Q) When is a Hoplite not a Hoplite? A) When it's an Auxilia!
When creating one of these 'peripheral' armies I look to use up as many 'old' figures as possible and reduce the need to re-paint to a minimum. So what evidence has some googling brought to light? [Thanks to Chris for his help with the research, although any errors are entirely my own]. Incidentally there is an article on the Phoenicians in Slingshot 261 but I cannot source it (and am unwilling to pay out £40 for the SoA CD).
According to the DBA list (1.35 a-d) Phoenician foot can be either 4Sp or 4Ax. Presumably this is due to inconclusive evidence concerning their battlefield role! However.....on the wargames table it will be necessary to differentiate.
Duncan Head's book for Montvert on "The Achaemenid Persian Army" shows a drawing of a figure from a C7/6 ivory box from Carmona in Spain. He says it matches Herodotus's description of Phoenician Marines: "...helmets of nearly Greek style and linen cuirasses...shields without rims, and javelins". "a" is the figure; "b" a reconstruction. Obviously the manner of holding the weapon is wrong; but it looks to me more like a typical "hoplite" way of holding a spear, rather than a javelin. [Chris]
Elsewhere, Head says the Phoenician cities were low on manpower, and so recruited greek mercenaries. 4,000 of undisclosed type are referred to at one point.
[Chris]
Armies & Enemies of the Near East (AANE) p190 (fig 192) - an infantryman is shown, with a sort-of extruded round helmet with cheek pieces, but no neck guard. He has a man-sized spear, and a round shield with again an "extruded" point. A shield is described, round, with eight white petals, a red centre, and small red dots on the leaves. No other colouring is given. The background is black. He wears a round-necked 'T-shirt' with short sleeves; not clear whether he is wearing shorts, a skirt, or a tunic (partly under the T-shirt?). Fig 191 - 4h, 3c Chariot and warrior are both Mid 7thC. [Chris].
I found 6 x 4Sp Carthaginians (old 'strip' Minifigs) in the box and decided to re-paint them as Phoenician 4Ax. I'm not good at shields so just tried to give just a flavour of the AANE illustration.
For comparison the 6 x 4Sp (later Minifigs) are much bigger - completely out of scale with the earlier castings. The photograph doesn't convey the disparity adequately.
So what about the spearmen/hoplites then! I have a large Greek Hoplite DBM army with figures from many manufacturers. Most of them are painted but the 'spares' bag had something to offer. Upon investigation the count came to 24 (just what I needed). Some have paint and some not.
This motley crew will be co-opted into the 'mercenary' corps. Where possible any bell cuirasses or other bronze will be painted over. Sorry - No picture as my computer was feeling peckish.
The only foot still required are some Psiloi so I added them to my last Donnington order - Villanovans and early Italians.
All I have to do now is paint them.....Ho Hum!
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February 2025 DBA results - Gt. Houghton
Saturday 8th February
3.78 Scots Highlands & Isles (DDBA) v 3.45 Pre-Feudal Scots (DDBA) 9:2 win
4.12a Fijian v 4.12b Other Melanesian 4:1 loss
2.40 Numidian v 2.56 EIR 4:1 loss
4.47 Golden Horde v 4.46 Ilkhanid 4:3 win
Saturday 15th February
3.79 Early Russian v 3.40b Viking 4:0 loss
4.49 Anatolian Turkoman v 4.50 Palaiologan Byzant 4:1 win
3.1a Northern Slav v 3.40 Viking 6:0 loss
3.63 Early Polish v 3.53 East Frankish 4:3 loss
4.4a Feudal French v 4.23 Feudal English 6:1 loss
Saturday 22nd February
2.11 Gallic v 2.10 Camillan Roman 4:2 win
2.39a Iberian v 2.32a Later Carthaginian 4:1 win
2.80b Sabir Hunnic v 2.69b Sassanid 4:2 loss
2.7 Later Achaemenid v 2.12 Alex Mac 4:3 win
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6 wins to 7 losses
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