From the day of its inception, the heavily armored infantry took on the heavy responsibility of protecting the safety of the city-state, and later became the dream demon of the vast and invincible Persian Empire. With the passage of time, the social situation and the changes in the political environment, the heavily armored infantry, which once dominated the entire Greek peninsula, finally had to bid farewell to the military stage of ancient Greece, leaving behind a glorious history worth remembering for future generations. But the storm of heavily armored infantry that once swept the Greek world had a profound impact on Greek history and society, and the role of heavy infantry in defending the security of the city-state, promoting military change, and political prosperity in Greece is analyzed here.
1. Safeguard the security of the city-state
In the face of the invasion of the powerful and aggressive Persian Empire, in the critical moment of the survival of Greece, as the most important and powerful branch of the civilian army system, the heavily armored infantry stepped forward, and it defeated the arrogant Persians on the frontal battlefield and saved the entire Greek nation.
The Battle of Onsen Pass is one of the most typical examples. Without the desperate resistance of spartan heavy infantry, it is conceivable how easily the Persians would have entered the Greek hinterland and history would have been rewritten. But it was these 300 brave Spartan heavy infantry that resisted the attack of tens of thousands of Persian troops, and they swore to defend their homeland to the death, composing a heroic song of greek heavy infantry.
The Battle of Marathon made Athens' heavily armored infantry famous in history. In 490 BC, the Athenian general Mithiad led 10,000 Athenian heavy infantry against a Persian army six times larger than his own. In the case of an absolute disadvantage in terms of strength, Mithiad cleverly arranged his troops, increased the thickness of the two wings, widened the distance between the horizontal rows of soldiers, and finally defeated the Persian army with two wings of enveloping tactics. The Battle of Marathon, which has a place not only in Greek military history but also in the military history of the world, showed the Persians the power of the Greek heavily armored infantry and defended Greek independence.
In addition to defending against foreign invasions, heavy infantry was also a powerful tool for keeping the city-state safe and suppressing slave revolts and the revolts of other oppressed people. In 464 BC, the Shilohs of Sparta revolted, and Sparta fought the rebel army for a full decade with national strength, and the military force responsible for suppression was of course Sparta's proud heavy infantry.
2. Contribution to the military system
After experiencing the severe tests of the Greek-Persian War and the Peloponnesian War, the heavy infantry constantly adjusted its strategy and tactics and developed its military theory, laying the foundation for future military changes.
Some scholars have argued that the Greek tactics "were nothing more than an instinctive reaction." "This is an absurd statement that obliterates the role of the heavily armored infantry in the military history of Greece and the world.
In 371 BC, the Theban general Ipamionda, based on the tactics of the heavily armored infantry phalanx, was modified to invent a new type of wedge-type phalanx tactic, and relying on this phalanx, defeated the spartan heavy infantry, which Engels called "the first great tactical principle to establish almost all decisive battles that are still settled to this day; do not divide forces equally along the front, but concentrate forces in decisive areas for the main attack." ”
Later, King Philip II of Macedon followed the example of the "Theban Phalanx" and created the famous "Macedonian Phalanx". Although the "Macedonian phalanx" was modified from the "Theban phalanx", its roots were still the Greek heavy infantry phalanx. However, the Macedonian phalanx is more tactically changeable, with heavy infantry as the core, heavy cavalry, light cavalry and light infantry as the forward and two wings, and different arms can be coordinated and combined in battle to form a complete combat system.
Ipamionda and Philip II's improvement of the heavy infantry phalanx ushered in a new era of phalanx. Although the personal military genius of the generals cannot be ignored, it cannot be denied that this was the contribution of the heavily armored infantry to the Greek military system.
Iii. Influence on city-state politics
In analyzing the emergence of heavy infantry in ancient Greece, it has been mentioned that most of the heavy infantry came from wealthy self-employed farmers who owned land, who represented the interests of the middle class and played a huge role in the war. As the role of the heavily armored infantry in the war at that time became more and more important, and the status of the heavily armored infantry also improved, in this situation, the middle class represented by the heavily armored infantry was bound to demand more political rights and break the monopoly of the aristocratic monopoly of the city-state power, so that the city-state politics was tilted towards this class.
Aristotle expounded in Political Science the idea that the initial politics after the collapse of the monarchy was narrow, but when the military power of the city-state shifted to relying on heavily armored infantry, the basis of its political system was bound to expand. Thus, a broad-based oligarchy and a cultural spirit of equality of property were established.
In the course of Greek political development, there was an episode in which tyranny politics emerged. Tyranny politics arose around the 7th century BC, similar to the emergence of heavy infantry, so scholars generally believe that the emergence of tyrants has some connection with heavy infantry.
But the situation varies from city-state to city-state. Fedun of Argos was a pioneer of tyrants, and his support came mainly from the heavily armored infantry. But in Sparta, where the heavily armored infantry was the most developed, tyranny was successfully avoided by giving the heavily armed infantry the right to vote and by promoting equality among citizens.
In Athens, the heavily armored infantry was undoubtedly the representative of the commoners and nobles in the struggle between the commoners and nobles before Solon's reforms, because they wanted to fight for political power, but Athens did not directly appear tyrannical, but was once avoided by Solon's mild reform measures. It can be seen from this that there is no necessary connection between heavy infantry and tyranny, but often with moderate oligarchy or democracy.
Professor Yang Gongle directly and concisely analyzed the connection between the military branch, the military system and politics. Of course, the integrity within the city-state is not static, and it will also adjust with the changes in the various forces in the state, thus forming a new overall balance. For example, when the army was dominated by cavalry, aristocracy or oligarchy would play a leading role in politics, because only a few nobles could afford to raise horses. When the heavily armored infantry became the main force on which the city-state war depended, the aristocracy began to transition to a moderate democracy. Because the members of the heavy infantry were relatively wealthy citizens, peasants. When the navy became the main military force of the city-state, the role of the lower classes of civilians in politics increased, often leading to the establishment of civil society.
As in Athens, in the middle of the 5th century BC, the poor and the common man enjoyed more power than the nobles and the rich, for it was the common man who steered the fleet and brought power to the city; they provided helmsmen, captain sailors, junior officers, sentries, and craftsmen who repaired ships; it was these people who made the city stronger, and the heavily armored infantry, nobles, and citizens of status were far inferior to them. This timely adjustment not only did not harm the integrity of the city-state, but on the contrary made the city-state more dynamic and more consistent.
In addition to its direct impact on city-state politics, the collectivism and patriotism possessed by the heavily armored infantry also contributed to the stability and prosperity of city-state politics. Heavy infantry were citizen soldiers, and they often fought to defend the city-state. The solidarity between the individual and the city-state enables them to unite in battle against the enemy, which is a reflection of the spirit of patriotism, and each battle undoubtedly strengthens the patriotism and identity of the citizens.
This identification strengthens the cohesion of the city-state and is conducive to the unity and unity of the city-state. Moreover, they brought this collective consciousness and patriotism on the battlefield to every aspect of the life of the city-state, such as actively participating in the management of the city-state, sharing political power and voluntarily assuming corresponding obligations.
From this point of view, the heavily armored infantry also contributed to the political and cultural prosperity of the city-state. In this regard, the most typical example is undoubtedly the Greek-Polish War. Of course, the victory of the Greek-Polish War was the result of the cooperation between the heavy infantry and the navy, but it cannot be denied that the victory of the heavy infantry in the land strongholds of Marathon, Hot Spring Pass, and Plataea had a crucial impact on the outcome of the war and even the fate of the Greek city-states. These battles are a concentrated expression of the patriotism of the heavily armored infantry.