Hoplite

The Hoplite was a type of soldier armed with relatively heavy armour and weapons. He would be equipped with a large wooden or bronze shield called Aspis or Hoplon, from which they got their name.

Armor
The hoplite provided his own gear and armor, which meant that no two hoplite soldiers looked alike. First of all there was the shield, often made out of bronze, oak or a combination of the two. It was heavy and gripped with the left arm. The torso of the hoplite was protected by a bronze cuirass in early times but in later hellenistic times it was not unusual for a soldier to wear lighter armor, such as a linen cuirass.

All hoplites wore helmets, however what kind of helmet varied with time. During the setting of Empire of Ashes, Corinthan helmets were seldomly used. Openfaced helmets were in favour. The legs of a hoplite was protected by greaves, either one on the left leg or two.

Weapons
The main weapon of a hoplite was his spear, called a doru. They would stab with this spear either overhand, above their shield, or underhand. Should the doru break, which was not uncommon, the hoplite would draw his sword. The most common swords were the xiphos swords. It was a shortsword designed for stabbing. However, some hoplites would wear the kopis which was more suited for slashing or cutting than stabbing.

Tactics
The hoplites would form up next to each other and present a shield wall to the enemy. Since the shields were so large, the hoplites shield would protect both himself and his neighbour to the left. When they presented their shields and spears, they entered a phalanx formation which was a difficult thing to cut your way through. When hoplites faced each other they would line up, advance and then start shoving and pushing each others phalanx until one of their lines broke.

Hoplite warfare became outdated when more mobile elements were required on the battlefield, such as cavalry or peltasts. During the time of EoA, hoplites have fallen out of style in favour of other soldiers, such as the phalangite. However there are still those who keep to the old traditions and fight in the manner of the greek phalanx.