Avatar and new topic test

[Efstathios]

And here is the avatar.Now on to my signature

[Thomas]

Do you see the subsilver or SwiftBlue template? If you see the pothos logo at the top then you see the new template that I am aiming to customise to the pothos look and feel.

[Efstathios]

Yeah i now see the blue,and the pothos logo.It looks nice.

[Paralus]

G'day all!

Seems I can get in here but the Pothos site no longer recognises me? Thomas, any clues?

By the way, I can donate - no problem - but only via Amex and unfortunately only in Australian Drachmas.

Paralus.

[Paralus]

G'day Efstathios,

Not the way I pictured Athenian hoplites. Somehow with lesser crests and - for some strange bloody reason - in some sort of blue??

Don't ask. It's an image I've had since the age of sixteen - whence this study of ancient history began. Such elementary images are hard to divest.

Paralus

[Paralus]

I'll get used not to signing my name too - one day

Paralus

[Efstathios]

Greetings Paralus.

This is the typical corinthian helmet of the classical era.Almost all greeks began to use it from around 600 bc up to the hellenistic period.In the hellenistic period it's shape changed a little bit,and became more open at the side and the face in order for the hoplite to be able to hear and see better.I think that in Alexander's time the Athenians,Thesallians e.t.c used the newer more open version.

The classical era version was designed for the typical warfare between greeks of that time, meaning shields bashing and spears coming from above.So the face and neck was better protected this way.While time passed and after the peloponnesean war tactics began to change and light infantry appeared with different fighting techniques.

The Spartans were the last to change their phallanx tactics and armor but they did it when they lost from a light infantry unit which was more versatile.


The crest was stadard.It was from horse hair and it could be attached on the helmet and de-attached.Usually they wore it during battle or when on guard.

The Athenians had various colored armors.Surely they had blue too.

Here is a link with some pictures of hoplites.The armors and helmets are accurately depicted.Scroll down to see the Spartans and Athenians.

http://www.legion-fourteen.com/greeks.htm

There are many replicas of helmets and armor that you can buy on the net but generally they are expensive.I think it's around 1500 $ for a corinthian helmet with a crest.The helmets are made of brass or bronze and the crests of horse hair.

[Guest]

G'day Efstathios!

Not a bad rendition of the Spartans that actually. In fact, the picture is having a bet each way. It's my understanding that Spartans of the classical era wore a transverse crest rather that longitudinal.

Your observations on the "Corinthian" helmet are indeed spot on. The object was to protect from the downward stabbed spear of classic Greek hoplite confrontations - something the Persians found to their cost at both Marathon and Plataea .

By the time of Chaeronea Philip had dispensed with the heavy armour in favour the heavyweight boxer's favourite advantage: reach. The Macedonian phalanx and the Argyraspids simply ran them through before they were in reach.

Any wonder the Romans called it the murderous "hedgehog".

[Paralus]

That, of course, was me. Stupid bugger! Forgot to log in.

Least I'm no longer signing my name anymore.....

Paralus.

Oops!

[Efstathios]

It's my understanding that Spartans of the classical era wore a transverse crest rather that longitudinal.

The officers wore a transverse crest.The hoplites wore a longitudinal.

I reckon you havent read "Gates of Fire" by Pressfield,or you dont remember it,but he also mentions this.

P.S Excellent book.

P.S 2: Imagine now that the greek way of fighting of the classical era was the charge and then the "spear from above",and then the "machaira" if the spear broke.They would charge at the enemy while keeping their lines, in full speed with their shields in front to push the enemy lines back.(Othismos-Ωθισμός).Especially the Spartans were well trained to charging with full equipment pushing with the shield with force.The result was that the front lines would get broken bones maybe and the lines in the back would get asphyxiated.Of course when the enemy was greek hoplites, due to their heavy armor and training that wasnt so rough.But when the enemy was Persians the result was catastrophical for them.Dead bodies from the first charge.

And then the spears from the above.Directly to the face-neck of the enemy.And if the spear broke or in some other circumstances they would continue with the machaira (the short sword.).The Spartans were trained to hit with the machaira quickly and proceeding to the next opponent as fast as possible.

Almost all of these tactics were common to all the greeks of that era.But the Spartans were well trained to handle the weight of their armor and to be able to move fast and hit accurately.

Also the Athenians (and the Spartans) spend a lot of time at the gyms learning ways of fighting,like pagkration and wrestling.They used all these techniques during battle,when the circumstances demanded it.

So imagine that you see an army of 300 or 10.000 hoplites like these charging towards you.No wonder why the Persians kept fleeing in such confrontations.

And of course the sarisas were intimidating too.

[marcus]

I'm just trying out to see whether my profile accepted an avatar ... not necessarily the one I'd always use, but out of interest ...

Marcus

[marcus]

Which it obviously didn't! Poo!

Will have to try again ...

... and now I find that it automatically includes my Avatar now that I've got it working. Ignore these messages!

M

[Alita]

Which it obviously didn't! Poo!

Will have to try again ...

... and now I find that it automatically includes my Avatar now that I've got it working. Ignore these messages!

M

I tried to put up an Avatar but it was too big in KB. Any ideas on this? It seemed I had to cut it down to such a small size to get it to fit, that there would be nothing left of it!

[marcus]

Which it obviously didn't! Poo!

Will have to try again ...

... and now I find that it automatically includes my Avatar now that I've got it working. Ignore these messages!

M

I tried to put up an Avatar but it was too big in KB. Any ideas on this? It seemed I had to cut it down to such a small size to get it to fit, that there would be nothing left of it!

Hi Alita,

You can do it without cropping the picture. I can't remember exactly where you go, but it it's probably in the "Edit" menu when you have your picture open. It gives you the opportunity to compress the picture.

Make sure that it's a jpeg or gif, rather than a bitmap.

ATB