
mm would fall ea'}' prey to lighter. more mobile infantry" and
chario ts. Standing alone , his movement is cl umsy and slow
because he is hampered hy his large sh iel d and his long spear;
it is easy for a light swo rdsman, for example, to parry his spear
poin t with o ne blow fro m several fee t a"'ay and then close wi th
hi m to stab arour.d th e clu msy sh ield before he CMl dra w h is
own sword to defend himself.
To use so me much later analogies that d emo n stra te similar
practical limitations: in the Napoleonic peri od, when the
lan ce made a resurgence of popularit y among light cavalry; it
was well known that if a caval rym an armed on ly wi th a sab re
could the lance poi nt . the lancer \\&> done fu l.
Agincoun (I-U.:' p rovides an even more similar parallel.
when the lightly armed , largely unannoured En g-lish archers
closed wi th vc rJ heavily armoured di smounted Fr e n ch
l.n ig-h ts. and exploi ted th eir far greater agi lit y to kill them in
large numbers with suc h \,;ea pons ,IS daggers and hatchets.
On the other hand , if a heavily equipped wa rrior is placed
sho ulder-to-s ho ulder with several hundred like-armed
comrades a vel) di fferen t picture emerges. The large rectangular and
figure-of-eight shields hel d next to each other or even ove rlapping
would prese nt an armoured wall cove ri ng th e whole ba ttle line from
neck to an kle. Th is would not on ly rende r the fro nt ra nks almost
invu lnera ble to missiles, but would pre'ient many missi les from pas sing
into rhe lea! ranks, whi ch Mlld lll: J shiekb, could I IO L tlo w effectively,
1he size of th e sh iel ds may th us suggest a co ns iderable mi ssile exchange
before co ntact.
In suc h a massed fo rmation. several ranks deep, the c. 12ft spear is far
h o rn being imp racticall y long, but is a per fec t weapon eit her fo r
levelling agains t an opposing" line of infantry', or fo r defence agains t
chariots. In addi tion, the ligh t tr oops who would have p roved so dead ly
to an isolated heal')' infantryman in th e open would themseh-es be
vulne rabl e if they att empted contact wi th such a formati on.
16
Four exc.avated sword s spanning
the Mycenaean period. The left
hand example Is t he earty long
thru sting sword. The non t two
date t o betw" en e.1400 and
c.1200. The short sword at
bottom i s of t he wldebladed,
unf ullered, slas hing type which
was intro duced in the later
period. (Cou rtesy Nat i on..l
Arehaeol ogical Museum, Athens,
and Mu seum of Thebes)
dagger, of whi ch the re we re seve ral examples in
t he earlie r Grave Circle, but it can also trace i ts
10 t he Nea r East. A variant of Type B is t he
horne d thrusti ng sword , the pointed shoul de rs
be i ng extend ed to fo r m t wo h o rns. The
cn lcifo rm--sho ulde red rapier also SlTIllS to he
derived from Typ e A.
From t he begi nning of tbe I-lth cen tury BC a
new o f "wo rd seems to hale been favoured ,
perha ps d ue 10 broade ning con tac ts with the Near
Ea.st. The old th rusting s.....ord continued in me
d uri ng th e l-tt h ce n tury BC. bu t was Ixing
replaced by a two-edged slashing sword . This new
weapon h as squa re ..houlde rs, and these, as well as
the hi lt . arc fla nged.. T he blade is broad, with a
widening towards the tip , and has no mi d-rib . The
earlies t examples most probably da te 10 th e second
half of the l -tth century' BC. Th e a ppeara nce of
these slashing: sword .. i.. evidence for a change -hat
Myce naean heavy infantry underwent dmi ng rtlt'"
later period, when warriors became ligh ter and
more mobile. th a t they fought in more
open formauons t han pT<....-irnc..ly,
Mycenaean infa ntry carried t he ir swords in a
scabbard, sometimes tar... scllcd. worn a t t he left waist
slung from a shoulder belt. This sword served as a
seco ndary weapon for the ea rly heavy mranuvman;
it woul d have beer; usefu l e it her if the spe-od r broke. or afte r the initial push
of spc<lr had inevitably developed into a close-quarter me lee.
Changes from c .1300 BC
In the la ter Myccnaean pe riod t he large body shields a nd long sp ea rs
fell o ut of use . The late r Mvr e-nae an lll' f'":lrll' m u e- h :<1 1
around 5--6ft , still tipp ed wi th a socke ted spearhead . Th is allowe d it to
he wiel d ed wit h on c hand , fre e ing t he oth er for gripping th e shield .
So me infa n try at least (though probably not at ) we re addi tionally
armed with a sword, carried as before ill a leathe r scabbard worn from a
shoulde r bel t. The la ter swords were, as described. design ed more for
slash ing than thrusting, being short e r and wide r than those of the early
period, an d ....'nh no mid-r i b.
Two new patt erns of shield were introduced : the ro un d shiel d or
ospis. and th e ' inverted pelta' . with the earl ier types, n o remain s of
t hese wickerwork and hide sh iel ds have su rvive d . Inst ead of being -ul l-
body d efe nces 'wo rn' by means of t he telaman, tbe late r shiel ds were
ca rried o n the left arm. a develop me n t which was carried th rough to t he
lan-r hoplilf> period Examples of canying the ro und shi el d can
be found in frescoes from Mycc nae, Tlryns a nd Pvlos. It was large
enough to cover tae torso of the wa rrior. hut a lso manoe uvra ble e nough
to use in the indivi d ual combats t ha t a ppear to ha ve become mo re
co mmon in t he late r peri od. The ce nt re of t he shi e ld . being- raised ,
wo uld also have ser-ved as a boss, a nd its cu rva ture wo ul d have h elpe d to
defl ect cnemv bl ows .
I
;
\
F...."'o;o fT"gment depio;ting
" later period warrior with a
round Shie ld. Si nce the exact
positlon and l an gth of hi s
w all pon een only be guessed
at. it i$ diffi cu lt to know
whether h<! Is a j avelinman
or a spearman , al t hough the
presence et a shie ld makes
the l a"_ mora likely. ICour1esy
Department of Classics.,
University of Cincinnali)
The 'inverted pt'lIa' pauem was almost round but had a curved cut-
out in its lower edge. wnen ca rrie d in front of the body it wou ld protect
th e warrior 's torso, but t he cut-ou t woul d allow him to run wi thout t he
lower rim of the shield ban ging int o his upper legs .
With these smalle r shields came a need for body armour for the
heavy infantry. and corselets were in troduced for Mvcenaean warriors
from c. 1200 BC. There are some excellent de pictions of tmops
acco ut red in this way o n rbe ~ o r l l l p r l ' \ V;.J n in TVas p' and ' w a rri o r Src lc '
from Myccnac. These corselets appear to have been made of leather
wi th coppe r or bronze scales sewn on . The depict ed ...ear ners also wear
leather skirts that reach to mid-thigh, which could also be reinforced
wi th bronze scal es. A.hhough (he -nost notable depictions of t his dress
come from Mycenae. severa l othe r sires show rroops similarly equipped.
suggesting that its use was wide spread.
17
The later period also MW the introduction of for infantry,
metal greaves coming into vogue appa rently qui te suddenly in around
1200 BC. The adoption of metal grean.' s was probably linked to the fan
that throughout most of the Mvcenaean period me n prot ec ted th eir legs
with leather ' spats' when at wor k in the fields. The- bro nze greaves
cannot ha ve been very effective sinc e they were relatively thin, one
extant pair being only 2mm thick; modern experiments have shown that
eve n a t hickness of 3mm can be CUI throug-h entirely with a slashing
sword. After the middle of the 12th ce ntury BC preaves disappe ar from
th e archaeological record, so it seems tha t th eir use in the early part of
that century' was a short-lived expe riment.
The chara cte ristically Mycenaean boar's- tusk he lmet rema ined
po pular in th e later period, but new pauerns were also introduced .
These arc kn o....n as the ' horne-d hf'lmet' an d the ' hedgeho!( helmet ' ,
both terms being derived from the helmeu' depicted appearance . As we
have no surviving examples of these helmets th e details of their
construction are unclear. Il is likel y, howev-er, that the)' were formed
from hard leather. Both the ' horned' and the ' hedgehog' hel met are
woru by the otherwise identically dressed warriors portrayed on the so-
18 called "Var rior Vase' fro m .vrycenac, which is dated to about 1200 BC.
'Tho> Wa rrior Vauo': _ of th..
most detail ed depictions of Late
Myeenaean soldiery, this va se
sho ws two units of spearmen
....ad ing out o n campaign . Too
warriors on the side s ho w n
here Wear 'horned helmets',
and on t he reverse Is a
.. eq uipped Une of
w arrio.... wearing ' hedge hog
hAlrnels ' . (Cour1esy National
Ar<:haeological Museum, AthlH1sl
One of a pai r of bro....e grea..-
found in a t omb in It
has noles around t ne edges
through whtc:h bronze wires
were threaded fM attac: hment.
tt d ales t o the e nd of the
"'ye enae.an period. d"ri ng t l>e
12th century BC. lCooartn'l'
Frofes SOl' Dr H..Q.Bud'lhotzl
The ' ho rn ed ' he lmet has proj ections at front an d rear wh ich come
down to protect t h e bro w an d the nape of t he neck, and anot he r is
drawn d own to protect th e temple. There is also a c urious proj ection on
to p of t he helme t, simila r in p ro file to a n axc hcad, 10 wh ich a flowi ng
plume is affixed . The helmet ta kes its name from the fact t hat two t hin,
cur ved horns are shown a t tac hed :0 t he front. \\ne t her or not the
' h edge hog' helmet was actuall y covered wi t h the spincd ski n of the
an imal is impossible to know, but there is no real reason to dismiss the
id ea . The d epictions of i t on the Wa rri or Vase show it as bei ng of simple
conical shape and con-red with sh ort sp ikes.
It is only from the later peri od th a t evidence is fo und for the
warrior using footwear. TIl e soldiers de picted on the
,rarri or Vase have cr oss-hatchi ng on t heir fee t. suggesting that they ale
wearing san dals. Thi s is supported by the discovery at Mallia ot a mode!
of a sandalled fool.
SKIRMISHERS & LIGHT INFANTRY
There are about as man}' depictions of ligh ter
types of infa nt ry from the early pe ri od as t here
are of heaw in fantry n l is ... t ha t light
infan t ry pl ayed a sign ifica nt rol e in :\Iycenaean
wa r fare . In al l exce pt o ne early example where
light Iroops a ppear, heavy in fant rym e n are also
associa ted with the sce ne, suggesting tha t t he two
t roo p types we re mut ually sup portin g one
a not her in a tactical context.
The lightest warriors of whic h we kn ow appear
on t he ' Siege Rhyton' fro m Grave Ci rcle A at
:\Iycenae , whic h da tes from t he second half of the
16t h ce ntu ry BC. These warri ors are interpre ted as
being the ligh test t roo p type ava ilable 10 the
Mvcenaeans because t he)' arc actually n aked. Th ey
have no defensive armo ur and no headdress, and
ca rry nothing but thei r weapons. Two weapons arc
ShO\\11, the sling- an d the bow; since both arc
missile weapoll s a n d the warriors ca rry ro
sidcarms or C\UI d ubs . this stro ngly suggesls that
this l)p c of 1I11' ll wen: not intended '.0
e nter in to hand-TO-hand combat >- th at they we re,
in fact, skirmishers.
They are de picted in a loose formation
characteristic of skirmish infantry, An archer can
be seen be twee n a pair of slin ge rs. and two more
behind them. suggesting that th ese troops we re
nol divi ded into separate units based on their
armament b ut t ha t all -purpose skirmishe rs we re
gr ouped toge the r. The fact th a t they a re fighting in
a loose formation is reinfo rce-d by th e inclus ion in
the sce ne of two heavy in fa ntryme n. wit h tower
shields and long spea rs, sta nd ing in what cannot be
interp reted as a nyt hi ng othe r than a ' shou lde r-to-
shoulde r' formation. Wh e re these heavyspea rmen 19
These si mpl e greaves fou nd at
Dendra date to the earl y 14th
century BC, which makes them
later t han the suit of annour
roun d ..I Lh......"'.. " it.... T h e y ... e
const ruct ed of very thin bronze
pl at e. (After Astroml
'The Siege Rhyton' - a drawi ng
of the survi ving fragments of
the cup. On the fe'latiYeIy 'arge
fragment (right) can be seen
n..aked bowmen and sli ngers
skl nnlshlng, as wel l as a ' unit'
of two infant rymen w ith t ower
shields.. From the city wa ll s
people appe.... to be throwing
missil es lit the enemy. (After
S.Chapmlln)
"land in relati on to the swarm o r skirmiahc ra i, also
signtncane they are drawn up behind them. This fits wi th
the nonnal tactical role of skirmishers, which is to rover
the fron t of th e main battle line and harass the oppoSing
battle line with mi ssiles, in order to break up or disorder
t he opposing formation p rior to contact with the
'friendlv' heavy infantry, This tacti c was rc utine in later
ancient warfare, bu t this dep iction sh ows that it was
also known and employed in the Aegean as early as the
16th cen tury BC.
There is also a figu re of what is p robably a
skirmisher 0 11 an inl ai d d agger fr om Mycenae. He
wears th e rypic alloinc loth o r sho rt ki lt also worn by his
heavily armed comra des. H i.. o lll} \\capu lI ls a sho rt
bow, \ "Cl)' simi lar to those carried by the skir mishers o n
the Sie g-e Rhyton. and hi s pose is also H'ry simila r to
th os e war rior s, As in the Sie ge Rhvton scen e, ' fr ie n dly' heavy
infan trymen are associated wi t h t he arch er, In th e inlaid d agger scen e
the arc h er is t he thir d fi g- ure ba ck from the ' enemy' (who is depicted
as a lio n ) , The warri or s in front o f h im ar e heavy infa n trymen, of
....tho rn there is ano th er beh ind the arch er. The arch er is t he refore
support ing th e he avy infan try, as on th e Si ege Rhvt on . The fac t that
thi s Fi gure wears tile same cl o th ing as th e heavy infantry mi ght sugJ;"est
that he is mor e of a ' regu lar' than th e naked ski rmi sh ers of th e
Siege Rhytc n.
Archers
From the Mycenaean period three main typ es of bow are known: a
simple wooden 'self' bow made of a single stave of wood: a sinew-backed
bow, Le , reinforced with sinew glued to the back :0 prf'\'ent breakage
an d to increase the bow's cast: and a co mposite bow, ....-hich combines
layers of horn, wood and sinew to create a weapon wi th a ba lance of
20
strength under tensile and compressivc forces which provides a
etncrent transfer of the e ne rgy stored in me fully drawn bow.
The wooden self how is th e simplest and oldest form. Since the
earliest direct evide nce for woode n bows and arrow shahs dates to the
late Uppe r Palaeol ithic pe riod (before c. 1O,550 BC) in Europe, and
possibly to th e C Palacolithic and Natufian pe riods (c. l 0,550-8,0':,0
BC) in the Levant , we can he sure tha t they were also th e first type used
in II H" A pgf' ;l1l , a nrl probabl y r-ame into rhe-re <'1 1about the same t.me .
The short wooden how is difficult to shoot well, since sma ll variatio ns
in draw length lead to a great variation in arrow flight and veloci ty. A
wooden longbow, measuring 6ft or more, shoots better and more evenly,
but because of its length imposes a relative lack of manoeuvrability on
the archer. It is therefore llO accide nt that the appearance of a more
accurat e, reliable and manoeuvrable t}VC- the composite bow - can he
clearly do cumented soon after the introd uction of equid-d rawn carts in
Mesopotamian war fare ill the mid 3rd millennium BC, and following
the appearancc of horse-drawn chariots in Egypt and the Levant a
thousand years later. It is worth noting here that the single depiction wc
have in Myccnacan an of an archer/ chariot combination is dated to this
vel)' per iod (i.c. 16th cent ury BC) , and comes from an elite grave at
Mycc nac. T h is may tell us two th ings.
Firstly, assumi ng that the Mycenaeans actua lly us e d this combination,
even if only fo r hunting. it shows that they were familiar with th c latest
technologi cal inuovatiuns which we re occurri ng in the contemporary
cultures of Egyp t and th e Levant. Although the hfycenaean depiction
shows the bow-armed chariot in a stag hu nt, at thi s ti me it was already
being used m mant' in war fare by the Egyptians and I Ivksos.
Thl$ t 6th eentury BC gold
slg nel ......, bea n the only
known depict ion 01 a Mycenaean
bow-anned chariote-er. This is
a hunt ing seene, however, and
a $ $ u<:h should not be regarded
as evi dence that thi s combination
. lIS used iroMycenaean
. lI rlare. (Courtesy National
Arehaeol09l cal Mu seum, Athens)
21
of early Myeenaean
nint and obsi dian arn:>whead".
of tangO!'d and recessed fonns,
'rom various " ites i" Myo;anaea"
Greece, a nd dating from between
2150 and 1500 BC. Such
arrowheads continued to be
used by even wealtl1y ""itfriors
....t.en b ronze had come into
common use. Note the vary
skilled "" orkmanshlp and I!lrtistic
fo nns of many in t he lower
rows. (Courtesy Profe8ll or Or
H-G.Buchholzl

'"
'"
J U -"7 J U Jio"
"-
m

A A
m m m
,..
'"
m
' x
'"
22
Secondly, sin ce the bow-ar med chariot wa s historically cor uem-
poraneo us with the composite bow, for r easons noted above. it suggests
t ha r the Mycenacan cha rio t bowman W<l S armed wi th a composite bow.
(This also shows how quick they were to adopt the latest ,..eapons. )
The composite bow, when fully d rawn, takes a semi-circular curve
thro ughout its length. .Allowing for th e simplicity of this depict ion, the
how <:. h n",'" on i t is only half drawn, but looks as if it .....ould beco me se mi-
circular when fully drawn . funher increasing th e likeli hood th at it is
supposed to be a composite bow. Th e large gri p vi sible on thi s depiction
i s also a feature charact eristic of composite bows and not found on plain
woode n stave bows.
The Siege Rhyton from Mycenae also shows bowmen. It is more
difficult to suggest the type of how these warriors are using, due to the vcry
sanpltsuc uea uneut. TI U:: <-!C<l.ICM uuc b IUll g e no ug;l to 1:0<" a sln gle-etave
longbow. The fact that the bowmen are naked and in loose format ion
that they are poor irregular troo ps who would presumably ann
themselves with the chcapcst rcpc of weapon, the self bow.
The archer portrayed on an inlai d dagge r from the same grave as the
above two artefacts is relatively detai led an d less abstracted tha n the
other depicti ons, but determining the type of bow shown i.. still difficult.
What is immediately noticeable is that it is quite small, whi ch in itself is
an indication that it is supposed to be a composite bow. The curve of the
00...., although only half dra....'n. also loo ks like that of a composite bow,
making this the mos t likely type. This suggests that the more ' regular'
skirmis hcr bowmen such as th is one might haw been better armed with
composite bows than their poorer. irregu lar comrades; it is even possibl e
that these bows were issued by the palace military organization.
Turni ng to the arrows the mselves. the re is ample evide nce in the
form of substantial finds of arrowheads in several Myccna can s.tes.
Alth ough bronze arrowheads became widespread with the development
of bro nze-working technol ogy. Flint and obsidian arrowheads -
presumably relatively cheaper and more expendable - continued to be
used alongside bronze down to abo ut 1400 BC.
Unfortunately, arrowheads cannot be used to form a chronological
t:.p olot,')' on the basis of their forms. in the way that potte ry. fo r example,
ofte ll can. Historical and ethnographic evidence has shown that it was
usua l for mili tary archers to ca rry several different types of arr ows in
their quivers at once, so that they cou ld use heavy Oi ITOWS at short range
to pierce armour; or lighter arrows to ha rass an ene my at lon g range.
Developmerot of Aegearo
arrowheads, diagram of types ,
EH/EM =2500-2150 BC
MH/MM = RC
LHlLM I . se
LH/LM 11 .. 1500-1400 BC
LHlLM III A= 1400-1 300 BC
lHILM III B " 1300-1 200 BC
LHILM III C " . 200-11 00 BC
(Courtesy Professor Dr
H-G,Buehhelz)
Pre-Pottery
Neolithic
Ceramic
Neolithic
EH/EM
MH/MM
lH/lMI
,
lH/lMIT
lH/lMillA
lH/LM ill B
lH/lMill C
Types:
I
,
,


1 I j I
23
.-
I
2.
Tanged projecti le point s. These
were simply cut from bronze
plate, <In<! thus would hOll Y,", been
economical to produc e In large
n umber.>. The two ~ s t po;nb
may be l ig ht j avel in !leads.
(C The Tr\.<sl ees of the British
Museuml
Because flint continued to be used for arrowhea ds even when the me of
bronze was wides pread. it is also unconvincin g to create a chronology on
the basis of what arr ows we re made of. The only remaining means of
determin ing t he relative age of a-rowheads is thro ugh strarigraphic
dat ing {i.c. the sol level in which the artefact wa s fo und }, and suc h
records ar e often in complete . Attempts to di stinguish between
arrowheads and poi nts assumed to be j avelin head s found in th e same
assemblage. solely 0 11 the bas is of arbitrary' size and weight limits, must
also be avoided in the absence of supportin g evidence.
whethe r made fr om bronze or stone , t here are thre e basic methods
by which Aegean arr owheads were fixed to the shafts: by means of a
tang, a recesse d base or a socket Natu rally, sockcred arrowheads are
onlv made from metal , since the sockcting of heads \\'<\5 made possible
by adva nces in metal casting techniques. Tanged and recessed-based
arrowhea ds are found in both bro nze and stone examples. These types
of ar rowheads seem to have been significantly more nume ro us than the
socken- d v:.I n p'}" pe rh aps fo r eco nom ic re ason s, Unlike sockct ed
arrowheads, which had to be cast in special moulds, ranged or r ecessed-
base arrowheads were simply cut o ut of bronze pl ate.
One of the earliest types of arrowhead ....'as also the longest-used.
These were made from bronze plate . tria ngular, ....i th a v-shaped
recessed base which formed barbs when at tached to the shaft This type
was use d from c ~ O O BC right down to th e end of the Mycenacan
The ' o altlft ,n thft Gl ftn' nng t rom
Mycenae, 16th cent ury BC, Thi s
i s an interesting composi t ion,
showing two swordsmen In
combat wh il e .. spearman
remains on thfl dflt fln Sn.. behind
his to_ shi eld. Note th<!'
prominence given to tile central
sword sman figu re. This sc ene
may relate to a long-l ost myth
or evenL (Courtesy National
Archaeological Museum, Athens)
period. It is perhaps no coincidence that this was one of the old est and
lo nges t-serving bronze l}pes, since it .....ould have been th e eas iest to
produce in large numbers, and th us the most suitable for large scale
issue to soldie rs.
It migh t he logi cal to su ppose that the cast bro nze arr owheads which
came into use fmm about 1500 BC onwards wou ld haec been employed
ma-nly by the upper classes of warriors. In fact , however, mos t of the flint
an d obsidian arrowheads known to us .....ere fo und in the \'el")' rich buri a s
of elite warriors. Stone arr owheads fell out of use after about 1100 BC.
Light infantry swordsmen
In addi tion to skirmishers, there is also picto rial evidenc e that the
vlyccnacans empl oyed a form otbaule fie ld ligh t infantry, To define our
ter ms, light infantry are a type of troo ps that fit so me..... he re between
heavy infan try and skirmishers in terms o f a balanc e between mobilire,
p rotection and offe nsive val ue. Thev are genera lly capa ble of fighting
eithe r in massed unit s or as skirmishers. Light infantry were useful to
ancien t armies for several r easons. Their flexibi lity of empl oyme nt
mean t that they could fill th e tactical gap between (in th is case) the
massed heavy infantry and the velY Lght sktrmtshers.
Because ligh t infantry ar e sometimes required to figh t in massed
formations , they need to be more capable of snstamtng hand-to-hand
co mbat than skirmishers, who are supposed to evade close combat. This
hand-to-hand capability, coupl ed with th ei r ability to operat e in loose
formations, made light infantry per fect for i ~ t i n ~ over broken or
mou ntainous terrain, and one can easily understand why the Gr eeks
would have fou nd such troops useful, given the landscape of the region.
He il\ Y infan t '}' a rt" u neuued TO fig h t in g f)w'r h rn k" n , oW' ry,r nwn or Sl eep
ground because of the d ifficulty of manoeuvr ing in cl ose o rder
formatio n in such terrain, and because of th e non-linear nature of
comba t imposed 1"such an envi ron men t. Very lig:ll skirmishers are
sufficie ntly manoeuvrable to d eploy in suc h cond itions with ease, bUI
because of their lack of mHce weapons and armour are unsuitable if it
is desired to d os e with th e enemy. 25
ABOVE Thi s fine ivory milTOr
handl e tmm Cyprus i s int eresting
bec:ausll it portrays
a eemmen Mycenaean motif,
t h" t ot a sword sman slayi ng
11 li on . Dating to around the
13th cent ury BC, this depiction
Show" thal t he appearance or
Myc:enaun swordsmen di d
not alt er much throughout t he
peri od. lCourtesy Dir e<:tor
of Department of Antiquit ies,
Cyp rus)
ABOVE LEFT Lat er Mycenaean
dagg_s, dal o d 10 between 1400
and 1100 BC. Lat er weapons
sl>Chas t ne- am c haract erized
by their one-piece conslnJct>on
and wide blades. 1l'Iey would
originallt have had inlaid grips
of wood or bone. (Courtesy
Professor H-G.Buchhol z)
The earliest pic tori al evide nce for Mycenaean use of lig-ht infantry
comes from the 16th century BC Shah Graves at Mycenae. This is in the
form of a cylinder seal and a ring, of which both seem to show a similar
type of light infantry swordsman. Turn ing first to the cylinder seal, (he
scene depicts a warrio r weari ng the cbarar- te- risric kilr an rl armed with a
long, straight sword, stabbing a heavy infantrym an in the throat over the
top rim of the latter's figure-of-eight shield. Thi s scene vividly depicts
the reason that light infantry cou ld be useful against heaw infa nt ry:
the swordsman has managed to g<-' t past the heavy infantryman 's spear
point, leavi ng the latter at the mercy of his more agi le opponent.
26 This swordsman is obvi ously ' lighter' than his adversary; because he does
not carry a shield. He cannot be a skir-mixbe-r, because he does not
have a missile weapon and is engaged in d ose combat with a heavy
infan tryman. The fact th at a l.gtu infan tr yman was given such
prominence in ar t as to be shown slaying a heavy sp carman suggests that
light infantry were respected in Mycenacan war fare; on this seal the
light s....'ordsman is clearly the ' hero' of the scene. Historically, more
often than not, the lighter the troop type , the poorer and less respected
ti ll::,. were; and apan from their lowly social stat us, skirrnishc rs who did
not close with the enemy were someti mes regarded as using cowardly or
' dir ty' tactics - that was how Classical Greek hoplitcs saw light tr oops.
Ttte fresco "_....nt lrom
~ n I( nossos., 1450-1 400
BC, named 'The Captllln of the
Bl acks ' a cent ury ago. This
shOws what appear.;.; to be a
Gntek javelinman le ading a unit
ot African mercena.ws; the main
figure's skin colour ... brown,. t hat
0' t l>e o thet' logoure, black. The
yellow/or ange ' k il t ' ha S a blac k
and white border. {Court esy
Ashmolean Museum'
27
28
from 13th century
Bc.,depi cting a skinnish
tight
Infamry and
Th is shows the Pyli;on 1igh1
inf antrymen in very unifonn
The s lTaps acroaa t heir
chests ani for the sword
scabbard , and note dult one
carries a spear. The ' k il U, ' have
a bl ack over1ay, proba bly of
leather. See Plate F. (Courtasy
Department of Classi cs,
Un"'er slty of Cincinn;otl)
Th e evidence from th e Mvcenaean world , however, contradict... this
attitude; it even see ms that light swo rdsmen actually enjoyed hi gher
status than the speannen of th e line , being regarded as ' champions '
(promarhm). In Mycenaean depi ctions light infantrv are portrayed with
respect for th eir bravery, and given a prominence that $uggesb that they
wer e an integral pa rt of the army as a whole.
Another and similar depiction of this type of light infantryman can
be seen on the so-called ' Battle in the Glen' ring. Like the previous
exampl e, it comes fro m a Shaft Grave at Mycenae an d is dated to the
second half of the l fith century BC. Her e too a swordsman is depicted
in a heroic light. Th e scene shows, on the left, a fallen man - no weapon
or anTumr visible, but he is probably a warrior. A central figur e i'l
armed wi th what appears to be a sho rt sword or lo ng dagger, and wears
a kilt and a boar's-tusk hel met. This warri or is about to stab anothe r
swordsma n, who i> kneeling and trying to stab hi!> atta cker wit h a long
straight swo rd; thi , man also wears a hel met, though it does not appear
to be of th e boar 's-tusk t}pe. At far right is a heavy infantryman wi th a
tower shield, long spear and boar's-tusk helmet. adopti ng a defensive
postu re. This S(."(.'II{' is Int eresti ng in that it sh ows ( WO ligh t infant rymen
in combat against on e an other with the heavy infantryman more o r less
on the sidelines.
Due to th e specifi c subj ect matte r of th is scene, it p robably dep icts a
long-lost sto ry o r myth ; however, it is still a \'er;- useful d epictio n of
\ l ycenaean light infantry. It shows that they could wear hel mets, and if
so-ne really di d wear the boar's-rusk type it reinfo rces th e idea that these
troops had a relatively high status. That they wear helmets bu t d o not
carry sh ields is in kee ping with the needs of the light infantrym an to
have so me protection while needing ( 0 remain lightly equ ipped and
mobil e. The presence o f a heavy in fantrym an in the scene further
sup ports the likelihood th at ligh t infa nt ry worked in support of and in
conj unction wi th heavy in fan try, It also shows that ligh t Infan-rv
sometimes confronted each other, which is understan dable if both ...ides
Mere us ing the same tactical doctr ine .
The weapons shown in the hands of these war ri ors are also
characterist ically Mycenaean, i.e. the long, straigh t stabbi ng sword an d
th e sturdy dagger or short sword . It may even be possibl e to id entify the
swo rd types used in these d epictions fro m actual examples. For example.
the long, straight sworrl held by th e kneeling warrior in rhc Battle in the
Glen ring could he the so-called Sandars Type A, onc of whi ch was
ac tually found i n the same gra\'c circl e as th e ring, an d is of
conte mporary date, The swo rd being wielded by the swo rds man Oil the
cylinder seal fro m the Shaft Grave has a yery distinctively sha ped hilt ,
which looks \'ery' close to that of the Sandars Type CII sword. Howeve r.
(his presents a chronological p roblem: me CIl sword is date d to around
1400 BC, whereas the seal is from th e se co n d half of th e 16th ce n tury'
BC. Perh aps this seal is evidence th at th is pallt' nI of sword was
in trod uced much earlier than was previ ously tho ugh t. TI le type ot's hort.
wide-bladed dagger with which th e other swordsman on th e Battle in the
Glen ri ng is armed was a common Mycenaca n weilpon, as attested by
numero us fin ds in the Aegean regi on.
A th irrl p n",,,,i h lf' j' x;\mpll' o f rhi ", r}l w of warri o r i s rlep iCl erl 011
ar- cuhcr 161h century cylinder seal from Mvceuae, al tho ugh - since he is
depi ct ed figh ting a lio n - h e is strictly speaking a h.uuer rather th an a
warrior. However, h e is armed and dressed exactly the sam e as the
paral lel exampl es discussed above. He is not weari ng a helmet. Like the
r ing discussed above , th is scene p robabl y rel at es to z story or myth , and
th is id ea is supported by the depiction of a very similar scene on an
ivory mir ro r handl e fro m around 1200 BC. The similari rv of the pose of
both man an d lio n in both depictions, thou gh [OUT cen tu ries apart, is
striking. Alternatively, th e lio n may be a sym bol of ' the enemy'.
Tactica l implications
The most likely tactical me of such swordsmen as depict ed on the Shaft
Grave goods was as a kind o f light infarrrrv wh ich foughc againsl, and in
conjunction with , the heavy in fant ry. They seem to haw hel d a relat ively
h igh sta tus, partly because they went into battle wi thout shields and too k
on heavy in fan try (and, most likel y, chariot" too ) . They woul d haw been
most effe ctive if gathe red i n fairly large u nit" i n a loose, yet organi zed
formation. Xot being 'sc reen ing' troops li ke skirmish crs, they would
need to be in massed units in o rder ( 0 haw enough solidity and impetus 29
30
El engage effe ctively in melees wtrh heavier infantry, They would have
been extremely effect ive against di sordered hcaw in fa nt ry'. breaking
into the lauer's formation and cutting it apart. If hcavv infanuv were
f.cei ng. a timel y rush by a fresh unit of light swordsmen would be able
to outrun the m wi th le thal results. Another likely deploym ent might
have bee n to guard t he Fl anks ofthe main heaw infantry battle lint' from
ene my attacks - one o f th e main h istorical roll' s o f light in fant ry, both in
Orcccc and els ewh ere , since a closely ordered bat tle lin e of heavy
infant ry' is inheren tly vulnera ble to flan k attack. III summation , u.c sc
s....ordsmen would have played an important role in war fare,
wh ich may also explain their promi nence in the a rt istic record.
Jave li nmen
Besid es swordsmen , t he so-caned ' Ca ptain of th e Blacks ' fresco from
Myccnacan Knossos sh ows another t)PC of light infantry - j aveli nmen.
The fr esco fragment shows a runulng ma n in the usual mal e Fl esh colour
of reddish-brown, but also t he upp{'r leg" o f an other nian with black skin ,
as well as a fr agment of th e latter's head. Sir Anh ur [van s, excavator of
Knossos . saw th e brown (i.e. Gree k) war-rior as the offi cer of what h e
be lieved 10 have h t' c' !l a li n s- of Afri can m e rcenaries. he nce rhe n ame
given to the fresco,
h was co mmo n in a ncie n t warfa re for j avel inmeu to ca rry two light
javelins (Mvce naean. pil laja) . The mai n figure 011 the fresco carries j us t
such a pair of ligh t javelins and thi s. coupled with h is lack of an y
armo ur, identifies him as a light in fa ntrym an. Bein g so armed h e could
techn ically be a skirmishcr: but the a ppeardnce of t he bl ack-skin ned
ma n 's teg dose behmd him, weari ng a similar ki lt a nd in the same pose,
suggests that the two a rc part o f z. unit and in an o rd ered format ion,
Th e black warrior shown on [he fresco fragm ent is gene rally cal led a
Nubi a n merce n ary. Apa r t from 11'.(' skin colou r, t he o ther r eason fo r
this is the t.....o feathers wh ich can he see n in th e ha.r of bo th the Greek
a nd the African be hi nd him. Some have i nte rpret ed the warriors as
wea ri ng a ' hri <, rly h al ' wi th horns, bUI l his looks ra t he r mo re like t he
warrior' s hair; ancient depictions of Nubians do not show them " 'caring
horned ha ts. but either lea rner caps or headbands wi th one or two
stand in g feathers. Nubians wore re nowned as good light tr oops an d
were e mployed as me rce n ari es by the Egyptians. The most likely
inter pre tati on of the fres co is th erefore t hat it shows a un it of Xuhi an
javchu men. weann g native headdress along with a Myce n acan kilt.
'i h ey arc led by a Gree k officer, who wears th e Nu bia n feathers as a
badge of his uni t an d 10 tdenufy him as t heir offi cer.
The re is also a not he r obscure fresco fragme nt from
Kno ssos (called b} Eva ns ' Wa r rio n; Hur ling j avelins'} , showing what are
probably j aveli n-armed light in fa nt ry. There arc several similarit ies
be tween thi s and the fr esco discussed above, wh ich in rlica re tha t j avelin-
a rmed l iHht i nfantry were a n act ual t roop typ e, n il' two frescoes a rc.'
pain ted qui re d iffere ntly, sh owing that they d o not co me from t he same
sce ne. Some of the: war ri ors in the \ \'arnors Hurlill t{ j avelins fresco are
wearing white ' necklaces ' of the same tn)e as the Captain of th e Blacks,
an d all arc wea ri ng til l' same kil t. They are portrayed in a rat her densely
pa cked un it, hurling j avel ins upwa rds at about a l:l----degree angle,
possibly a t an elle my banlemem or perha ps over tin.' head.. of o ther
infantry. There is also what can only be an officer standing with a lo ng
staff o r- javelin. All th is suggests th at th ey are ligh t infan try of the same
Mvcen ae an troop type as the supposed Nubians; however, they are not
Africans but a Gree k unit.
Changes from c.1300 BC
Depictio ns fro m the late r Myce naean period are conspicuous fo r the
pr edominance of lighter equ ipped warri ors. Unlike th e h eavy i nfantry,
later Mycen aean li gh t infantry d id n o t undergo an y r adical
tran sformati ons in their equipment or tact ical doctrine. The short
explanatio n fo r th is is that th ey d id not n eed to: it was the cumbersome
h eavy infantry that needed to become more mobile to confront
changing enemy tactics, not the alre ady well-devel oped light infantry.
However, th ere are so me notab le changes in their d ress an d equip men t
that firs t ap pear during th is later period.
Many Mycenaean ligh t infantr ymen in th is peri od wore a t unic,
p robably of linen. This garment was sbort-steeved , cu t to lapel' in
around th e waist and then flare out agai n, and ex tended to just above
th e knee. Another garment worn by th e light in fan try of the palace of
Pylos was a white cloth kilt , wi th a protective leat h er ove rlay r ill so rhat
its ends for med pointed tassels h anging down . Later Mvcenaean
light troops also commonly wor e lin en greaves, tie d at th e ankle and
Gravestone f rom a 16th century
BC shaft grave in the Mycenaean
citadel. This is one of the
earliest depictions of the chariot
in Mycenaean art, and shows
a box chariot riding down an
enemy swcrceman, (Counesy
National Ar chaeological Museum,
Athens)
32
below the knee and reinfo rced m-er th e shtns. The boar 's-tus k helmet
rema ined popular; a fresco from Pylos depicting light infa ntrymen
armed ....-irh ~ p r and swo rd fighting ' barbarians' shows the troops all
we ari ng th e MOle pattern of boar's-tusk helmet.
Depicti ons of later light infantry sh ow th em armed with a sword. an d
a short spear or j avelin . The swordsmen continued to carry th eir weapon
in a scabbard worn from a shoulder belt. Alt hough there ar e no
depictions of later arch ers, thei r exis tence is att ested by the discovery of
mall Ymass-produced arrowheads at Pvlo s. Like wise there is no pictorial
evidence (or ar chaeological , for that matter ) for stingers in th e later
Myccnac an army. However, an expl anation for th is may be that sling-cl'S
wen: recruited from th e civilian population when the need arose and
sup plied their own weapon, as in the early period.
CHARIOTRY
The Greeks were quick to adopt the chariot for IL'e in warfa re. In the
16th century BC. m-er litt le more than a hund red years , th e spoked-whcct
war chario t became familiar in an area extending from Greece 10 India,
and from south RIL,,-, ia to Egyp t. TI le apparent abruptness of ti lls
widespread appearance. and th e d OS{' ,i mi1:l riry in fnnn berween chario ts
over the whole area at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age. has long
encouraged the view tha t their spread mus t be atrribured \ 0 a specific
people. In fact, thi s was th e seco nd , nOI the first nage in a process of
innova tio n and diffusion in which ~ n y factors ar e still obscure.
What we do know is that the fully developed war chariot is shown on
severallate 16t h centu ry BC gravestones fro m Myccnac, as well as on a
ri ng found in one of th e Shaft Graves. Llns ISr oughly the same ti me that
it appeared in Egypt. Al though most probably diffused from th e v ear
East after the Middle Bronze Age (c. 192>0-1550 BC) , as a result of
xtycenae's likel y trade co ntacts with tha t regio n, no single e thnic o r
linguistic group see ms to haw been the mast er innovator in the history
uf horse-drawn chariotry in the Near Eas t. Interesti ngly, unl ike most
Mvccn aean mili ta ry . r-chnnlngy. ' he ch<'l riOl does not seem to have come
to th e mainland via Cre te. but th e ot her way around; it was not unt il th e
mid- Ifith ce ntury.' BC that it appears o n that island, listed on th e
Myccnaean Linear B tablets.
The Aegean chariot
whenever possible, the baul cground chosen by Mycenacan armies was
a relati vely level and open area on which opposing for ces could array
themselves. Du e to the set-pie ce, linear natu re of ancient warfare there
was no question of an ex tended front over un prepar ed ground. Th e
reaso n fo r this W'L' simply that if one side offered batt le on terrai n which
would se riously hamper the adversary's abillw ( 0 use his troops
etfecuvelv, th e adversary would refuse battle.
n "" pitl: the apparently bru tal simplicity of such confrontations. they
did involve quite complex calculati ons which took into account various
factors such as tin-e restrictio ns, the ulti mate objectives of the particular
campaign. lines of co mmuni cation, and even weather; The basic goal
was to fo rce the en emy into baule o n terrain that was di sadva ntageo us
to them. The fact that banles were fouzht on r- hoser; around rather than
(CoJll i lll ml Im 1"'1<' 4l )
1500 BC
.,.ARLY INFANTRY, c.
- - "
1 : Tho'!ora.n he avy spa
2: SwdMlan
3: Heavy speannan
i .
;.- .
A
B
~
, .- -.
EARLYMISSILE TROOPS, 16th- 15th CENTURIES BC
1: Regular archer, 16th century BC
2: Irregular slinger, 16th cent ury BC
3: Nubian mercenary javeli nman,
-
c
D
F
PYlIAN'U f
GHT INFAN
c. 1250--1200 TRY & ' BAR
, . _ BC BARIANS'
. light
e S """""""
--
: ~ < ~ '
\ i r; " 1-(
"
RAIL CHARIO
I : Charlou- T. e.1 2S0-1 150BC
2: Spearman

G
H
1: Mounted_warrioc. (;:1200 BC
i: Mycena&an woman
a

randomly is important to the understan ding of the use of the chariot in

:'o.1}"cenaean warfare. Alth ough no one can credibly argue that chariots
were not used m masse in the contemporary armies of the Near East .
many have argued that the}' could not have been used in a similar ....-ay
in Greece. on the grounds that Gree ce 's terrain is too mountain ous to
accommodate tactics developed on the broad, flat plains of the Xear
East. This argument is unconvincing for several re-asons.
It is true that chariots only work effectively on relatively open ground;
but a study of the topograph y surrounding important Mycenacan and
Minoan centres shows that they all border plains. Mycenae and Tiryns
have the Argive Plain. P)'IO!i the Messcnian Plain. Phaestos the Plain of
Messara , and so forth. These level areas did not havc to be as large as
those of the Near East to be suitable battl egrounds, because the armies
Involved would only have taken up a relatively limited amount of spACe.
Whil e the Mycenaeans had immediate access to amply-sized plains j ust
outside the gates of their citadels, the fact remains that these plains were
still ge nerally rougher, rocki er and mo re broken than those of the Nea r
East. However. the Mycenacans evidently did not let this stop them from
wing massed chariots; they simply made their chariots heavier and more
robust than the-ir light Egyp tian and Near Eastern contempo raries. The
Aegean chari ot, from its earliest depictions at .\treenae in the 16th
century BC and through ou t the Mycenaean period, kept the four-spoked
....h eels seen on other chariots . but made them stronge r and more robust,
a characteristic visible when con-pared with, for instance, Egyptian
chariots. The draught pol e was strengthened by a wooden suppor t with
t 3th centuly BC fresco from
PyIos showWig a dual chariot in
use On the later period. Although
of an ok! type, this e:umple
appea .... _ lightly _n...bucteo!
than earty dual c hariots; perhaps
it was now used more for
transporting infantry than
charging - the spearmlln
marching behind the ch.ariot is
the kind of warrior who would
ride in it. Note the waisted tunics
c n.r-rteri3tH; of cMpOc;ti0n5 of
t ~ tn>op$: and the
boa.....tusk helmets., both wittI
neck guards, one with a knob at
the ape" aod one with a curved
tusk. (Courtesy Department of
Cl assics, University of Cincinnati)
41
\
42
Fragments of a cera mic vessel
from Tiryns,late 12th cent ury
BC, apparentl y showing , a il
chll r i ots. In the ch ariot t o the
tight, part of an infantryman with
a round shield and $pellr ca n
De seen ri ding with th e dri ller.
These were t he last type of
My<;:enaean chariot to '"
IISeCl and were o f t he l >ghl est
c onstruction. (Courtesy NaupUa
Museu m)
cross-brac ing. It is possible than this cha racteristically Aegean second
shaft ex tended backwards as an integral part of the st ruc ture of the
cab. If these chari ots had only been employed to drive the elite along
th e Mycenaean road system, there would have been no ne ed fo r
such stre ng thening.
Throughout the Myccnaean period onl y the two-horse cha rio t was
used, but va rio us types are di st inguishable. The earliest type that
appear.; in th e Mycenacan peri od is termed the box ch ario t, whose
period of use was c.1550-H 50 BC. It is so named because the cab was
bas ically box-shaped. ha ving a more or less rectangular profil e. Its sides
rose up to hip hei ght or somewhat lower and wer e covered ....tith
scre eni ng ma te ri al . po..."ihly wir-ke-rwo. rk . Al t ho ugh this type of chariot is
of oriental origin, its prototypes appearing on Syri an seals o f the
18th- 17th centuries BC. it already displays typically Aegean fea tu res.
The dual ch ari ot, used c. 1450--1200 BC (with possible ex te nsions at
ei ther end of that time range) , is so named because its cab consis ted of
two distinct parts: the cab proper, and curved extensions or 'wings' added
to th e sides at the rear. The floor was Dehaped, probably bei ng made of
interwoven leather thongs which would have served as a kind of
suspension syste m for the occ upants. The siding extended around the
fronl and sides and rose to approximately hip height. The curved side
proj ections may have more clums ily served the same purpose as the
sweeping handrail fou nd o n Egyptian chariots. These wo uld have been of
great assistance both in mounting the chariot, and as guards from the
w h l ~ should the horses at any momen t turn or back. unexpected ly. In
addition they may have acted as ' mudguard..' against flying stones and
dUL The sides and win gs were covered by some son. 0:screeni ng: material
such as leather or linen. Documents descri be these chario ts as being
painted vari ous shades of red, some being decorated ....ith ivo ry inlay.
A ra re type of chariot, known only from on e or two carved
r epresen ta tions, is termed the quadrant chariot; its representations date
to c. l4tlQ-.- l:r/5 KG. Unlike other Myce naean chariots th is type is only
shown ca rryi ng o ne occupan t- Th is co uld mean that it was not used in
war. It appears to have had a D ehaped floor like the d ua l chariot. Its
siding consisted of what were probably heat-bent rail s. the roun ded
profile approachi ng the quadrant of a circle. like the other chario ts its
sides r ose to app roxi mat ely h ip hei ght and were covered with screening.
TI lt" I""T ' lpp of \ lycenaean chari ot to appear was th e rail chariot ,
da ted from c. 1250 BC down to 1150 BC. Its cab could hold two occupants
ab reast. This was an ex tremel y ligh t veh icl e, its sides compnsmg an
ope n framework of rai ls rising to appro ximat ely hip hei gh t, wi th a
rounded profile.
Chariot armament
\Ye have se en h ow the form of th e Aegean chariot was adap ted to th e
local terrai n by making it heavi er and more ro bust. This, and the
armament of the chario teers who rode i n the m, can sugges t the most
likel y tactical use of these chariots in war fare .
There seems 10 be only one indubitable example of a chariot crewed
lY,' an archer in represen tations. This comes in th e
fonn of a gold signet ri ng from Mycenae and is dated to around
I :J50-1500 BC. .-\11other depictions of chariots in this early period show
them carryi ng warri ors armed wi th a long spear, similar to that carried bv
the heavy infantry. A carved gem fru m Vapbei o on the sout h ern tip of
Greece shows th e driver as well as th e war rior. It would h ave been
absolutely necessary ro have a separate driver for a wa r chari ot, because
it woul d be imp ossible to co ntrol the chari ot and wield a weapon at th e
same ti me. Therefore, when only the warrior is de p icted - as in th e
example of a sculpted gravestone at Myccnac - i t must be assumed that
in reali ty there wou ld have been a dr iver as well. (This depicti on is hig-h ly
stylized , which migh t also account for the lack of a depicted driven)
Although some have argued that the Mvce naean spear-armed
chariots wer e used fo r d ispl ay and tr ansport to and fr om th e
bat tlegr ound, the evi dence stro ngly suggests that spears ...'ere actually
used from the chari ot. The gravestone referr ed to above actually shows
the chario t warrior i mpal ing a sword-armed infantryman with his spear.
This tells us fi rstly that the lo ng spear was use d from the back of the
char iot in d ose combat, and secondly that chariots could he used in this
way against infan try, not j ust opp osing chariots.
Unfo rtun ately, it may n ever be po ssib le to di scern any o f th e specifi cs
of Mycenae an chariot tactics du e to th e extreme lack of descripti ve
evidence. Some basic q ue stions can nevert heless be answe red di rectly
from the avai lable evidence, and others are implied by suc h evidence as
the relevant Linear B table ts from Knossos .
Tu rn ing first to these tablets, the large number o f chari ots listed
(-I OO--plus at any one time) suggests that they were used m /M.W. Such
numbers wou ld be much more th an those needed only for th e
of nobles, even allowing extra chariots as spares. Fu rthermore, th e
chariots in wh ich the noblca/commanders migh t have ri dden ac tually
see m to be listed separately in these tablets, in the term of 33 chariots
inlaid with ivory. These inlaid chariots may al so have been for purely
cere monial use, but that still leaves at least 367 other ch ariot s asse mbled
at Knossos shortly before its final destruc uon. while it must be conceded
43
44
Thi s scene showtnv an early
period Mycenaean bo. chariot is
found engraved on a camelian
$NJ from Vapheio doIted to the
15th ce nt u ry BC. Th l . i . one of
t he few depict i ons that . hows
t ha s pearman as well as the
dl1var in t he cnanor, The sturdy
double upper-and-Iowe r draught
pol e with las hed bra.,es Is very
promi nently s hown. tCourtesy
National Archaeological Museum,
Athensl
that th is number of chario ts is still immeasurably smalle r than the bodies
or chariotry deployed by the Egyptians and l liui tes on the more o pen
battlefields of Syr ia, thi s in itsel f does not preclud e the ir use as a massed
shock force.
Such a force could be used to deliver the coup de gmcewhe n the enemy
was recoiling or about to break, to outflank the e nemy bat tle line, or to
pursue a broken encIIlYforce . The use of chariots against di sorganized
troo ps is relatively well attested in anci ent li terature, both the ancie nt
Chi nese and the Hit tites being aware of thei r benefits in this role . The
roughness of the Greek plains and the limited space for th e massed use
of chariot" may have been an important reason for the relatively smal l
numbers of them fielded (as reflected in the KnO SS<iS tabl et") compared
to th e o r Hit ti te s. This topographical limitation is presumably
\\by they did not form th e backbone of th e tacti cal doctrin e,
as was th c case among the Egvprians and Hiu nes.
Experiments in reconstr ucting an 18ft-long Macedoni an .sarissa
(possibly of similar length to the :\Iycenaean chariot spear) showed
that it had to be held near i ts centr e to stop it overbalancing to the
fron t. This woul d certainl y be a problem if it was hel d with one hand,
bill not so if it was held with both h ands in a similar manner to that
h eld by heavy infantrymen. The car nelian gem fr om Vapheio shows a
chario t war ri or hold ing: th e long spear near its rear 'with both ar ms
partially exte nded in th is manner. On the o th er hand , the mort'
stylized Mycenaean gravestone show'S a spear being held wi th the ri ght
hand only (the left is gr aspi ng a sheathed swo rd ). When tr yi ng to
i nter pre t stylized depictions it is poss ible 10 wo r k out Iht> mma li1: ,.ly
realistic el e ments, d istingui sh ing those features that would ac tually
'wo r k in real life from those that would not, By these crite r ia , th e mor e
realistic pose is th at shown on th e Vaphcio gem rather th an that on th e
grave stel e .
In order to use th e two-han ded spear effectively from the chariot, the
Myce naea ns would have had to find a Y.-ay to d eal with the p robl em that
due to the r ockmg mouon of the chari ot, and the j olt recei ved when the
spear struck home. the warri or who had no hand free to steady himself
would lose his bal ance . Pr oj ecting from the un dersid e of some
depicti ons of dua. ch ari ots can be seen a smal l ' spur ' ; no one is sure
what this was or what its fun ction mi ght have been. One pos....ibili ry is
that it is the cnd of a central rail, a con tin uati on of th e pole-stay, which
p ::l ", ..rd th rough rhr ~ h hf.n''''''l;'n the two occupants. The warrior could
have used this to brace h is rear leg when del ivering a thrust, thereby
p reven ting h is unintentio nal ex it to the rear.
The chariot ' c ha rg e'
Earl y Mycenaean chario ts would nor have charged at speed at ene my
formatio ns in the man ner of medieval cavalry, This wo uld have led to
t hem crash mg int o opposing c ha ri o ts and infantry wi th terrible
dest ructio n to oolh sides, and would result in the ....-arri or becoming
d isarmed o nce he h ad struck wi th the spear for the first time. It is more
likel y that th ey would havc taken the more sens ibl e approach of star ting
at speed. to minimize the cas ualties su ffered fro m missiles. and slm,ing
dCW:Jl j us t before contac t with a line of in fantry: Even at a trot the
irnpr-rns of two horses a nd a chari ot bearing d own u pon foot-sold iers
would sti ll be considerable - an d especially so if the infantry werc
disordered. while it is well kn own that cavalry h orses will not willingly
run str aight into a mass of infantry, the psych ological threat posed by a
charge has very o ften proved sufficien t to disorder infan try for mat ions
j ust before actu al impac t. A line of chari ots attacking in such a way
wo ul d be able to ac h ieve th e same, especially given the weapons reach
afforded to th eir crews by long spears. Th e need to defend agai nst this
could be one of the reasons that th e Mycenacan heavy infantry' wer e
equipped and formed in the way they were - with long spear an d large
shiel d, in close-order formations. Of co urse , the chariot teams - like all
war h orses - would have to be well tr ained in this form of atta ck to stop
them from swerving or bolt ing.
Confro nti ng o pposing chario try the charioteers would probably have
tried to avoid crashing into each o ther, the ....arriors using: their spears to
strike at the opposing horses and crews. The fact that th e earl y
Mycenaean chario t warriors are not equipped wi th shiel ds ca n be
recognized as evidence that the)' fough t from th eir chario ts. As ....-ith the
heavy infantry. the long spears with which the chariot warriors were
armed would be an imped iment to a foot-sold ier unless he also had a
45
46
The 15th century BC articulated
bn>nze c:ornelet found at Dendra.
This masterpiec:e of Myc:enaean
broNe-worki ng i s the most
complete found,
although there Is evi dence
that such armourSWere not
unoommon in t he My<;e...... . ..
army. Their \K8 was probably
li mited 10 tt>ehighest d<tn ot
c:h.iI riot-borne (George
MyIonas, Mycenaoe and ftH:
Myc:enaean Age , 0 1966
Princeton Univer si ty Press;
reprinted by permission of
Prlnoelon UniversIty Pre5S1
large shield and fough t in d ose order wnh like-
armed comrades. If these chariot spearmen had
dismounted to fight wi thout shi elds they wo uld
have been nearly useless .
A de piction of an early chariot on a carved
gravesto ne from Mycenac shows both a warrior
armed with a long spear and a s.....ord
attached to the outside of th e chariot cab, in a
manner reminiscent of Egypuan arr ow quIIcTS.
This is most likel y a secondary weapon, logically
provided for use if the spear wer e lost o r broken
or if the warrior had lOabandon th e veh icle .
A mid I fith century BC ring from one of the
Shaft Graves at Mvcenae depicts a chariot crewed
by a driver and an archer. This is one of th e
ea rl iest depictions of a t.lycenacan cha riot,
rough ly cont empora ry' with th at on the carved
gravestone. Unli ke the inlaid dagger described
earlier, which at face value depicts a hu nt but
probably h ad a rlt>f" p l"r mean in g , th is ri ng does
no t suggest that it is depictin g anything more
than a nobleman's hunt. Also unl ike the inlaid
dagger, the weapon and equipme nt shown are
perfectly suited 10 hunting. and the emphasis
placed o n the chariot horses rathe r than the
chariot itself also conveys a con-military feeling.
None of t he three chariot-sculpted sha ft
gravestones show archers; however, this signet
ri ng came from the grave of a man who can have
been at no grea t temporal remove fr om the
introduction of this Asiati c combi nation of bow
and chariot. The fact that this combi na tion was
shown nmTPmporary wi th a n in d ubitabl e
example of a spear-armed chariot warrior in warfare furt her suppo rts
the likelihood that the signet ring' s subj ect matter wars intentionally
that of the h unt. This being the case, ther e is no credible evidence
for :\Iyce nacan chariots being crewed with bowmen for wa r fare - a
maj or difference between Myccnaea n chari ot tact ics and those of
Egypt, for example.
The Dendra armour
At Dendra, near the :\Iycenaean citadel of Midea, Gre ek and Swedi sh
excavations found a chamber lamb which contained a suit of bronze
armour which is dated [0 about 1400 BC. This set of bro nze plate
defences displays adva nced skills in metalworking and armour design.
The vari ous 'pir-r-es, eg shoulder guar ds, skirt, en d cuirass, were fitted to
one another and attached wirh lea ther th ongs, allowing th e various
plates ( 0 slide over one another and affording th e wearer some limited
movement of the hod)' and limbs. The pieces of a boar' s-tusk helmet
with bronze check guards were fo und wi th the armour; as were a bronze
neck guard which sat atop the shoulders, bronze grca\'es and arm
gua rds . A knife or dagger '.\11h a single cutting edge was also fo und.
There was ongtnauy a sword in th e tomb, of which only two gilded rivets
fr om the hil t survived ; and there may also have been an arrow quiver
and a shi eld, th ese last two items only surviving as patches of blac kish
material. (What some have suggested was a shi eld mayinstead have been
a cover for the large two-handled basin also found in th e tc rnb.)
This is by no rr.eans the only exampl e of Late Bronze Age Aegean
hrnn7f> armour to have been found. Xine other sites have yielded
examples of armour made from bronze plate. These include gr ea"es
and hel mets, as well as pi eces .....hich see m to have come from the same
typ e of armour as the Dendra example. Phaistos, Mjcenae and another
tomb at Dendra have all revealed pieces like thi s.
This type of armour seems, then, to have been in reasonably
wi de spread use between c. 1500 and 1400 BC in the :\l ycenaean wor. d.
The use of pi ale for armour continued thro ughout t he remainder of the
Mycenacan pe riod, but what is sign ificant here is the fact that it was so
developed in the early part of the period. This shows that the Dendra
panoply w-as nor a 'one-off' created for an innova tive warlord who took
it 10 the grave wi th him. Rath er, it seems to have been a relativel y well
established type of Mycenaean mili tary equipment.
Inter esti ngly, the Linear 1\ tablets from Knossos and Pyla s both ha ve
ideograms whic h seem to indicate these armour corselets. The Knossos
tablets show the issue of at least 36 corselets, and on ni ne tablets the
corselet has been er ased an d an ingot inserted instead. This may be
intende d to be an issue of me tal required to make corsele ts. In the
majori ty of cases the releva nt numbers associated with a corselet
ideogram have been lost. so it is unknown how many more might have
15th cent ury BC bronze f or earm
guards f rom Dendra. Defences
suc h as these were probabl y
worn wi t h t he bronze corselets .
(After Aslrom)
47
48
0..., u' lhe , .. re d .. p6ctl...... ur
horse-suldier$ In Mycenaean art,
from a late period vase frag.....nt.
The artis1'S unfami liarity with
the subject ma"er may be the
reason for the wa y the ' rider'
i s shown bell l de t he horse,
al t hough he Is hol ding the
reins. (Courtesy National
Archaeologi cal Museum, Athens)
bee n listed. The Pytos tablets list 20 corselets; and in addition, the Pyla s
corselet ideograms have a triangul ar shape on top of them. This loo ks
like a he lmet, and the Pylas tablets ac tually mention helmets along wi th
the corselets.
A clue as to the use of the Knossos corselets ma}' he found in the fact
that eac h of those tablets is introduced by a man's name, and itemises
corselets, wheeled chariots and horses. This strongly suggests that the
corsel ets were worn by at least some chariot-home w-arri ors. Eight of the
table ts list ' one corselet ' and 14 list ' 1\\'0 corselets' . This could mean either
that some men were issued with two corselet>; for themselves, or that some
men were issued with one corselet for themselves plus o ne for their driver;
Those crews who did not pos.'ieSS a annom- (presumably the
majority) wore minimal dothing typical of earl}' Mycenaean warriors,
consisting of a cloth kilt-like garment and hare upper body
Later chariotry
As with all of th e other Mycenaean troop types. in the later period th e
Mycenacan chariot became lighter and more mobile . The previous
heavy box chariot and dual chariot !{ave way to the lig-ht r ail chariot,
which appeared in th e 13th century BC.
The appearance of th is new style of chariot accompa nied a major
change in the tactical rote of chariot!"}'. Unlike in the early
period, chariot-bo rne warriors were now expected to dismount to Ctght..
making them in effect mounted infantry, This can be seen by their
equipment. whir h became the same as that of the infantry - a shor t
spear, hel met, body armour, ki lt , greaves. and a round shield . A fresco
from Pylos also shows a somewhat lighter ch ariot-home war rior who
wears th e cloth tunic in place of body ar mour. These changes refl ect the
mor e mobile nat ure of warfare in the later period. Such a for ce would
have been useful for rushi ng tr oop'" to areas which had come under
sudden attack, as well as for launching such attacks.
CAVALRY
The rroop type fo r ;vhich there is the least evidence is eavall)', of which our
knowledge is limi ted to what can be gleaned from a handful of pot tery
fragmcn ns. These date to the cud of the period. givi ng so-ne
indication of the spread of t he an of horse- riding: to Greec e. As regards
dress, o ne rel.uivelv detailed d epi c tio n fro m Mvce nae sh ows the
caval rym an h'TP'I'l:l"S, the fami liar late pe riod tu n ic, an d wha t
appears to he upper-body armour. Stirrups were as yet unknown, saddlery
heing: in its infancy. The horse was fi tted with a saddle probably consisting
of little more than a padded blanket. Th e reins and bridle were probably
relatively developed owin g to the long tradition of chariotrv in Mvccnaean
Greece. Examples of bits have be e n found , al t.h ough whether they come
from saddle hors es or chariot horses is unknown .
lhc role of saddle horses in !.Iycenaean war fare is a matter ior
conj ect ure, since no depictions or descriptions or combat involvi ng
cava lry are known. No weapo ns Gm he seen in the few de pictions.
Although t his mi ght be taken as evi de n ce that these war riors did not
carry spears or javelins , it cannot be said for sure that they were not
a rmed with swords. Due to the highly stylized and fragment ary natur e of
l ht' pictorial evide nc e, as we ll as th e unfam iliar s u bj ec t for th e ar tist, th e
swo rd may have been omitted as it was hidden by the figure 's righ t side
(the depictions show the figures facing to their left) .
If they di d carrv a sword, it is possible that these warriors fought a..
cavalry, However, it is equally possible th at the warriors shown mounted
represent a class who . although not rich or prestigious enough to 0\\1\ a
chariot, could afford a horse to carry them around rather than walking.
The third possibility is tha t these warriors constituted a force of
mounted infant ry, This woul d tie in to the evidence that some char iots
in the later peri od were also designed simply for swift transport. Such a
force would have been part icu larly suited to respond ing to the kind of
raids that see m to have been oc curri ng in the later period.
MILITARY ORGANIZATION
The army was not composed of a horde of individual noble
warriors who dressed and armed themselves however they liked . Instead,
the liter ary and archaeological evidence shows that it was composed of
several well organi zed an d equipped troop types, each ....-i th their own
characteristic formations and tactical uses. These troops were organized
into units of those similarly equipped, and must therefore have been
' drilled' at least to some extent. In this respect Mycenaean armies were
similar to those of more imperialist contemporaries ouch as the Hit utes
and Egypti ans. A degree of organization was clearly necessary to a military
culture which retained power in its 0"'11 homelands for centuries, and
se bed a nd co n trolled other areas suc h as the Aegean islands ancl Crete.
Therefore , it follows that each Mvcenacan ann}' would need to be
supported by a command and logistics system equallywell develope d, by
the standards of its age. 111is issue has been more fully addressed in the
previous Myccnuean scholarship.
The most useful primary evidence of organization comes
from the Pylos and Knossos Linear B table ts. Some information about 49
The ' Li on Gat e" at IAyeenae. This
wa.. the main ent rance to the
citadel. of wt>ictI the ma..........
$tone c ircuit wa ll s _re b<.Iilt
In t he 13th century BC. The
sc ulpt ure above the illte ma y
ha.,.. been the c ity's or rule r'$
badge. I George MytonitS,
Myeenae and l he
Age, 0 1966 Princet on University
Pmss ; repri nted by permission
of Pri nceton Unlven ity Pmss)
Mycenacan mili tary leadership G ill also be gleaned from depicti ons.
The late l Sth century BC Pvlos tabl ets provide us wi th a great deal of
infonnation on th is topic. Although Myce naean tactical doc trine
appears to have unde rgone a signiricarn cha nge in th e 13th century BC.
such aspe cts as hi gher command structure and logi stics may be
presumed to have re mained relatively uncha nged fr om the earlier
period. at least a.s far a" t o fi t rhf' o t her evidence . The Linear
B archives pai nt J. picture of a highly develo ped bureaucracy dealing
with military ma t ters. Th is in itself suggests that the Mycenaean anny
must have been well organized and institutionalized to warrant such a
palace bu reaucr acy to support it. The rel evant tablets deal with such
things as unit compositi on, deploymcnts, garrisons , equippi ng of troops,
and supplies.
Battlefield organiz at ion
Th e Mycenaean military system was composed of man}" un its or va rious
troop I)pes which had to work in conjunction with o nc anot her on the
battlefie ld in order to fulfil their various tactical roles. In th e ch ...sic field
battle the heavy infantry which seem to have fonned the core of th e army
wnll lO h::l\"t>been drawn up in line in the centre . Th e heavy infantrywoul d
most likely have been organized into a number of units with in th e main
battle line. for reasons of command and control. Because swordsmen
seem to have fought closely wi th and against heavy infan try, un its of such
tig-hter troops were probablydeployed amongst the heavy infantry units or
50
around them. On the flanks of th e main battle line wo uld have been other
light infantry such as j avclinmen and more swordsmen. The skir mishers ,
being screening troops nature, would have been deployed in their
loose format ions across the front of the ann}', from where they could
screen the troops behind them from opposing missile fire and hara....\ the
enemy with their O\\-TI arro....'S and sling bullets.
The heavr c bariotry of the earl ie r period, also organized inro one o r
more uni t.. (depe nding on how many were fiel ded) , could conce ivably
have been deployed in any of three "'-aY's: either in front of the heavy
infant ry, behind them, or 0 11 th e flanks. The first would have allowed
the chariots to charge directly int o either th e enemy chariots or heavy
infantry. This does not seem likel y, since it would involve charging
fromally against well ordered spcamle n o r char iots. Chariots see m to
have been most effect ive agai nst disordered or outfl an ked troops - the
Hi ni tcs and eve n the approximately contemporary Ch inese used them
in this way.
If the chari ots were depl oyed behind the main battl e line they could
have been used to de liver th e cou,fJ de grace after the heavy infantry and
swordsmen bad done their work of breaking up and disor dering: the
enelllYline. Th ere is a problem with this, h owever: how would fri cudlv
infantry he able (0 get out of the way of their mm cha riots chargi ng: from
behind them? On the o ther hand, should fri end ly infa ntry put their
opponents 10 ni ghl and create a g".tp for their chariots, th e latter would
have been very useful for pursuing the fleeing foot.
The third possibility, that of the chariots being deployed o n o ne or
both of the flanks, would have given them the opporruni ry to defeat the
enemy's flan k troops and turn the flan k of his main battle line . This
therefore seems th e most probable use of heavy chari ots in tactical
warfare. Indeed, at the battle of Kadesh (1300 BC) the Hit tite chario ts
struck the first blow of the batt le b; chargi ng the unguarded flan k of one
of the Egyp tian divisions.
The point of these speculations is 10 grce an appreciation of the
armywould h ave required a n o rganized command st ructu re
in order to get their various troop types la work together as an ann)'_
Certain functional appoin tments would have been unavoidable : there
must have been a command er-in-chief and at least one officer for e\'e'Y
unit i ll th e army. Th e comman der-in-ch ief' sjob would be, presumably, to
plan the ro utes of march of an army on campaign , and to devise th e plan
of attack once the battlefield had been chosen (as well as take the credit
for victory and the blame for defeat, no doubt). He would give these
ord ers to the un it commanders, who in turn would order th eir units to
move in accordance wi th the pl an and some required timetable .
Command st r uc t ur e
The highest rank in the Mycenaean army was most likely the umnax
(chid) of o ne of the rich palaces suc h as Mvccuac, N I U ) ) U), e re.
Although we know practi cally no thing about the aaakae except from
the tabl ets th at record thei r privileges. and Homer, who might have
pr eserved thei r names, th ey were probably the ' own ers ' of the forces in
their region. The rich burials of the :\Ir cenaeans are generally accepted
to be those of th e hi ghest IC\-e1 of society, and th e gra\'e goods in many
of th ese paint a picture of a militari st ic m ling class. Heads of state were 51
52
the usual commande rs-m-cruet ot most an cien t armies, includi ng those
of the con temporary Egyptians and Hi ni tes. This was natural, since rhev
had to be seen as mi lita ry leaders who could protect their people.
Ho mer tells us mat for the Trojan expedi tion th e many Acbaean
kin gdoms were unit ed in a confederacy led by the king of Mycenae.
However. even if -his confederacy is not a fict ion but a pi ece of hivorv
which curvive-rl th ro ug h the oral rrad irion d O"'1:1 to Ho me.. r 's d ay, it
probably dates to at least the late l. Srh ce ntury BC - quite late in the
Mycenaean ch ronology. The uni formity of military dress and cquipn-em
in Mycenaean Gr eece , Cr ete and th e Aegean in g-eneral does not
necessarily imply th at th ere was one ci ty or king con trollin g- all of it ;
rathe r, it sug-g-ests a common Achaean mode o r wartare.
It is possible that alliances and p c t ~ were formed betwee n palaces,
as seen in the mainland's control of Knossos. Mycenacan Greece was
made up of small auto nomous Slates ruled by independ ent chiefs. The re
ma y have been family ties betv..een them, but nothing definite is known
about the rel ationsh ip of one settlement to another. Civen a good set o f
ri ch graves. like those of Mycenae. at other sites , it might have been
possible to extrapol at e th e relative wealt h of th ese settlemen ts and
th erefo re thei r r-elati ve po",er. b ut unfo rtunatel y th i,; is no t the case. The
evidence at Mycenae is la rgely missing and all of its tholoi (a l)pe of
tomb) have been looted. The fact th at the finest array of mil ita ry
eq uipment of the period was fo und at Dend ra is simply a matt er o f
chance , and tells us not hing about the ranking of Argolid sites. Thes e
stat es may have had lOOM:: milita ry associations at one time or anothe r,
which may be the ori g-in of Home r's idea of a confed eracy; but it must
be imagined that over centuries such allianc es wou ld someti mes have
broken down, resulting in inter-state wars and the rearraugcmcnts of
such relationsh ips.
The wanax probably hel d su preme authori ty over the fighti ng: forces
and came from the hi ghest clas,s of soc iety, I lis immediate deputy was
the lawav tl' (or (qrla) , translated as ' leader of the fighting people' . This
purely mili tary figure was probably th e r eal ' bl-ains' behind th e ar-my's
stra tegy and tactics, since he was free of th e much broader concern.. of
the wanax. He wou ld p resumably have been of high birth to entide him
to hol d such an impor tant positio n, and migh t well have been a member
of th e wanax 's family,
Below th ese leaders of the state the ' r egimen tal' co mmanders and
the basileis must have operated. The basileis included ad mi nistrators of
provincial estates, whom we find being given new land in the Pvlos
tablets. Due to th e expense and pr estige of chari ots. the warr iors who
were moun ted on them were probably from the upper class of society.
This co uld include landown ers such as baslleis and oth er high-born and
the refore wealthy me n. The pal ace se rved as the administrative,
comma nd and supply cen tre of the arm)'. Chariot un its were o rganized
an d co ntroll ed by m e palace. as the ta ble ts show.
Higher organization: the evidence and the arguments
The role of the palace as the ' general headq uart ers' of the Myceuaean
army, issuing detail ed o rde rs for the deployment of troops, call be seen
in the Pylos ta blets of the 13th century BC, ar. d may perhaps be
presumed for the ear lier period. The tablets rec ord th e installat ion at
several places along the vlessen ian coast of bodies of troops each
consisting of a commander, several officers and a number of soldiers.
Each conti ngent is accompanied by a nobleman wi th the title ftJ,ta.
Some have interpre ted th e hJrln as a kind of liaison officer be rween the
field unit and the palace, others as the commander of a regiment of the
anny. Since each gro up lists an officer as well as an eqao; the former
interpretation seems more likel y.
This doc ument, comprising five tablet.", is headed ' Thus the wa tchers
arc guarding the coas tal regions ' . It tells m that Pylas, bei ng an nnwalled
coastal city, feared an att ack from the sea, and that the authorities at th e
palace decided to send out small unit." to watch "or raids. The whole
coast was divid ed into ten sectors; th e name of the official res ponsi ble
for each sector is listed, followed by a few other names who are
presumably his subordinate officers. In a world wit hout maps, th is shows
a hi gh level of organi zation.
The palace bureaucracy also records the issue of what appears to he
clothi ng to be distribu ted to th e f qrt a and keseno (see below) at Knossos.
These do cuments form part of a series of tablet." that deal with a specific
kind of textile or garment called pawfa. This garment/ textile is further
defined by adj ectives such as fH'1U'weta (twit h wedge patte rn' ) , aroa (' of
better q uali ty' }, reukonuku ( ' ....-ith whi te fringes' ). eutarapi (,with red
patter n' ) , and ot he rs, It has already been suggested that the eqetae wc rc
high-ranking commanders. K l') t7/Q, on the other hand , seem to have
been a sort of alternative to the l' qt'( l(! but ofa lower rank, since th ey are
neve r issued with ga rments ' of be tter qu ality' , but wi th those of rath er
unifor m decoration. It is likel y that the word kesrna was the designation
for fore ign wa r riors who were supplied wi th garments fro m the palace.
Th is is suppo rted by the Ca ptain of the Blacks fresco from Knossos,
A reeonstn,,; t ion of th e c itadel
of MyeenM .s it INIY
o p pco rod I.. Dbou1 1300 B C.
(from a pa,nli n'll by Alton
S.Tobey)
53
5'
....hic h sho....-s the Xubian ....-arrior wearin g the same type of wedge-
patterned Mycenaean kilt as hi s Gree k leader. Finally. the total amount
of stor ed paweQ probably about 453 it ems, the large number Ixing
an ind icat io n that we are deal ing wit h uniforms.
A Mycenaean army composed of most or all of the d ifferen t tro op
ident ified her e would have consisted of several thousand soldiers
of all ran ks. Because o f th is, it is impossible that its warriors could all
have been d rawn from the local region 's ruling elite. Some d isagre e
....i th th is. believing tha t the Mycenaean sold ie r was firs t represe nted by
the in dividual aris tocrat from th e time of th e Shaft Graves. followed by
an el it e corps at the time of the fall of Knossos, and that it was not until
the 13th century BC th at units of commo n men developed. trained to
Il ghr on foot and led by horse-ta mi ng officers. However, this model is
unlikely to be accur at e. It souucb, heavil y in fluenced by the Homer ic
'heroiziug' of Myccuaean 'Warriors a nd Home r' s picture of individual-
istic warfare . Co uld the individual aristocrat o f the 16th cen tu ry BC
have exerted enou gh power over the population o f his region to
control th em. interact wi th fur-off kingdoms, an d retain hi s position,
without an actual army behind him? As for th e sugges tion that the
individual aristocratic warriors had developed in to an eli te corps by the
time of the fall of Knossos (c. 1400 BC) , it has since been shown that
although the gra'-es of this peri od do seem to represent part of an
' aristocracy', the excl usivel y mili tary characte r of such a class ca nnot
be demonstrated.
Although it is pro bably correct that in the 13th ce ntu ry BC sold iers
were o rganized into units of tr ained common men, the evidence
rhar thi$ was <!-bu Lt:ill g done as early as the Shaft Grave penod
(c. 1650-1550 BC) . The main evidence for th is is th e depicti ons and
fi nds o f weapons in the Shaft Graves associated ....-ith, for example, the
employmen t of units of heavy spearmen.
Driessen and Macdonald analysed the so-called ' War rior Graves' of
c.l 430-1400 BC Crete [0 see wha; rhev could tell us abo u t Knossian
milita ry organizatio n in the period. They start ed wirh rhe-
assumpti o n that. given the evidence fo r a central ized soc iety and
bureaucracy. a military organi zati on was likely to have been part of the
palace struct ure. It d oes not seem likely that there was a specific ' wa rrior
class' wi thin Knossian society; such as t he lat er homoioi of Spana. The
mos t plausible interpretation of these graves is that they represent
officials o r diffe ren t ranks in the palace military organi zation. These
llIa.y have been drawn from diITe rent levels ot society, though
the wealt h of th eir graves suggests mat all of them were from the u pper
levels. The Knossos graves furn ished ....ri rh swords are not poor burials,
and none are likely to represent the lower classes or th e rank and file o f
the Knossian armv,
As to whether this kind of mili tary o rgani zation was also p resent in
other areas of the Aegean, Driessen and \hcclnnald say th at. it was
possibly unique to Knossos at th e tu rn of the 15th centu ry BC. Altho ugh
lack of evidence from th e mai nland preven ts firm comparisons between
main land sites and Crete, such u niqueness does not seem likel y, given
the facts that at this time Knossos had been take n ove r by the
Mrce naeans, and the language in which thi s ' Knossian' bureaucracy was
bein g cond ucted was an early fonn of Greek .

"'
__--'
Although the c...-idcncc for an ins titutionalized military o rganization
on the main land is not a t all conclusive , the fact that such a n
organ ization was set up at Knossos u nder Mycenaean control, in thei r
:an g uagc . ....Ju v.:. d Lvu fiucUl i llfl:H:ULl: Uldl :' UL1I a leve-l uf u l g d u i t a u ulI
also existed on the mainland. Th ere is also the argument from need:
such an organiza tion woul d be necessaI1' to eq ui p, train and command
armies like U10..e of N IOSWS and Pvl os - armies of several thousand
soldiers, organized into like-armed units of va ri ous types.
This prompts th e question, who made up the rank a nd file of the
arm)'? If some (probablv most ) of these soldiers were drawn
from the common folk of a given region, it would have been nccc;sary
for the ' state' (ce ntr ed on the palace ) to arrange for hund reds of shields
and weapons to be made and issued to the recruits. In orde-r for a unit of
heavy infantry 10 pe r form its tactical role cffecrivclv its shields
....'o uld all have to be of a relativelyuniform size and its spears of the same
length. This is certainly the case with the 161h century BC w; rrriors
deple ted i ll a fi esco f l UIII Akro urt UII Thera (th e prcscllt Aegean
island of Santo nni ) , as well as for th e Knossian depictions of light
infantry, and the heavy infantrymen shown on the ea rlier Siege Rhrton.
In addition to armi ng and equ ipping such a force, the Slate wo uld have
to organize th e trai ning of the soldiers accordi ng to their par ticular
troop lype, to fight in appropriate for mations and 10 manoeuvre wi tho ut
falling into disorder. In short, they woul d have to be drilled, and in order
to achieve thi s a well orga ni zed militar y system woul d have to be in place.
Returning to the question of whether or not such a mili tary
organization existed in othe r Mycenaean centres besides Knossos, the
ar chae ological record of Mycenaean plate armour may also be
sign ificant. At we have documents listing the issue of corselets,
but no archaeological eviden ce. At nine other Mycenaean sites we have
archaeological evtdence or corselets, but no doc umentary evidence .
Knossos tells us that these corsel ets were dealt with by th e palace
bure aucracy, even though none may have actually su rvi ved fro m there,
It is th erefore r easonabl e to suppose th at , having th e actual rem ains of
corsel ets at other sites, th ese too would originally have been issu ed by
the local palace. Afte r all, as has been seen, these corselets were used by
expensive chariot-borne soldiers, and would themselves have been
difficult and expe nsive to make.
One characteristic of the Mycenaean anny compared to th at of the
conternporarv Egyp tians or l l ittires is that the formers' equipment is
comparauvelv less uni fonn. It may he th at di ffer ent palaces had sli.;htly
di fferent patterns of shi el ds, helmets, ere, which in turn suggests a
number of high ly ce ntralized states.
Uroe.. r B bblel rrom Mycenaea..
Knossos, one of the ma ny t hat
de al wM military equipment .
Thi s p.;or'tku!;w " )lampl" reeeees
the Issue '0 ;I w;lrrior of a dual
c hariot, a n armoured col'$elet
a nd hol'M'L (Aft er Pal mer, 1965)
55
(
/)
/--
1\
56
Linear B ideograms of eorselets
from Kno<:<><><> and The....
come from tabl ets recording the
a lloc.at ion of military equi pment
10 "".. wriors., and are ..,idence
of. well-deYeloped My<:_an
mil itary oryanization. (Atter
Ventrts & Chadwi ck)
The breeding or importing of hund reds of horses to d raw chariots.
as well as the actual tr ain ing of t hese horses (a highly expensive and
specialize d skill) , wo uld likewi se need to be organized u nder some
central authori ty. Evidence for me allocation of chari ot horses can be
fou nd in the Knossos tablets, whi ch show ho rses ite mi zed alo ngs ide
corselets and wheeled chariots, together with a man's name. There ar e
about 11 entries with ' a single horse' , an d at least 2;') wi th ' a pair of
horses ' . This smal l number of listed horse teams. as compared 10 Iht"
ove rall listing of 'lOO-plus charions, might be explained by the simple
possibility that most of the ta ble ts recording horses d id not su....-ive the
destr uction of th e palace - such sur-riva ls are , by defi nition, random. We
know from depicti on s that th e chariots had a team of two horses, so why
were some men on ly issued with or-e? The a nswer could lie in the fact
that the same applies wi th regard to the issue of corselets. A possible
explanat ion is th at this set of tablets ar e ' tying up the loose ends' 1Il the
general equipping o f th e Knossian chariot co rps. The fact that in some
cases a bronze ingot ideogram - enough for a pair of co rse le ts - is
inse rted instead is also in keeping with this in te rpretation.
U ni t si z es
It was the usual practice in organized an cie n t a rmies To haw' at leas : a
nominal or suggested set of unit strengths. It is not easy to reconstru ct
normal uni t sizes fo r any of the known vtycenaean troo p types , bu t
what litt le e vi d ence can be gleaned from th e Pylos Linear B table ts of
c. 1300 BC is quite in teres ting. These troo ps were always d ivided into
multiples of ten, so it appears th at th ey organized th ei r units ba sed on
th e deci mal syste m. It is likely that at th e tim e of the Pylos ta blets the
actual st rengths of vari ous types or units d iffered from those of the
earlier per iods before the implied change in methods of wa rfare.
Howeve r, the fact that th e army (and hence the pal ace mi li tary
orga nization) used th e deci mal system is so me thing so fundamen tal
and re mote from tac ti cs that there is no reaso n to d oubt that it also
appli ed earlie r,
In tc resringfv, U"'f" nf th,' r1p('ima l for unit organtaadon seems
to have been common in Bronze Age armies. As a contemporary
example. the Hittites had office rs in ch arge o f 1,000 and 10,000 men in
a rising hierarchy of command. Even the Tai KUllg's Six Seem Tmrhings,
an ancient Chinese book on th e art of war, states: ' Fo r th e chario ts - a
lead er for five chariots, a captain for fifte en , a commander tor fifty, and
a general for one hundred.' Admiued ly; this book's current rcccnsion
or'o'babl v dates to m,llly centu ries afte r tl rc Late Bronze Age ; but i t
nonethe less contains concepts ori gin ating early in the era of Chinese
chariot warfare.
In conclusion, alth ough we may never have any hard evidence for the
size and orga nization of earl }' Mycenaean units, it does seem likely that
they were based Oil the decimal system and that there was a rising
nierarchv of command, wi th each higher rank commandin g a greater
number of soldi ers. On a purely practical level , this is the most efficient
to organize: and command an army; a ' pyramidal' structure is the
norm in any multi-class state or bureaucracy, and is thus in keeping with
what we know of the structure of Myce naean societe;
Issues of equipment
The war ri or gJ<t\ c:'s with th eir weapons , armour and weal th, and the titles
of the Linear B doc uments, show u.s somet hing of the upper classes of
:he Mycenaean army who would haw provi ded the chariot corps and
:he officers; but ....hat of the rank and file?
It is unlikely that common soldiers would be identifiabl e as such in
:he graves. The burials furnished with swords [i.e. the Warri or Gra \t.'Sat
Knossos) are not those of poor men. The rank-and-fi le was probably
composed of th e common people who made up the great maj ority of
the populati on of any Aegean kingdom. :\Ios( would be unable to afford
the necessary eq uipment, bUI all were necessa(}' to make up th e
numbers of any army. Therefore their weapo ns, shields and helmets
would have to be paid for by the slate, and would probably ha ve
' remained th e proper ty of...' whichever palace supplied th em. (This
would also ensure the uniformity of equi pment.) This seems
even to have been the case to some extent for th e upper class of soldiers,
since some of their equipment (e.g. corselets) is also listed in the palace
archi ves, whic h suggests that the palace owned it and was issuing it. If
equipment was ce ntrally provided. it is logi cal that a common soldier
would not be at liberty to have his mi litary panoply buried with him; in
such systems it would be normal for it to be stor ed in th e palace arsena l.
This may expl ain why the maj ority of the soldiers of the Mvcenaean
:lnny are no t visible in the archaeological re cord.
The palace see ms to have bee n the centre of production orweapon s
for the mili tary. Th e evidence for this comes mostl y from th e Knossos
tablets, but also fro m archaeological finds. ' Ve have evide nce for th e
produc tion and inventory of arrowheads, spcarhcads. j avelinheads and
swords, thus broadly covering the wea ponry for all the known troop
t}pes wi th the exception of stingers. (The absence of sli ng ammunition
fr om inventories and graves hardly weighs against the genera l
argument, however. Slingers were, after all , probably loosely organized
and locally raised irregul ars, and they may well have conti nued to use
the earlie r unfircd clay or knapped stone proj ecti les rather than cast
Lead bullets like the later Greek and Roman gUmrlJ'.\.)
As fo r th e ot her t}p cs of light infantry' and skirrnishers , i.e. archers,
javel inmen and swordsmen, th e fact that their weapons were made of
bronze meant that th e palace di d direct thei r prod uction. Turning aga in
to the Knossos tablets, Sir Art hur Evans found a cache of tablets .... hich
show ideograms of what appear to be swords ; a tablet servi ng as a total
to this series lists so me 50 of these. This relatively small number has
57
58
been sugges ted to be an inve n tory of me eq uip mcm of a rutcrs
bodygua rd; but once again, it should be stressed tha t the scarciw of ;my
item in th e archaeological record is not in itse lf a ' proof of a negative'.
It is note....o r thy that the number of s.....ords liste d supports me evid en ce
that Mycenacan units were organized in mult ip les of te n . Al th ough it
see ms that in ge neral the palace may have issued swo rds to soldiers,
their p resence in elite burial s sUj1;gesu that th ose who were wealthy
enough lO provide their own arms di d so .
Th e Knossos tab lets also list numbers of javel ins and arrows . Evans
foun d so me seal impressions wi th the word potaj a an d an ideogram of a
short pointed stick, and in associat ion ....i th th ese, finds that he descri bed
as arrowheads. It was therefore in itially thought that pataja meant
arrows. However, there is another ideogram with Iligfus on th e tai l which
looks more li ke an ar ro...., !!ou tl n: potmed stick labelled patoja is more
probably a ligh t j avelin. This is sign ificant because it ti cs in w-ith the
depictions ofwarriors armed wi th such weapons , notably th e Cap tain of
the Blacks and War ri ors Hurling j avelins fr escoes. It also shows that the
palace equi pped these troop t}p es.
N o t su rpr isingly, in addition to light infantry an d skirmisher
weapons, th e Knossos tablets sh ow that the palace con trolled the sup ply
of the h eavy inf an try's main ann, the large spear. This is dearly ....that is
called mJrJws on the tablets - the same word as in the Classical period.
Finally, turning to the archaeologi cal evi de nce. fragments of sword s
were ac tually fo und in the same corri dor at Knossos as the clay Linear B
seal imp ressions which listed swords. The most indisputable evidence
that th e palace stored weapons in bulk comes from the ' Armou ry' at
Knossos, wh e r e LL H ; C se al impressions were found attached to th e
charred remains of (\\'0 wooden boxes containin g carbonized ar row
shafts an d arrowheads. In the same building was found a table t wit h the
alTOW symbol followed by the high nu mbers 6,010 and 2,630.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
The fol lowi ng are some of the main sources which have proved useful in
the research for this book:
Andersonj.K , ' Creek Chariot-Bo rne and Mounted Infan try' , 11mnicQn
Journal of Archawlogy 79:175-187 ( 1975)
Asrrom, P., The Cuiras s Tomh and OtherFinds at Dendra (Coeteborg. 1977)
Buch holz, H.G. , & V.Kar ageorghis, PrehistoricGreece /lnd L)prus
(Londo n, 1973)
Chadwick].. The Mycm atan UOrid (Cambridge, 1980)
Driessen,j. M., & C.Macdonal d , ' Some Military .\5peCLS of the Aegean
in the L ite Fifteenth and Early Fou rteenth Centuri es BC' , AnnlUll
of rk British School at .-\thnu 79:4f'-.74 (1984)
E\3IlS, AJ ., The AllRlUl l of tbe British School: at Ath" H, Nn fY, Senion
1899-1900 48:U Q-1l 3 (Lon don, 1900)
n eAnnual or the British School at Athens, No. W, Session 1899-1900 48
(Lo nd on, 1900 )
Crecnhalgh, PAL., ' The Dendra Cha ri oteer', Antiquity .:)4:21Q-5 (1980)
Early Gm k Harf are: Horsemen and Chariots in IM Homeric and Archaic Ages
(Cambridge, 1973)
Lang, M ., Th e Pa!<l,C( of Nator a t l y m in llb/ern Mess enia; vo l.2,
The Frescoes (Pri ncetcn, 1969)
Linauer, 11., & J .H.Crouwel. ' Char iots in Late Bro nze Age Greece ' ,
Antiquily57:187-9 2 (1983 )
Man ni ng, S.W., ' The Military Fun ction in Late Mino an 1 Cre te: a not e' ,
1l0rld Arrhorology 18, volume 2: 284-88 (Cambridge, 1986)
Matz, E, Creuand Early Greece, TJuPreLude to Greek A. ,.-t (Holland, 1962)
Miller, K, McEwen, E., & C.Bergman, ' Experiment al Approaches to
Ancient Near Easte rn Archery' , llOrld ArchafflLogy 18, volume 2:
179-95 (Cambridge, 1986)
Minist ry o f Culture - The National Helleni c Committee - TM
.\fycmMan Wodd, Fivt Cmturin of Early GTffk Ouuure 1600-1100 BC
(Athens, 1986)
vtoorey, P.R.S. 'The Eme rgence of the Ligh t, Ho rse-Drawn Chario t
in the Near East (. 2000-1500 BC' . UQrldArchaeology 18, volume 2:
197- 215 (Cambridge. 1986)
Pm,,e11. T.G.E. ' Some Implications of Chariotry', in Cullu'ft and
Enoimnmau. F.ssays in Honour et Sir CyriLFox, ed. I.Foster &
LAdcock , 153--69 (London, 1963)
Sch liemann, 11. A. .Narrative of Researches '1.nd Discooeria
at Myu ruu and Tiryns (London, 1878)
Schuchhardt, C. SrhLinnannsExcauations, An .4. rrJuuoJogical and
Historical Study (Ne wYo rk, 1971)
Taylour; W.D., n , Myunamn-S (New York, 1964)
Th urston, 5. ' LBA Chariot Warfare - Part 11' , 11J1lJw. LivingHinoryJo.uk
( 1100--1500 Articles and Resourusj ( 1999)
Veu u i. ", M. &J.CII.u lwio.. l , I ftJc u 1IU"u l!. i n ,; \ I)l/ llM!Ult GIf:l' k
(Cambridge, 1973)
Vermeule, E. GI?fU in tM Brrmu Age (London, 1972)
Wec!>. 11. va n, ' Kings in (' ..ombat : Battles and Heroes in the Iliad',
rlllSJical Quarttrl) 38: 1- 24 (1988)
Weingan ncr, S. "In the Near Eastern Bron ze Age, chariot tactics wer e
more sop histicated than previously supposed' , MiLitary' Heritap;e,
August 2002: 18--22, 79 (USA, 2002)
59
THE PLATES
A: EARLY INFA NTRY. c .1500 B C
Thein$porabon for ths scene was taken from a seal fo..nd in
Shaft Grave III at Myoerlae. It shc7.Jo-s a WIfY ightly attired
swordsman a heavy spearman in the ttYoat O\ffl'r
the nrn 01 the latter'!: shield. haVlf"lQ got past
the poent of his long and unwiolcIy epoor, The TIM:we.n heavy
spearman (Al ) has been aooed.
Al : Theran heavy spearman
This warriot is one cl a IOW of spearmen seen on a fresco
from Akrotiri, Thera (on the present -day Aegean island of
santonnij . Akrotri is known as the of the Bronze
Age' , na...1IlQbeen ertombed in volca1ic ash aft er the island
etaIy ellf)loded in arouna 1500 BC. HIShel met, 01 leather
laced with sliced boar's lu:.k:>. es plumed; It is not knOWn what
eooo- Mycer\aea"l pl umes were, or whethef trletr cololr was
to any orgcPzahonal system. He has a simple,
probably early-pattern of 't cwe- shield, camed - or rather
worn - by means of a leather strap (telar.JOfJ) which passes
over his left shoulder and under his right arm. His asbwcoc
spear Is tipped with a ' srce - soceet ec' brttlze head, this also
being 01an early design. The fresco from which he comes is
unIQue in that il actually shows t he spearmen's swords, in
scabbards with decorat ive tassels.
A2: Swordsman
This fiee character may be represented as a member- of
somett1il'lgof an elite, pertlaps even Simiw in t emperament
D the Vill.lng 'ee-sexe-. These I,lflprotected swordsmen
were apparently regarded as Vety brave; apart from attacking
Ileavy irltantry. as here. there are several deOiCtiOI lS in
Mycenaean art of ttis type of warrior flghl lng a ion. His
' 1On'led' sVll'Ord is carried in i!II'l unusuaIy ornate scabbard.
0\3: Hravy spearman
ThIs warrior wears t he UflKluely Aegean flgure-of-eigt1t
5tlleld, so named f or its shape, and made from wi ckerworK
on a wooden frame, cov ered with cowhid8. and with a
raised boss-l ike central ri b. Uke all early Mycenaean heavy
infant ry tyf)"l was worn by moans of a IQ/amon.
Se..1lmpnll.alon from Mycen_,
16th _ tury BC, s howi ng a light
-..d..-n dispatchi ng .......,.
_ ....... _ _ Pbte A.. '"""'"
seene Is It
gIe$ an insOgIht inm _ of the
bctlcaI_ of such
........ 'IP I'Ie-r s,....-
............ ..-.ng
.II"ilitll. (Courtesy Professor Or
60 1+4.8uctlhoUj
He too weaB the chacter'ist1Ca11y Aegean ' boar's-t usk'
hel rrwt. HiS spear had the socketed speartIead which
was a development of the shoe- or double-
sccket ed type.
0 ; EARLY I NI'AHTftY,
16th.U5th CEN TURIES BC
This scene is Inspi red by 000 fol.Jl'\d on a decorati ve gold rilg
from Myceoae, now cal led 'The Banle in the Gl en' ring , ana
dated to the 16th century BC. On the ring the dagger-aIlMd
warrior is as the ' hero' :f the sc ene, s1ayi:'lg
another swordsn".an and resculllg an unarmed man. For I-e
sake of variety tI'Ie second swordsrTBn has been replaced
nere Oy a J8ve1ltWna1, and a heavy spearmatl looks on;
perhaps they beIoog to a defeated aro "eeinQ anny.
B1: Ught infantry swordsman, 16th cent ury BC
This heroiCwarrior Is armed with a type of triangular
found In large rorrcers on Cret e. He wears the minimal
clot hing cnsractetstc of earty light in'anl ry. The fact tha t he
has a boar's-tusk helmet is not unLl5ual: most swordsmen
f ound in depicti ons are so ecuiccec. Thi s and the
promirtence with which t hey are portrayed suggest t hat such
light troops were held in relat ively high regard, possi bly
due to the dangerous and indi vidualistic nature 01 their
lactical rol e.
B2: Creto-Mycenaean )avel inman, c.1450 BC
Tlw$ t1gln is laO;81 from an coscee fragrnertl of fresco
in Mycenaean Knossos, and named by its discoverer. sa-
Artt'lu" 'WlImot"';. ........ing J avMns". !t depicts. a
mass 01 these ja\elirtmen Ialroching their weapons high n o
the u . This sk..mstler" wears a white band" apparen1y
a charaCleristic: of Mycenaean javeirmen - It may even ha-Ie
been a badge of thetr trooP type.
83: Heavy spearman, 16th century BC
This warrior cart es the f ully develo::>ed pattern of tOVoQ"
shield, of curved sect ion and shaped into a raised neck
guard 01'1 the top rim. The carrying st rap llowed thol shiodl,l'!l;
..
position t o be chcnqcd from the front t o tho beck of t he body
by throwi ng the upper body and shoulders back or forward
as needed. Like all early period spearmen he is equipped
with a boar's-tusk helmet . Hi s spearhead is of the "s1it -
eocketeo' type, a transit ion al design be tween t he
sooe-sccketec and fully socket ed types.
c: E ARLY MISSILE TROOPS,
CENTURIES BC
This scene shows thr ee disti nct kinds of light troops
empl oyed by t he eaty Mycerlaeans, ero the three missile
weapons used. As wel l as battlefield skirmishers, such
:roops would have been far more suited to the defence of
citad el walls than heavy spearmen or swordsmen.
C1: Regular archer, 16th century BC
This archer can be found on a scene inlid int o t he blade of
a dagger t rom ooe of the Shaft Graves at Myceoae. He is
shown supporti ng heavy spearmen, fight ing an enemy
oortrayed as lions. Our descript ion of t his archer as a
;regular' Is a relative t erm, in that he Is not nude like some
other depictions of Mycenaean archers, but wears a garment
aecoratec in t he same way as t hose of his l our comrades on
the Inlaid scene, suggest ing uniform regJlarlty. He is armed
wit h a composite bow which when dr a..... n assu mes a semi-
et-curer shape. His arrowhead is made of knapped obs idi an
(volcanic glass); at a t ime when bronze was still expensive
this material provided a cheap and expendable alt ernative.
The number found ir elite burials Indicat es t hat their use was
not restricted t o the lower classes.
C2: Irregular s1inger, 16th century BC
This figure represents what was probabl')o the lowest cl ass of
Myc.eoaean warrior. He comes from an embossed silver
rllyton (a vessel used to pour libat oos) nowcalled Ihe ' Siege
Rhytoo' , which depicts an assa ult 00 a walled town. The
naked sl ingers and archers are shown skirmishing ahead of
heavy speermen with tower shields. Slingers such as th is
one may have been ci vi lians who were called out to defend
their t own if it came under att ack. His weapon is cheap and
simple, being nothi ng more t han a piece of leat her cut t o
shape. His projectile is made of unfired d ay and is based on
earlier excav ated examoles. t hese sling bullet s were also
made of shaped stones.
C3: Nubi an mercenary j avelinman, 1450-1400 BC
Taken from a fresco f ound in Mycenaean Knossos and
called 'The Capt air of the Blacks' , this f igure port rays a
f oreign mercenary in Mycenaean servi ce, The f resco shows
what was evidently a line of Afr ican warriors led by a Greek
off icer. The two f eat hers f ixed into his hair suggest that he is
Nubran; th is type of adornment can also be seen in Egypti an
depict ions of Nubians, who were regarded as excellent light
t roops. He carries two light javelins 'oYi1h heads cut from
bronze plat e and tangs driven into the end of t he shafts . His
garment is relativel"{ ornate, which ma{ suggest th is was
one of the palace's elite specialist ums. As well as the
chllraclerist ic jll velinmlln' s neck band he wellr.l t wo
bronze rIngs above each ankle, which may or may not be a
Nubian element .
D: DUAL CHARIOT, 1500- 1 400 BC
Inspired by a scene carved on a gravestone from Mycenae,
th is plate depicts :he heavy ' dual chariot' of the earlier
period, so named because the cab is of dual constructi on,
incorporQting t he box proper Qnd :x: mi circulor 'winqa'
projecting f rom 1herear sides. Excep t for the mouth bits of
the bridle, no remains of Mycenaean chariots have been
found, so reconstructions can only be made by studytlg
depi ct ions and tests as well as making comparisons with
surviving Egyptian chariot s. The b-aced double draught
pole acces-s to be a st rengthening feature of the Aegean
chariot. we do know that the cnaocts stored at Myceoaean
Kn05SOS were paInted vanous soaoesof red. and that thes e
probably used by' higher ranks were inlaid with ivory.
01: Warrior in corselet, c. 1400 BC
This warrior wears t he f amous 'Dendr a panoply' narrec
after t he site of ts discovery. This remarkable suit of brorze
armour is the most complet e example fo und of the type of
corselets issued to chariot - borne warriors in the Unear B
tablets, but fragments of a numoo- of similar armours have
been found elsewhere. The vanocs plates were joined
together by leat her 1M ngs and designed 10 be able to slide
over each ot her, allowing the wearer enough mov ement to
wield his long spear effect ively. The boar's-tus k helmet and
arm guards were also fou nd wit h the corselet.
0 2: Chari oteer, 15th cent ury BC
Unlike t he warri or, the chariot dri ve' was not expected t o
engage in combat; his job was to maintain cont rol of lha
chariot and manoeuvre it int o position f or the warrior to use
his spear. This would have taken great sl\ill, given the retatve
heavi ness of these early chariot s and the rocky Greek lerr<: in.
For t his reason wears only a wai st garment and a boar's-
tusk helmet likE that of his comrade, with bronze cheek
guards and plume.
0 3: Swordsman, 15ttl century BC
Although evidently highly effective against disordered bodies
of heavy infantry. a loosely formed unit of light swordsrren
would probably have been vulnerable to a chariot attack. His
weapon is a long thrusting sWO!'C (someti mes called a
'rapi er'), of which many examples have been found.
E: LATER INFANTRY, c .1 2 5 0-1200 BC
These figures are tak en from those portrayed on the ' Warrior
Vase' found at Mycenae, and a fresco fragment from 11e
palace at Pylos. These palaces were destroyed in t he late
13t h cen tury BC. so t hese finds can be dated t o that period.
They show a major change in Myceneean mili l ary dress
and equipment fro m t he earl ier per iod, and i mply a
corresponding change in tacti cs.
E1: Mycenaean spearman
Taken fmm t hA Wllrri nr VIISf'!, t his man WAllrRthA Rnr;lI llfln
' horned helmet'. We interpret t his as being made from
hardened Ieatbe- with bronze studs added for extra st rengt h;
it is ador ned wit h two 'horns' - probably tusks from a boar -
and a plume mounted in a raised comb. His tor so is well
protected by a simple front- and-beck bronze cui-ass: his
'kilt' is also for potecncn, bei ng made of leather wit h bronze
studs. Underneath his greaves he wears woolleo over-the--
knee seeks. The MTlall bag attached to ecee- ts used
for carrying the wanior's rati ons and personal belongings on
tile march.
E2: Mycenaean spearman
This warrior comes from the opposite side of the Warier
Vase 10 E1. HE is dressed and equipped the same as his
comrade, apart from his headgear, of the type now knoYin
as t he ' tledgehog helmet' . This seems to have been
6 1
Thi s fre's<:o lro", Mycenae
clearly t he curved rim,
!ongiWdi.... rib be>-. -.cl
c:owhtOe -nng of t he figu_
of-righl sIlleHS. IIw cowhide
with dark brown palc,,"
on a while backgro und. This
da plcllon is d .. ....t tft""" 13th
century, whetl s.uc:h .nleHSsW'8
_ Ionget' in u... (Courtesy
Arct\aeologfc:.al

6'
construct ed from or covered WIth the spi ned pelts of ar';tllal
hedgehogs , attached t o a leather frame. Such a helmet
appears elsewhere In depicti ons of later Mycenaean
warriors, and apparet1tly denotes a separat e unit from those
wearing the horned t elmet. Both t hese .....arriOfS carry slung
on thei r backs 'inverted pelt. ' sh ields. This type probably
also had handles tor carrying It on the arm when fighting,
though 1'\Ol'18 can be seen indepictions.
E3: Pylian infa ntrynun
This fal len warrior comes f rom the fresco f ragment from the
palace at PyIos. Hs dress Is charact ertsticauy Pylian,
r.amely t he linen t ome and thick fabric greaves. It is unclear
from the fresco whe:her his weapon is it javelin int ended
for throwing Of a spear for thrusti ng. In case he appears
t o be a medium Infantryman, owi ng 10 the tact that he
has armour in the f orm of a sni ekl and greaves but no
tody annour.
F: PYLlAN LIGHT INFANTRY AND
.... RBARIANS . c .12S0_1200 BC
Jlmong the fresco fragmerl ls tol.nd at the site of the palace
at Pykls was Ol">eshcwW'Ig a $lOrmish bet'tIrfeefI sokiiers and
'll'hal can only be ckscribed as 'savages' or barbarians,
which is the inspiration for this plate.
F1: Light spearman
Confirmat ion t hat this warrior 's we'1POO IS int ended 10r
thrusting rat her than t hrowing is provided by the fresco,
where one can be seen being t hrust int o a barbarian's groin.
His secondary weapon is a sword slung from a shoulder belt.
He is very lightly atti red. with only a I,nen kilt with leather
OWlrlay and linen sreavee. This would have made him w911
suit ed for cceeatces in the rougn of Mycenaean rule,
whel"e the b.artJ.arWls lJw""L
F2: Swordsman
This warrior Is possibly from t he unit as his comrade
F1, owing to thei r ident ical dress; however, mere is no
indication that he too carried a spear. His sword is of the type
known as 'cv crrcm-eooccerec'. His boar's-tusk helmet is
in its fully evolved form, with a curved neck guard and small
tusk cr est
FJ; ' Barbarian'
This savage hillman uses a Mycenaean sword taken from a
slain PyIian soIdoEr. His garment is Simply a pl8C8 of hide or
fleece tom so ttat it can be tied at the shoukier. It is
lJf'Ikno<Irm who exactly these warriofs represent in the PyIos
fresco; howevef, the thought Iha1 they may have had
something to do wrttl the erty's unexplatned oestrcctco
is intriguing .
G: RAIL CHARIOT, 0.1260-1160 BC
This scene shows the chariot halted beneat h the ' Lion Gate'
at Mycenae. The pott ery fragment from wnich t he chariot and
its crew are reconstruc t ed came from t he neighbouring
palace at Tityl1s. Although a major centre in its own right,
Tiryns appears to have been polit ically dominated by
Myceoae, and it is frcm there that ee cnanoreer has travelled.
The rail chariot was the last type documeoted in Bronze Age
Greece and, like t he dual dlarlot, was of lOcal origin.
G1: Charioteer
He wears a t hick linM corselet over a wco aen tunic, and his
bwer t orso is further protected by a padded bronze waist
belt held on by its own teoecn. His conical bronze helmet
has cheek guards .
G2: $pearman
This spearman is less well equipped than those shown in
Plate E. and may be a levied sol dier, o'Ning t o his lack of
OOImet and body armour. He has, howe'ler, procured a pai r
of thin bronze greaves. His round shieki and short spear
seem to have been typical of the lat er Myceoaean period.
H1 : M oun t e d werrlor, 0 . 1200 s e
Although this ri der is probably a cavajryman. it cannot be
ruled out t hat he is a mou nted infant ryman. Indeed, the vase
fragment from .... hich he is reconst n.ct ed appears to show
him dismounted, although this may be the result of the artist
being unfamil iar with the subject matter. His conical bronze
helmet has cheek guards attached by leat hers, and his
cuirass comprises a sImple set of breast- and back -plates.
Below t he edge of his t unic he wears long woollen socks
under his thin bronZe greaves. and seooais. His weapon is a
so-called 'crucif orm- hilted rapier' . The tying of t he horse's
mane in bullChe$ is shown in period sources, but t he saddle
pad and bndle are conjectural apert from finds of bronze bits.
H2: Mycenaean woman
Off ering the warrior a drink of wat er from a vessel known as
a 1<yIix, this woman wears t he later Mycenaean dress -
si mi lar t o the men's t unics, but longer. Her hairstyl e, >Mth
sidelocks and two upwards cone above the forehead, is
characteri stically Mycenaean, and can be seen in frescoes ol
the t ime.
Th i s earty e" ampl e
of a boar'stusk helmet is
based upon
depI Ctions; It dlltes from
betw...... 1550 and t500 BC
a nd COmeS hum My<;:enae itseI'.
Note t he eheek guards., also
constrveted of sliced tusks
uwn on t o leather backing.
(Courtesy Profn.s.or Of"H-G.
Buchhol q 63
64
INDEX
in bold ret er 10 ill LL\IroUions
" "m tiri ' Sea Ball ]",' ffe"'o 10
arch ers 20-5
and chari ots :n, ot f.
early 6, 11, :W. 61. CI
Jate r 32
armour
corselet ideogr,tll1S 56
corselets l i , 46. 61, 6:'1, DL Gl
cuirasses 61, 63, El . HI
Dcndr.l lin d 46-8,46, 47, 6 1, DI
forearm guards 47. h l . LH
greavc s 18, 19.20. 61, 63, El , G:!. HI
axes 6, 1%. 13
baJitm 32
' Battle in th" GI!:'n' rtn!t %5, :" '8 , 60
battk fil"ld organization 50-1
bows and arrows 2(1-5. 22-4. 6 1, Cl
_ auo arch.....
cavalry 48, -19. 6."1 , HI
chario ts and ch ario t rv -I. 30, 32--46
Aegean ch ari ots 32-43
battlefield organization 51
box chariots 42, 44
'charges' 45-6
chariot armamen t -1,3-5
charioteers 21, 22. et. 63, 02, GI
d ual chari ots 41. -12, 61. D
horse 56
quad..,m l chari ots 42-3
rail chariots n . n . 63. G
China 51, .')6....j
clothing
' barbarians' 62, F3
La>a1l)' 49
charioteers 63, C l
early 8,61, C l
dis tri bution
later period 31-2.61, El
Pvlian 28, 62. 0 , Fl
WOm en &3, H 2
command structu re 51-3
e rNe
JI,linoan civilization 3, +-5
Mvcenaeans take O\1:'T 5
J,N 000 Knos.'IO'\
daggers I t. 26. :"'9, 60, 8 1
Dendra armour -i6-8, 46. 47. 61. DI
Drie... "",n.J.M. 34
EIDptiaIls
organization 52
chari ots 21. 32. 42, H
at Kadesh (1300 BC) 51
and :\lycenaea ", :I
fIJI/ M 52,53
cqui pmt'nt , iS5UC of ss-e. 57-8
1':\'a,,', Sir Ar th ur :-111,57- 8
footwear 19.63, HI
fortifications 7
helmets
boar's-ru sk 7. 11,1 2-1 3. 12- 13, 60,
62, 63, AI , AS, BI . f2
cuuical bronze 63. c r. HI
'hedgcho.( IS-19, 18, 61-2. E2
'h orn ed ' 18-19, 18.61, El
nther 14, 14
plumes W, AI
1Iill ites 5. 44. 49. 52. 51, :;0
HOlller 3, 5, 13, 51, 52, 54
horse furniture 49. 63, HI
horses fi3, H
supplv 56
inf.mtr}
:';"'nl('ficld organ;""'t!" n 50-1
early 60-1, A B
:l<'1I' ')' 8--19
' ate r 61-2. E, F
liKht 19-32, 28
j awhnmcn 17, 27, 3(1-1, 60 , 61. 8 2, C3
j avel ins :'10, 58,61, C3
Kadesh, battle of (1300 BC) 51
;"$"140 53
Km""'ls
chari ots 61
des truc tion and reb uilding 5
equipme n t issue 57-8
frescoes from %7. 30- 1.
Linear 8 tablets from 43--4, H -8.
53--t, :i:i
..organizati on 54--5, 56
1<w<Wt, 52
Linear R 5, 55, 56
logistics 55-6, 57-8
Macdonald, C. 54
miitarv organization 49- 58
Minoans 3, 4--5, i
r,..I)"'t'n"t'
citadel 53
t xca\'3li,, " 3
Irescues from 62
lion Gale 50. 63. G
:\h'Cenat"",ln army
compcsinon 54-5
evo lution f>--8
opponents 5
unit sizes 56-7
M)'Cen,l",ans
archaeologv on !>--6
ce ntr es of a lion 4
emergence and do rninanc e- 4--5
end of 7-8
Ho mer on ;;
polilical organization 52
:"Jubians %7, 30, 61, CS
palace role 52--6. 57-8
1"\-1.. <
, eq .iipmc r n -17-8
Ircscoes from %8. 41
4, 7, 62
infamrynle ll from 62, es. FI , '2
mil ilary organization 52- 3, 56
saddbl9, 6;'1, H I
Schliemann. Heinrich :1
shields 9-11
IiK.lre.of-eight 7,8. HI- ll , 11, 611. 6%
A>
'i nve rt ed peha' 17, 61- 2 El. E%
round (lI_'pis) 16, 17, 63.G%
Io<,.-.. r 3. 10. 11, 60- 1, AI. B3
'Siege 13,19. 20.20, 2'1. 61
skirmisherv 19-25, 51
6, 61, C2
stingers 6, 20. 32. 57, 61. C2
spcarmen
in chario ts 44
early 7, 25. so-t . 60, AI. A.l . B3
later 17, 61- 2, 63. El , E2. r i. G2
'l'""lT>l and spearhead, 11 12
early S
lal.. 1fi
slit-sockctcd head 9. 61, 83
wicb'ling 11. 14-15
from chari o t. 44--5, U
<words 15. 16
' cruciform-shouldered ' f2. 63, '2.
HI
lo ng thn L<ling 3, 16, 29, 61, D3
10
swords me n 25---30
%5. 60,60. A%
later 26, 62, F2
IiKht 60, 61. BI , 0 3
taUin
ba ttlefield organiza tion [,(1-1
cha riots 32---41,43-6,41'\
l, t' 4"" inr" ntry 1+1::;
liHht' infanlT) ' 25
:-.It' ' llilh ic 6-7
skitmishcrs 19-2Q
sw'ordcnen 29-30, 60
Ta\"lclllr, W.D. 6
Tl ryn s .1. 6.1
un if"nn s J,N d Olhine:
""'TUUM 51- 2
' Warrior Va."", 17, 18. 18. 61

..arty 6-7
prcducti,," 57-8
.,..'/' 'Il", individ ual wfcr'I"' >!,' 0' nail!<'
63, H2