PRESUMED
ORGANIZATION of the SPARTAN ARMY in 480 BC
The organization of the Spartan army changed over time as the
population of Sparta came under increasing demographic pressure.
The best ancient sources – Xenophon, Thucydides, Aristotle,
and Plutarch – describe the Spartan army at a significantly later
period than covered in this book. Furthermore, they describe
an army created after the traumatic impact of the earthquake and helot
revolt of ca. 465 BC. Since all modern sources agree that the
Spartan army underwent a major reform in the mid-5th century BC
following the shocks of the earthquake and revolt, the only ancient
source about the army during the life of Leonidas is that provided by
Herodotus.
Herodotus writes that a Spartan force 2000 strong arrived in Athens one
day too late for the Battle of Marathon (after an impressive forced
march). He tells us that King Demaratus gave the total number
of Spartiates as 8000, and that the “full” Spartan
army of 5 lochagoi and 5000 Spartiates fought at the battle of Plataea.
For the purposes of this trilogy on Leonidas, I have therefore relied
heavily on Thomas Figueira in his article “Population
Patterns in Late Archaic and Classical Sparta,” published in Transactions of the American
Philological Association 116 (1986), pp.
165-213. Based on Figueira’s excellent data, I have
evolved a simple and logical structure for the Spartan army that
contradicts no known facts and provides a consistent framework for the
events described in this novel. Since the characters in the
novel are presumed to understand every aspect of this organization, the
terms are not described in detail in the text. Instead, they are
provided below.
In accordance with Demaratus’ statement to Xerxes in
Herodotus, I assume that the total adult male population of Sparta was
8000, with an average of 200 men in each age cohort. The
“active army,” composed of the first 10 age cohorts
of young men (those required to sleep in barracks), was, therefore,
2000 men strong. This is consistent with the size of the
force sent to assist Athens in 490. A
“full” call-up would be a call-up of 15 classes
(age cohorts) of reserves to produce an army of 5000 men, all of whom
would be expected to be fit enough to march long distances and fight
effectively in a phalanx. This is consistent with the force
sent to Plataea. The remaining 3000 adult male citizens are
presumed to be over the age of 45 and fit only for garrison duty and
home defense.
I further assume that in the age of Leonidas, the largest unit in the
Spartan army was the lochos. While this term is used by
ancient sources to refer to a variety of large fighting units from
different cities, it is the term Herodotus uses for the Spartan units
at Plataea. Also, later in the fifth century the Spartan army
deploys mora, composed of two lochos each. I further assume
that perioikoi units of this period were not yet integrated into the
Spartan line, but served as independent auxiliary units – including
scouts, cavalry, and naval units. This is consistent with
Herodotus’ statement that Cleomenes deployed a purely
Spartiate army against Argos, and that the Spartan army at Plataea
consisted of 5000 Spartiates and 5000 perioikoi. Based on
this assumption, Sparta sent her full standing army to support Athens
during the Marathon campaign – the only response that I believe would
have been commensurate with the threat posed and the urgency of the
Athenian request.
Based on our knowledge of hoplite warfare, I assume that the very
smallest unit in the army would be a section of 8 men. This
represents one complete file of hoplites at more or less minimum
strength, or one man on the battle line backed by seven comrades in
single file behind him. Again, this assumption matches
references to a Spartan unit called an enomotia, which numbered between
25 and 40 men – that is, between 3 and 5 sections. Finally,
although the existence of a unit called a pentekostus cannot be traced
back to before the reform of the Spartan army in the midfifth century,
the need for flexibility and control in a highly organized force such
as the Spartan army suggests that in Leonidas’ time there
must have been some intermediate unit between the tiny enomotia and the
thousand-strong lochos of Plataea. Since pentekostus means
“fiftieth,” I have postulated a unit called a
pentekostus, or company, which is initially 100 men strong
(one-fiftieth of the full army) and expands as reserves are called up.
The organization of Spartan society was designed to enable the rapid
call-up and integration of older age cohorts into the army when
needed. This could best be achieved if reservists were, to
the extent possible, reintegrated into the same units in which they had
served when on active service. Thus, the size of individual
units and the composition of units would have adjusted marginally to
accommodate reservists called up whenever the Spartan leadership felt
the 2000-man standing army was insufficient to the task assigned. Where
entire units needed to be added, these too would be created out of a
mix of active and reserve troops – but by splitting out men from the
active units and merging them with the older cohorts under,
predominantly, reserve officers. With an estimated 200 men in
each age cohort, it is unlikely that the Spartan leadership would have
reactivated troops in increments smaller than 5 age cohorts at a time.
Taking all of the above factors into account, I have hypothesized the
following organization of the Spartan army:
Active Army
(all adult males 21-30 years old): 2000
Men (size of the
Spartan force sent to aid Athens in 490 ― Marathon campaign)
5 lochos of 400 men each, composed of 4 pentekostus
(companies)
20 pentekostus of 100 men each, composed of 3
enomotiai
60 enomotiai of 32 men each, composed of 4 sections
of 8 men each
240 sections of 8 men each
Army After a
Call-Up of 5 Classes of Reserves (all adult males 21-35
years old): 3000 Men
5 lochos of 600 men each, composed of 5 pentekostus
25 pentekostus of 120 men each, composed of 4
enomotiai
100 enomotiai of 30 men each, composed of 4
sections of 7-8 men
400 sections of 7-8 men each
(Note: Here the organizational structure is expanded by 1 pentekostus
and by 1 enomotia per pentekostus – or a total of 5 pentekostus and 40
enomotiai – at the expense of a slightly shallower line depth.)
Army After a
Call-Up of 10 Classes of Reserves (all adult males 21-40):
4000 Men
5 lochos of 800 men each, composed of 5 pentekostus
25 pentekostus of 160 men each, composed of 5
enomotiai
125 enomotiai of 32 men each, composed of 4 sections
500 sections of 8 men each
(Note: Here the organization is expanded by 1 enomotia per pentekostus,
and the depth is restored to the line at the section level.)
Army After a
“Full” Call-Up of 15 Classes of Reserves
(all adult males 21-45): 5000
Men (size of the Spartan army at Plataea)
5 lochos of 1,000 men each, composed of 5
pentekostus
25 pentekostus of 200 men each, composed of 5
enomotiai
125 enomotiai of 40 men each, composed of 5 sections
625 sections of 8 men each
(Note: Here the organization is strengthened by adding 1 section per
enomotia; alternatively the Spartans might have preferred to retain an
organization of 4 sections per enomotia, but increase the depth of the
line to 10, i.e., 4 sections of 10 men.)
In addition to these active units, 300 young men of active-service age
(21-30) would have been selected for the elite unit commonly called the
Hippeis. The term hippeis
has often been translated as “knights” and implies
cavalry. However, the Spartan unit was purely infantry, and it served
as the honor guard to Sparta’s kings. I have
therefore preferred to refer to it consistently as “the
Guard” throughout my works.
Based on the above organization, the strength of the Spartan officer
corps would have ranged from 335 in the active army units to 775 in a
full call-up. Specifically, 5 lochagoi, 20-25 company commanders,
60-125 enomotarchs, and 240-625 section leaders, plus the Guard
commander, his 3 company commanders, 10 enomotarchs, and 30 section
leaders. The above number, however, includes only the
tactical commanders. In fact, the army would have required a corps of
logistical specialists, at least for the larger units
(pentekostus/company and lochos), and it would have been logical for
the lochagoi to have tactical deputies as well. In addition,
there would have to be surgeons, priests, and salpinx players, all with
important roles consistent with officer-like status. Thus,
including the Guard and officer corps, Sparta’s active army
would have numbered something closer to 2750 men, and the army after a
full call-up of 15 age cohorts would have theoretically numbered
somewhat over 6000. In reality, no society can consistently produce
exactly 200 healthy young males each year; and there would have been
losses, particularly in the older age cohorts, due to accidents,
illness, and war casualties. All in all, the rounded figures
used here provide a workable framework.
Looking at each unit individually, here are the key facts:
Section:
A unit of 7-8 men (1 file in a phalanx), all drawn from the same tribe.
They would be commanded by a section leader, who would be
selected as the most competent of the men from the oldest 5 age cohorts
in the unit, and would stand at the front of the unit in battle.
The section leaders would retain their rank on retirement,
and in a call-up they would assume command of additional sections as
required. In units with mixed active and reserve troops, the section
leader would stand at the front with the other active troops in
descending order of age, followed by reservists in ascending age order.
Enomotia:
A unit of 30-40 men, composed of 3-5 sections (depending on the number
of reserve classes called up). All men would come from the
same tribe. They would be commanded by an enomotarch, and
would also have a deputy with responsibility for supplies and
provisioning, and a flautist to keep pace. Although this term
is often translated as “platoon,” I have opted to
retain throughout this novel the Spartan designations for both the unit
and the commanding officer, as these are widely used in ancient
literature. The enomotarch would be selected from the section
leaders and would usually be on the brink of retirement. On reaching
age 31, an enomotarch would have the option either to go off active
duty, or to remain with the army and pursue a career as an
officer. Those who opted to retire would be eligible to serve
in the rank of enomotarch with reserve units reactivated in a crisis.
Pentekostus (or
Company): a unit of between 100 and 200 men (depending on
the number of reserves called up), composed of 3-5 enomotia plus the
commander, a deputy/quartermaster with responsibility for supplies and
provisions, a salpinx player and/or a priest, and a medic.
Since the term pentekostus is quite a mouthful and it is not
recorded during Leonidas’ period, I have often elected to use
the more neutral-sounding “company” and
“company commander.” The company
commander would always be a man of full-citizen status and age, with
the equivalent of a permanent commission.
Lochos:
a unit of between 400 and 1000 men (depending on the call-up),
consisting of 4-5 companies plus a staff including 1 commander, 1
tactical deputy, 1 quartermaster, and 2-4 surgeons, priests, heralds,
and salpinx players. Since this unit is variously translated
as battalion, regiment, or division, I have decided to stick to the
Spartan terms lochos and lochagos for unit and commander, respectively.
The commander would be a man of full-citizen status with the
equivalent of a permanent commission.
We know that the ancient Greeks generally tried to keep kinsmen and men
from the same villages or boroughs together in military units.
The presumption was that men were more likely to help their
neighbors, and less likely to run away in front of people they knew.
Sparta had five villages that became boroughs, and we know
that at least one of the lochagoi deployed at Plataea was named for one
of these. Thus I have named the five lochagoi after
Sparta’s five boroughs:
Pitanate
Mesoan
Conouran
Limnate
Amyclaeon
For convenience I have assumed that each lochos was divided into the
following companies, with the Lycurgan Company the designation for the
reserve units created only during a call-up of 5 age cohorts or more:
(1st) Heraklid Company
(2nd) Kastor Company
(3rd) Polydeukes Company
(4th) Menelaion Company
(5th) Lycurgan Company
The assumption is that roughly 40 men from each lochos retired from
active service each year, and were replaced by the young men who had
just attained their citizenship. A call-up of one class of
reserves thus meant adding 200 additional men to the army. A
call-up of 5 classes would mean an additional 1,000 men (see above).
