THE SPARTAN CAVALRY CONUNDRUM CHAMPING AT THE BIT

Sparta has long been synonymous with infantry warfare, particularly hoplite warfare. When creating a Spartan soldier, the imagination naturally inclines toward the figure of Leonidas, a man armed with spear, sword and shield as he battles for kleos (“fame”) on the field. Yet, if we are to scratch beneath the surface of this visage, a rich history of Spartan horsemanship and cavalry warfare is also evident.

By Anneka Rene

Whilst Sparta did not field the vast cavalry of Periclean Athens, nor had the renowned horsemen of the northern tribes in Thessaly or the mounted bowmen of Scythia, the cavalryman did have a place there. Its place and the transformations of Spartan cavalry over time add to the tale of the Spartan hoplite. A nation of horse breeders Perhaps unexpectedly, Sparta was a nation of horsemanship. As early as the 540s BC, we find monuments to Spartan equestrian victories, such as that of Euagoras erected at Olympia (Pausanias, 6.10.8). Within the sanctuary of Athena on the Spartan acropolis, a well-known stele from the late fifth century BC is crowned with a sculpted relief depicting a four-horse chariot in motion, erected by a certain Damonon. This stele lists a number of athletic and…

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Ancient Warfare (Digital) - 1 Issue, AW XVII.2

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