The Hoplite Association presented a large living history display with equipement and items from Archaic and Classical Greece to Alexander the Great, and ran several combat and equipement demonstrations in the main arena.

The farewell scene of a warrior departing to battle is a frequent subject of Attic vases in late Archaic and Classical Greece, indicating a significant preoccupation with war and military service during this period. 

These departure scenes have been understood to reflect two of the most important events in the life of a young Athenian man: his departure as a hoplite leaving for battle, as in this illustration; or the departure of an ephebe for training and military service as indicated by his lack of beard and armour.

Symposium scenes on ancient Greek pottery typically depict gatherings of men drinking, eating, and engaging in conversation or entertainment at a symposium, which was a social event in ancient Greece. These scenes often show men reclining on couches, with a servant pouring wine from a krater (a large, two-handled vase) into their cups. The men may also be playing music or engaging in other forms of entertainment, such as storytelling or games. Symposium scenes on pottery were popular in ancient Greece, and they provide a glimpse into the social customs and daily life of the time.

Orpheus, the best known of the mythical musicians, is associated with Thrace in the northernmost part of Greece. After he had descended into the underworld to find his beloved wife, Eurydice, and had lost her, he withdrew into solitude. Feeling rebuffed, Thracian women set upon Orpheus and killed him. Here he is shown seated on a rock formation and engrossed in his music. The central figure, wearing typical Thracian dress, identifies the setting, while the woman who holds a sica (a typical Thracian weapon) in her left hand foreshadows Orpheus’s fate.

The hoplites were primarily represented by free citizens—propertied farmers and artisans—who were able to afford armour and weapons (estimated at a third to a half of its able-bodied adult male population). With the notable exception of Sparta, hoplites were not professional soldiers and often lacked sufficient military training. However, some states did maintain a small elite professional unit, known as the epilektoi (“chosen”), picked from the regular citizen infantry. Hoplite soldiers made up the bulk of ancient Greek armies.

This album is a collection of depictions of hoplites on pottery.

Greaves were extremely common, appearing on virtually any representation of a hoplite, even when they have no other armour other than a hoplon and a helmet. Unlike medieval leg armour, hoplite Greaves usually mimic anatomical features and were often elaborately decorated.

For re-enactors, good quality greaves can be hard to find. The best reproductions of hoplite greaves are made to measure, as off-the-shelve versions tend to be too big and fit poorly.

These bits of ceramic gave their name to one of Athen’s more original political processes: Ostracism. Ostracism allowed the people to banish any prominent citizen from the city for 10 years, without bringing any charge against him. Each year, the Athenians were asked in the assembly whether they wished to hold an ostracism. If they voted “yes”, citizens wrote the names of the person they wanted to be ostracised onto pieces of pottery, and placed them into an urn. If at least 6000 votes were cast, then the person with the most votes “won”, and had to leave the city within 10 days.

Ostracism was designed to remove citizens who might threaten the stability of the state. But it was often used to get rid of politicians who had used up their good-will capital with the people. One of the most famous victims of ostracism was Aristides, son of Lysimachus, known as “Astrides the Just”. Aristides was an Athenian statesman in the early 5th century who played a key role in the Persian Wars. Herodotus calls him “the best and most honourable man in Athens”. Aristides disagreed with Themistocles regarding his naval policies, and this disagreement eventually became so violent that the Assembly voted to hold an ostracism, to banish one of the two politicians.

It is said that, on this occasion, an illiterate voter who did not recognise Aristides approached the statesman and requested that he write the name of Aristides on his voting shard to ostracize him. The latter asked if Aristides had wronged him. “No,” was the reply, “and I do not even know him, but it irritates me to hear him everywhere called ‘the Just’.”

Plutarch tells the story of one Spartan who used a life-sized fly as his shield emblem:

“A Spartan had as an emblem on his shield a fly, and that, too, no bigger than life-size. When some mockingly said that he had done this to escape being noticed, he said, “Rather that I may be noticeable; for I come so close to the enemy that my emblem is seen by them in its true size.”

Later on, during the Hellenistic period, there is more evidence of standardised shield designs; this was the time when standing armies, employed by the state, become more common. But even during this period, many cities allowed soldiers to choose their own designs.

So. when you pick a design for your own hoplon, there. are plenty of historical designs to choose from! On this page, you will find a collection of shield designs as depicted by period ceramics/ You can also find additional designs, conveniently grouped by period on this site.

There is still debate on the materials historically used, whether of leather, glued layers of linen, or a combination of both. Being made of perishable materials, no examples have survived.

This is a collection of visual evidence of linothorax armour. Most of the examples are early to mid 5th century, with the notable exception of the famous image of Alexander the Great.

Himation

The himation was made from a rectangle of woven wool. “It started as outdoor wear, but, when light material came into style, the himation was worn at any time,” states Payne. (83) It first was used as a cloak but, as the century passed, it was draped more elaborately and it was ten to twelve feet longer. 

Peplos

Another garment worn by the Doric women was the peplos. It was also worn in the fifth century B.C.E. Kohler says, “[The peplos] has a piece of woolen material, about 3 meters wide and of a length equal to the height of the wearer, and was folded at the upper extremity to form first a narrow and then a wider shawl or plaid. The material was brought through beneath the left arm and fastened with tapes on the right shoulder to leave a board peak in front and behind.” (100). 

Common material Patterns of the Peplos included:

• checks 
• wavy lines 
• stripes 
• flowered designs 

The peplos was tubular in shape, and the upper edge was turned down at the waist. The peplos was put over the head and was made to fit closely at the shoulder with fasteners. The arms were left bare. It was held at the waist with a girdle. The lower edge was finished with a braid. The peplos was open at the right side and hung in folds from the shoulder. In time, the shawl, or plaid, was so wide that it reached to the hip. It was tied with tapes on both shoulders. 

Chiton

In the early fifth century, after the Persian Invasion, the native Doric chiton came into style. Examples of this style include the dress of the Porch Maidens, or Caryatids of the Erectheum, and the Dancing Girls of Herculaeum. The Doric chiton came directly from the style of the peplos. 

Payne states, “The Doric chiton was folded and worn in the same manner as the peplos, but was of larger dimensions.” (80) It was about twice the width from elbow to elbow with arms bent and lifts to a horizontal position. “The Doric chiton consisted of two pieces of rectangular cloth equal to the height of the wearer,” says Kohler. (99) It was shown either closed or open down the right side. It was worn closed in Corinth and Attica. The chiton was made of fine pleated linen. 

Differences between the Doric and Ionic Chiton

The basic form of the Chiton is similar to the one worn by men, but longer. It is essentially a large rectangle draped around the body and pinned at the shoulders to form the neck hole. Several pins could be used at the top of the cloth from the shoulder to the wrist to form a sort of sleeve.

The whole thing is held together by a belt or sash at the waist. Belts or sashes can also be worn around the hips, under the breasts, or criss-crossed between the breasts.

The Peplos is very similar, but has a larger fold at the top, sometimes going down to the waist or hips.

One of the main differences between the peplos and the Doric chiton was the length of the over fold, which was called the apotyga. On the peplos, it ended well above the waistline. However, on the Doric chiton it was worn longer. With the Doric chiton, the waistline declined so that the lower edge of the blouse, which was formed by pulling the excess length above the girdle, could reach the hipbones. This portion of the blouse was called the kolpos. 

In the middle of the fifth century, when the Persian Wars ended, the Ionic chiton came into style. One of the most beautiful versions of the Ionic chiton can be found on the Birth of Aphrodite, which is a Bas-Relief, currently located in the Terme Museum in Rome. This is dated between 470 and 460 B.C.E. “The sheerness and draping of the linen are wonderfully expressed,” says Payne. (81) 

Colours

Colours also played a big role in ancient Greek women’s fashion. Different colours symbolized different things. For example, a dark veil was a sign of mourning. In the book The Iliad, Homer writes that Thetis wears an indigo veil because she is in mourning because she knows that Achilles, her son, is going to die. Homer writes, “The radiant queen of the sea-nymphs seized a veil, blue-black (no darker) robe in all the ocean depths.” (591) Evans states, “Dark blue is seldom applied to garments, yet it is scarcely likely that the colour was unknown to the Greeks.” (100). 

Chitons and peploi could be plain, but many examples on pottery are highly decorated with strips and patterns, and a variety of colours.

Finally, the diplax is a very long but narrow stole that would have been pinned halfway along, at the shoulder, and draped diagonally across the body, sometimes with a drawstring to pleat it. 

The ends would have hung in folds from the shoulder.

In 500 B.C.E., to 400 B.C.E., ancient Greek women wore many fashions. Their clothing became more elaborate and more detailed as the century passed. The colors became brighter, and new styles were developed. The changing of fashion for the Greek women relates to all societies. As time goes on, fashion everywhere changes, just as it did for ancient Greek women.