Gymnitai Hoplitai- Naked hoplites!!!

[Maion Maroneios]

Anyone stopped to think that, maybe, the nude hoplites on vases and in other hellenic art is perhaps an romantic, artistic renderition? The psychological value of depicting your countrymen as muscled warriors, so brave they even fights nude, must have been quite huge on the common man.

Indeed, nudity was praised in Ancient Greek society. A strong, muscled and clean body was the norm in those times. Obesity was frowned upon, which is basically the exact opposite with American society (with over 70% of the population being overweight IIRC). Depicting your warriors, as you and others correctly stated, nude was a way of boosting one's bravery.

Maion

[Ghaust the Moor]

Couldn't you just copy urodusios, make them fight in a phalanx, then maybe give them the hoplon and helmet. Or would you make something from scratch?

[Phalanx300]

Indeed, nudity was praised in Ancient Greek society. A strong, muscled and clean body was the norm in those times. Obesity was frowned upon, which is basically the exact opposite with American society (with over 70% of the population being overweight IIRC). Depicting your warriors, as you and others correctly stated, nude was a way of boosting one's bravery.

Maion

Yep, also remember this story of a Spartan when his camp was attacked he charged in naked and was greatly praised for it. Though jugding from the whole story it was more a exception that Spartans fought naked and thus did wear armour. Probably the same with other Greeks as well.

[Maion Maroneios]

Indeed. Even if they did fight naked, I believe they Gymnitai were simply not important enough to be represented with a unique unit. It is true though, that an unarmoured hoplite would had much more maneuvrability that a fully-armoured one, but in a hoplite vs hoplite fight, the armour would make all the difference. Imagine yourself being naked and sandwitched between your enemy pushing you behind and your allies pushing you forwards. Not very pretty, if you ask me.

Maion

[ARCHIPPOS]

perhaps the most historicaly accurate way to feature those guys would be a retinue member for the KH FM ... say after 10 victorious battles or so ( to represent the historic rarity of those gymnitai) the said FM could get a yelling crazy looking bastard in a corinthian helmet with the description:

"this man counts an eccentric and fearless warrior in his ranks of bodyguards who prefers to go naked into battle: +1 valour in combat , +1 troops morale, -1 chances of casualties recovering afer battle " or sth in these lines...

But frankly is it worth it??? go into the trouble of editing and modifying traits for a lame looking 1X1 cm pic and the opportunity to portray this exciting but rare aspect of hoplite warfare??? i dunno...

"here lie the naked hoplites obedient to EB's law of historic realism"

[Maion Maroneios]

If you ask me, no it isn't.

Maion

[IrishHitman]

Indeed. Even if they did fight naked, I believe they Gymnitai were simply not important enough to be represented with a unique unit. It is true though, that an unarmoured hoplite would had much more maneuvrability that a fully-armoured one, but in a hoplite vs hoplite fight, the armour would make all the difference. Imagine yourself being naked and sandwitched between your enemy pushing you behind and your allies pushing you forwards. Not very pretty, if you ask me.

Maion

And slightly homoerotic as well

[Maion Maroneios]

Well, did you know that (due to fear and concentration) you never get an erection when battling? Same goes when you sport intensively. IIRC, the andrenaline rush causes the penis to shrink. Basically the same that happens with men who take andrenaline injections.

Maion

[Cute Wolf]

That was my solution to your problem... made them replace the standard hellenic flagbearer in KH Bodyguards, and add, frighten_infantry trait to them...

[Maion Maroneios]

That was my solution to your problem... made them replace the standard hellenic flagbearer in KH Bodyguards, and add, frighten_infantry trait to them...

Maion

[Ghaust the Moor]

That was my solution to your problem... made them replace the standard hellenic flagbearer in KH Bodyguards, and add, frighten_infantry trait to them...

Wow, that is epic.

[Celtic_Punk]

IF this was true in any sense, why would my ancestors' groups of naked warriors be so scary to the Mediterranean people? I think that if a Greek tried to join your phalanx naked, he'd be branded a barbarian and cast out, rather than held as a hero.

[Ibrahim]

I dunno about greeks, but one mubaariz (dueller) went to duel naked, or at least half naked.

then again, Arabs have a history of odd fighting techniques...

[ARCHIPPOS]

"IF this was true in any sense, why would my ancestors' groups of naked warriors be so scary to the Mediterranean people?"

weeeeeell... we see that Greeks viewed such naked warriors as sth exceptional and rare within their own battleline, a leftover from heroic,mythical,ahistorical times ... a cultural eccentricity if you will...
and then suddenly they were faced with masses of naked ,huge Gauls in war ecstasy for whom fighting naked was not an exception but the norm... that could explain the psychological impact of naked Gauls on Greeks... they were familiar with nude heroes but never seen it incorporated "en masse" into an army...

[Rilder]

Now just imagine if we didn't stop doing this, and heroic soldiers would get their picture taken nude.

[Ca Putt]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I just think they felt like little boys again :D

Well maybe the nudity was just one fragment of the Intimidating effect of Naked Warriors whereas a equally important aspect was that they appeared somewhat "crazy" and people usually don't look forward to encountering a (naked) Madman with a Sword. they probably knew of the Berserk-ish impact of the Gaesatae, probably that made them even more "scary". Apart from that, respecting Naked Warriors as heroes may have lead to thoughts like "Help, were fighting against Heroes, were doomed, Zeus help us!"