History Flicks | History In Motion

In Greek society Since hoplites supplied their 'panoply' (in this context meaning his armour and weapons) from their own personal equipment, they needed to be sufficiently wealthy to afford this. This would mean procuring a helmet, cuirass and greaves as well as a spear, sword and shield. As a result, hoplites were usually recruited from the middle-classes. An illustration of this can be found in the Athenian class system of the Solon constitution. The four classes (in ascending order of income, measured in volume of produce per year) were the thētes , zeugítai, hippeís, and pentacosiomédimnoi. The three lower classes were drafted into the military according to what they could provide. The thētes rowed the vast Athenian fleet of ships; the hippeís (knights) who could afford horses (an aristocratic animal, never used agriculturally) formed the cavalry; and the zeugítai (ploughmen) fought as hoplites. Of the rich pentacosiomédimnoi, the younger ones could also fight as horsemen in land battles, while the older ones were collectively required to equip the triremes of the war navy at their own expense. This can be compared to the military system used in the early-to-mid Roman Republic, wherein the Roman citizenry was divided into distinct social classes. These classes (excepting the landless proletarii) were used as different troop types; the lowest formed skirmishers (velites), the highest fought as cavalry (equites), and the middle classes, forming the bulk of the army, fought as heavy infantry. In this system, troops were expected to provide their own equipment, so only those rich enough to afford the armour and weapons could fight as heavy infantry. Indeed, the success of both the Greek hoplite armies, and the early Roman army can be ascribed to their middle class makeup. These were landed, relatively wealthy citizens with a vested interest in the defense of their state; they had much more to lose than the landless classes, and fought with proportional valour.