Pheraspidai?

**Ludens** · 08-09-2008, 21:11

Alexander used his hypaspistai for assault missions, but how these would have been equipped I have no idea. IIRC they were used both as pikemen and in more open-order formations. The elite peltasts were also recruited from the best of the Macedonian recruitment system, but this wasn't in place yet in Alexander's time.

**abou** · 08-09-2008, 21:26

My theory is that the Hypaspistai were phalangites and that the Agema of the Hypaspistai were hoplites. That seems to coordinate better with their development into the arygraspides and what not.

**||Lz3||** · 08-10-2008, 01:01

I remember that in age of mithology hyspaspistai were just the average swordsmen

em... offtopic... nevermind <.<

**Zarax** · 08-10-2008, 07:00

Originally Posted by abou

My theory is that the Hypaspistai were phalangites and that the Agema of the Hypaspistai were hoplites. That seems to coordinate better with their development into the arygraspides and what not.

It could also be something like this: Nobles or richer landowners who wanted to fight on foot fought as peltastai makedonoi when younger and more agile, later as hypaspists when they were more grizzled and finally as argiraspidai towards the end of their military career.

It's all assumptions of course but it would sound logical to me.

**abou** · 08-13-2008, 10:51

Not really. Neither during Alexander's time or later - at least as far as I understand it. O'Etairos knows more about Makedonia than I do, but the peltastai were an Antigonid development that derived from phalangites operating in roles other than the phalanx. It became a permanent unit and replaced the hypaspistai on the battlefield. In Makdonia, the hypaspistai were bodyguards and personal enforcers of the king. The argyraspides were veteran phalangites (and said to be formed by a core of hypaspistai and hence my toughts on the difference of equipment between the hypaspistai and agema) in Alexander's time, and probably the sons of military settlers during the Seleukid era.

Are you talking about the Antigonids or the Seleukids or Alexander?

**Zarax** · 08-13-2008, 11:15

In this case I was talking about the successors in general, might have mixed things I heard about different armies though.

**Centurio Nixalsverdrus** · 08-13-2008, 13:23

So the Hypaspistai din't really play a role on the battlefield in EB's timeframe? I hope you ain't going to remove them... After all the player can decide if he wants to fill them with new life (like the whole empire).