What should an authentic Hellenistic army look like?

[paullus]

you're right, i did forget the psiloi. any thessalians would be within the cavalry complement i had listed, not a separate unit. 3-4 units of psiloi (peltastai etc) is a pretty good start, especially when at least some of the auxiliary units are also likely to fit into the category of psiloi.

[Che Roriniho]

you're right, i did forget the psiloi. any thessalians would be within the cavalry complement i had listed, not a separate unit. 3-4 units of psiloi (peltastai etc) is a pretty good start, especially when at least some of the auxiliary units are also likely to fit into the category of psiloi.

I usually have 4 Units of cav, at least in my Mak armies. 1 Thessalians, 1 Companions, 2 Javelin-lobbing chaps (not Hippakontistai, the other lot). I'm going off the composioion of Alexanders armies, but the Maks at least hadn't changed uch to my knowledge. If it aint broke, don't fix it!

[paullus]

they didn't have the mounted capacity they had formerly had in Alexander's time. But if you'll look, my list advised one unit of companions (the somatophylakes) and 2-3 other cavalry units, so 3-4 total.

Bear in mind that even in the time of Philip II and Alexander, when the Macedonian cavalry had been considerably strengthened (more than tripled in size, perhaps) and supplemented with Thessalian cavalry as well, they didn't have a huuge number of cavalry:
Chaeronea - 2,000 cavalry, a little more than 6% of the total force (one unit, maybe 2, in a full stack in EB)
Granicus - 5,000 cavalry, or just over 10% of the total force (2, maybe 3 units in a full stack in EB)
Guagamela - perhaps 7,000 cavalry, or about 15% of the total force (3-5 units in a full stack in EB)

Cavalry made up roughly 8% of the Macedonian army at Cynoscephalae, and a little over 10% at Pydna.

[Dutchhoplite]

Besides the inferiority in quantity later hellenistic cavalry also lacked the discipline, manoeuvrability and punching power of Alexander´s men.

[Che Roriniho]

they didn't have the mounted capacity they had formerly had in Alexander's time. But if you'll look, my list advised one unit of companions (the somatophylakes) and 2-3 other cavalry units, so 3-4 total.

Bear in mind that even in the time of Philip II and Alexander, when the Macedonian cavalry had been considerably strengthened (more than tripled in size, perhaps) and supplemented with Thessalian cavalry as well, they didn't have a huuge number of cavalry:
Chaeronea - 2,000 cavalry, a little more than 6% of the total force (one unit, maybe 2, in a full stack in EB)
Granicus - 5,000 cavalry, or just over 10% of the total force (2, maybe 3 units in a full stack in EB)
Guagamela - perhaps 7,000 cavalry, or about 15% of the total force (3-5 units in a full stack in EB)

Cavalry made up roughly 8% of the Macedonian army at Cynoscephalae, and a little over 10% at Pydna.

I have 2 Units of Jav-lobbers, 1 of Thesses, 1 of Hetarioi and one General. That's all I need really.

from memory:

3 Psilioi
2 Peltasts (Tharaikian or otherwise)
1 General
1 Hetarioi
1 Hypastysts
6 Phalangitai
2 Allied Light Inf (Usually Agarian)
1 Thesso
2 Jav-Lobbers
1 other royal guard (not the spearmen, the other blokes)

And that's it!

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

they didn't have the mounted capacity they had formerly had in Alexander's time. But if you'll look, my list advised one unit of companions (the somatophylakes) and 2-3 other cavalry units, so 3-4 total.

Bear in mind that even in the time of Philip II and Alexander, when the Macedonian cavalry had been considerably strengthened (more than tripled in size, perhaps) and supplemented with Thessalian cavalry as well, they didn't have a huuge number of cavalry:
Chaeronea - 2,000 cavalry, a little more than 6% of the total force (one unit, maybe 2, in a full stack in EB)
Granicus - 5,000 cavalry, or just over 10% of the total force (2, maybe 3 units in a full stack in EB)
Guagamela - perhaps 7,000 cavalry, or about 15% of the total force (3-5 units in a full stack in EB)

Cavalry made up roughly 8% of the Macedonian army at Cynoscephalae, and a little over 10% at Pydna.

Quite, although of course the Successors were to some extent in terminal decline after Alexander's death. Macedonia's position at game starty resembles the situation in 359 BC to a certain degree, but another Philippos II could have reversed that.

In other words I personally think it is permissable to raise the quantity of cavalry and regular line troops when your empire is stable and on the Up.

Generally my Makedonian Armies leave the Depy like this:

1 General
1 Hetairoi
1 Thessalian
1 Thrakkioi Prodomoi
1 Hippeis Thrakkioi
2 Argaraspides
4 Pezhetaroi
1 Hypaspists
2 Agrianans
2 Thrakkioi Peltastoi
1 Peltastoi
1 Hellenic Slingers
1 Kretan Archers
1 Peltastoi Makedonioi


Excuse my mangling of Greek, that's the basic set up, armies in the East tend to aquire losts of Persian archers and lose their peltasts. sometimes the cavalry contingent will rise as the psiloi drop off and I end up with a serious hammer for the anvil, generally phalangites replace losses in other units as the casualties mount up. I've coloured it to demonstrate the breakdown, Hellenic troops, Makedonian Royal and Regular troops and non-Hellenic vassels. It's more of a concept than a fixed breakdown.