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ARMA.
by the shield and thorax, their bodies had a much slighter coveringa sometimes consisting of
ARMA.
possessed of political rights, consisting of the older inhabitants of the land, together with, in most instances, a body of serfs attached to the domains of the nobles. These last are described under various names, as Evirarpio’cu in Attica, or Ta.fj.6poi as in Syracuse and several of the Doric states. From the superior efficiency of the cavalry in early times, we also find the nobles as a class bearing the name ‘iTnrJrat, ‘iTTTrets, or ‘iTnrogorat (as in Chalcis, Herod, v. 77), since, generall}’ speaking^ they alone had wealth sufficient to enable them to equip themselves for that kind of service ; and in most states the first great advance of the com monalty in power arose from their gaining greater efficiency as heavy-armed foot soldiers ; that force, when properly organised and armed, being found more than a match for cavalry. (See especially Arist. Pol. iv. 3, 10 ; K. F. Hermann, Griech. Staatscdterth. c. iii. §§ 55—59 j Wachsmuth, Hel- len. Altertkumsk. voL i. c. 3. §§ 30, 31 ; Thirl – wall, Hist, of Greece, vol. i. c. 10. p. 394, &c.) Compare the articles eupatridae, geomori,. patricii. [C. P. M.]
ARMA, ARMATU’RA (oVAa, Horn. &rea, reject), arms, armour. Homer describes in various passages the entire suit of armour of some of his greatest warriors, viz. of Aehillea, Patroclus, Agamemnon, Menelaus and Paris (//. iii. 328—339, iv. 132—138, xi. 15—45, xvi. 130—142, xix. 364 —391) ; and we observe that it consisted of the same portions which were used by the Greek soldiers ever after. Moreover, the order of putting them on is always the same. The heavy-armed warrior, having already a tunic around his body, and preparing for combat, puts on,—first, his greaves (kvij-fudes, ocreae) ; secondly, his cuirass (&ct»pa£, lorica), to which belonged the ^.irpiri underneath^ and the zone (t1^?, faffrrip^emg’&lum) above ; thirdly, Us sword (£i<|>os, ensis^ gladius} hung on the left side of his body by means of a belt which passed over the right shoulder; fourthly, the large round shield ((ra/cos, acnris, dipi’us, scutum}, supported in the same manner; fifthly, his helmet (ttopus, Kvverj, cas-«’s, galea) ; sixthly and lastly, he took his spear (ey%os, 86pv, hasta)9 or, in many eases,- two spears (Sovpe 8tW). The form and use of these portions are described in separate articles under then- Latin names. The annexed woodcut exhibits them all in the form of a Greek warrior attired for battle, as shown in Hope’s Costume of the Ancients (i. 70).
Those who were defended in the manner whrch has now been represented, are called by Homer a<nri<TTai, from their great shield (acnris) ; also ajX^^X0^ because they fought hand to hand with their adversaries ; but much more commonly irpo/jLaxoi because they occupied the front of the army: and it is to be observed that these terms, especially the last, were honourable titles? the ex-p9nse of a complete suit of armour (TrawTrAiT?, Herod, i. 60) being of itself sufficient to prove the wealth and rank of the wearer, while his place on the field was no less indicative of strength and bravery.
In later times, the heavy-armed soldiers were called 67rAiTai, because the term OTrAa more especially denoted Jhe defensive armour, the shield and thorax. By wearing these they were distinguished from tfte light-armed, whom Herodotus (ix. 62, 63), for the reason just mentioned, calls &vottoi, and who are also denominated xj/iAot, and yvpvoi, , or yv^vrres. Instead of being defended
skins, and sometimes of leather or cloth ; and instead of the sword and lance, they commonly fought with darts, stones, bows and arrows, or slings.
Besides the heavy and light-armed soldiers, the oTr^Prat and xJaAoi, who in general bore towards one another the intimate relation now explained, another description of men, the TreArao’Tcu, also formed a part of the Gieek army, though we do not Bear of them in early times. Instead of the large round shield, they carried a smaller one called the 7T6AT7}, and in other respects their armour was much lighter than that of the hoplites. The weapon on which they principally depended was the spear.
The Roman soldiers had different kinds of arms and armour; but an account of the arms of the different kinds of troops cannot be separated from a description of the troops of a Roman army, and the reader is therefore referred to exerc-itus. We need only give here the figure of a Roman soldier taken from the arch of Septimus Severus at Rome. On comparing it with that of the Greek hoplite in the other cut, we perceive that the several parts of the armour correspond, excepting only that the Roman soldier wears a dagger (^.dxatpa. pugio} on his right side instead of a sword on his left, and instead of greaves upon his legs, has femoralia and caligae. Ail the essential parts of the Roman heavy armour {loviea, ensis, clipeus, galea, hasta) are mentioned together in an epigram of Martial (ix. 57) ; and all except the spear in a well known passage (Eph. vi. 14—17) of St. Paul, whose enumeration exactly coincides with the figures on the arch of Severus, and who makes mention not only of greaves, but of shoes or sandals for the feet.
The soft or flexible parts of the heavy armour were made of cloth or leather. The metal principally used in their formation was that compound of copper and tin which we call bronze, or more
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