II 



i 



so 



A HISTORY OF CAVALRY. 



[period I. 



spring to Catana 250 horsemen with all the equipments, 

 but without horses, which were afterwards obtained in 

 Sicily, from the Egestians and Cataneans, and by purchase 

 from neighbouring nations/ 



During the Peloponnesian war, the Spartans being much 

 depressed at their losses at the island of Sphacteria, and 

 the occupation of Cythera by the Athenians, contrary to 

 their usual maxims organized among themselves » body 

 of four hundred, horse- and archers.'^ Prior to this Ara& 

 they had depended upon their allies, such as the Thebans 

 and Phocians, to furnish what cavalry they required in 

 their expeditions outside of Peloponnesus.^ 



The Greeks had in their armies three species of 

 cavalry, the *' Cataphractes " {KaTd(ppaKTr)s), the " Greek," 

 and the "Tarentine." The heavy armed, called, the Cata- 

 phractes, were not much used. They wore a casque 

 which covered half the face, and protected the neck and 

 ears,* a cuirass of plates of iron or horn in scales, which 

 covered the body in front and rear, while the thigh and 

 right arm were protected by hide covered with plates of 

 metal. ^ The horses also were provided with defensive 

 armour ; the horsemen wore boots and spurs, and their 

 weapons were the lance, the long sword, and sometimes 

 the javelin. 



The tactical unit was the " ilc " (txij), a troop of sixty- 

 four horses.^ The order of formation varied at different 

 times and among the different nations. The Thracians 

 formed the ** ile," in the shape of a wedge with the point 

 towards the enemy. The Thessalians ranged two "iles" 

 in the shape of a lozenge, of which one point faced their 

 opponents.' The other Greeks, who also sometimes used 

 the lozenge, formed up the "ile" in a square or rectangle, 

 the four rear ranks acting as a reserve.^ Under Epami- 

 nondas the *' ile " was divided into four sections of six- 

 teen horses each ranged four in front by four in depth," 

 but the most common formation of the ** ile " was 



' Thucydides, book vi., year 18. 2 ibid, book iv., year 8. 



^ Maizeroy, 58. * Rocquancourt, 1, 54. ^ Carrion Nisas, 1, 87. 

 * Rocquancourt, 1, 58, 59. '^ Humbert, 20, 21, * Carrion, 



80, 81. » Bardin, article " Ile." 





