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1:32 Greco-Persian Wars Series. Peltast. Kit № 7

To serve in the detachments of the peltasts meant for the warrior to have a special kind of courage. If the hoplite could rely on a massive shield, armor and the support of his comrades for protection, then the peltast was protected in a battle only by the speed of his legs. Even if initially the hoplite was shy, then being squeezed and supported from all sides by his courageous comrades, he gained courage himself, but the peltast staying one-on-one with the enemy could rely only on himself. Since the service as the peltast did not require any special equipment at first, then in fact any brave man could go into this kind of the light infantry, because to solve the then combat missions that the peltast faced, it was enough sometimes just to pick up a weighty stone. This, along with darts and arrows, was quite enough to bring some confusion into the enemy formation and make him tremble. For a long time, the role of the peltasts on the battlefield was limited to this, but over time everything changed and the peltasts left the role of enabling infantry and began to prevail on the battlefield. It was started by Cleon, the Athenian commander, who defeated and captured the hitherto invincible Spartan hoplites with the forces of only peltasts during the Peloponnesian War in 425 BC. And the dominant role of the peltasts on the battlefield was approved finally by Iphicrates, another Athenian commander. Iphicrates, having carefully studied the peculiarities of military affairs of that time, added real value to individual training of the peltasts, the coordination of their actions and high fighting spirit. And despite the fact that the hiring of the peltast and the cost of his training became higher than those of hoplites, the effect did not take long. Iphicrates defeated the Spartan hoplites twice with the forces of only peltasts, and his methods of fighting by the peltasts were adopted by such great generals of antiquity as Epaminondas, Philip of Macedon and Alexander of Macedon, his son.