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Athenea Promakhos

Age: Època Antiga
Web page: http://www.xyfos.com/athenea/
Check our activities at the Agenda.

Athenea Promakos, set up by Zaragozan Guillen Tello in 2005, is an atypical group. Members are scattered around the territory -most coming from Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia, and a few from other regions in Spain. This is why the group does not have headquarters.

 

Even though not all members are Catalan, most of their performances related with Greek culture take place in Catalonia.

 

The group was born with the aim to study and recreate Greek warriors from periods comprising Medan Wars against Darius and Xerxes Persian armies in centuries VI-V BC (end of Archaic Period) to the start of Classical Period.

 

Troops wear -dresses and equipment- Athenea Promakos puts on show include:

 

• Hoplitai, heavy infantry battling in phalanx formation
• Psiloi, Gimnoi, Peltastai and other light infantry units accompanying the phalanx
• Cavalry, still scarcely and rarely used in that period

 

The group re-enacts weapons, fighting techniques, military tactics and combatants' social hierarchy in VI-V Centuries BC Greece, the golden period of the Greek polis and the hoplite phalanx.

 

This military formation, closed and compact, with 9 feet spares of infantrymen standing out of the formation, reigned in battlefields for centuries, being the admiration of European military castes.

 

In IV Century CC (Hellenic period) and, especially, as from Alexander the Great's conquests, the phalanx kept on evolving towards an increasingly more compact formation. The big shield became smaller while the spare gained in length, reaching up to 7 meters. This forced infantrymen -renamed pezetaroi-, to hold it with both hands. With this new formation known as "Macedone Phalanx" and a faithful heavy cavalry -the Hetairoi or colleagues of Macedone nobility-, Alexander the Great defeated, in hardly 10 years, the powerful and secular Persian Empire (campaigns from 334 to 323 BC).

 

For many years the pezetaroi in Macedone phalanx coexisted and complemented the classical hoplitai. With speed and capacity to attack the enemy, pezetaroi stood in the flanks of the Macedone phalanx, protecting it or carrying out attacks and surrounding movements. Thus, Alexander's assault troops Hypaspistai or Pheraspidai became the elite infantrymen.

 
The death of Alexander precipitated allocation of new territories among his generals, which caused confrontations among themselves and their successors. The Hellenic world began a slow declive. A century later, phalanxes of Phillip V of Macedone, Antiocus III of Seleucida and Perseus of Macedone were defeated in Cinoscephalos in 197 BC, Magnesia in 190 BC and Pidna in 168 BC, respectively, by a new military formation that was to become invincible in the battlefields of three continents in the coming centuries: the Roman legions. Why Roman legions so forcedly defeated the phalanxes is still a matter of argument among military historians. Roman legions, although in early times also fought in phalanx-type formation, moved onto a more versatile and manoeuvrable formation. This endowed them with greater capacity to make charges and to easily attack flanks and rearguard. Maybe, thanks to that, Roman legions managed to defeat the wall of spares the phalanx embodied, unbeatable in frontal attack but with a minor capacity of manoeuvre and displacement. Being a compact mass of men and holding spares of 7 meters long that hampered coordinated movements, the phalanx not only required even battle grounds but also flank coverage by a good force of cavalry or light infantry. Some historians believe these aspects were not considered in the abovementioned battles. Moreover, a long century of wars among generals and successors of Alexander's Empire forced them to make increasing use of mercenary troops lacking the preparation or motivation of ancient phalanxes. The quality of infantrymen and, especially, heavy cavalry at Seleucida, Pontus and Macedone kingdoms had decreased. The outcome of the three battles was that Greece and Macedone entered, within a few years, the orbit of the Roman world.

 

Athenea Promakhos made their first public appearance at Tarraco Viva Festival 2006, showing half a dozen hoplites in their military armour and three Peltasts.

 

Again, they participated in the 2007 edition with a much more successful exhibition gathering two dozens hoplites. In their equipment outstood the round big shields decorated with varied and colourful coats of arms, and the characteristic horse manes on their helmets. They also incorporated half a dozen light infantrymen which allowed simulation of a small combat between two units. This fight has lately turned into a short play devised to narrate a historical episode.