Hellenic and Roman Periods Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hellenic and Roman Periods - Research Paper Example The preference for the infantry appears to stem from the ideology that came with men fighting on foot in hand to hand combat. Based from the culture, philosophy and norms of the ancient Greeks, they must have seen infantry warfare as nobler. There is something admirable, which could have been appealing to the Greeks, when men endure great hardships, from training and the actual combat, and defeat the enemy in a violent clash. This is hardly surprising. Even today, when battles are recreated in film, for instance, the frontline where the soldiers fight in violent clashes - through a collective spirit and discipline - evoke a sense of pride and inspiration from among us because the condition allow for a great show of valor and bravery. Compare this with going to battle riding atop a horse. The battle strategy for the cavalry is more calculated, requiring a degree of skill, cunning and calculation. In addition, it avoids and could not hold its own in a protracted battle. This was suppor ted by Schmid who pointed out the Greeks might have equated cavalry warfare with the barbarians way of fighting. He said that the Greeks acknowledge the skill and boldness involved but that they generally consider it to be "inferior to the kind of fighting courage needed by the hoplite in the ranks, which did not permit the excuse to run away.2 Even in actual warfare, the Greek cavalry was unwilling or hesitated to face the Greek hoplite. Fagan and Trundle (2010) identified a pattern in this attitude. First they cite numerous instances of defeat by cavalry horses in the hands of the Greek hoplite. There were the cases of Pharnabazus's cavalry defeat at the hands of Athenian infantry and the failure of a Persian-led cavalry in the Pactolus plain against the Greek hoplites in 395 B.C. There are, of course, periods when certain shifts transpired. This can be demonstrated in the case of the Peloponnesian war. The infantry was not extensively used during this time. Instead, the Greeks re lied on light troops such as archers, slingers and peltasts.3 This was what happened because the war was mostly typified by raiding and quick attacks. The training of the Greek hoplites meant that they are not suitable to fight most clashes. Therefore, light troops and even cavalry came to be used in the conflicts as well as those that preceded the Peloponnesian War. The changes demonstrate how warfare, particularly the tactics involved in using infantry, light troops or cavalry, is also determined by the nature and characteristics of the enemies that it faces. For instances, in order to defeat the notorious Persian cavalry, Alexander’s tactics involved the development of heavy infantry to serve as a platform of maneuver for his cavalry.4 Similar experience transpired for the Byzantines. The empire heavily copied the Roman warfare strategy but modified them in order to be effective in dealing with its neighbors such as the Saracens. This enemy was notorious for its highly agi le mounted archers. As a result, the Byzantines trained its infantry to use bows, which dealt significant damage to the enemy cavalry.