Greek Coin Pack - War

Product History

Athens, Stater,  made about 296 B.C. of gold melted from the statue of Athena. They were issued by the tyrant Lachares to pay his troops during the siege of Athens by Demetrius 'the besieger'.

Warfare was a normal part of Greek life and the city-states frequently fought against each other. Fully armed infantry soldiers or hoplites (from the word hoplon meaning shield) were the main force in the Greek armies and they fought in close formations called Phalanxes. Only men from wealthy families could be hoplites because they could afford expensive armour and weapons. Other poorer soldiers served in auxiliary units as archers and stone slingers.

Army pay was about 1 drachma per day, plus food allowance and from this a Greek soldier would have to pay for their own armour and equipment. A javelin might cost 2 drachmae, helmet 100 drachmae and spear nearly 2 drachmae.

A hoplite would wear armour to battle which consisted of a helmet and breastplate, a circular, 3 foot diameter, shield made from wood reinforced with bronze, greaves which extended from the knee to the instep and a sword or a spear.

Front Image - A fight between two men armed as hoplites taken from an Athenian black-figure wine jug, 5th century B.C.

Product Information