Hoplite Revolution or Evolution?
By Robert Porter
Corvus Classics Journal (2010)
Introduction: The study of Homeric and Archaic Age warfare has undergone significant change in modern scholarship that make these styles of battle appear very different than the traditional representations. While these two styles of warfare have traditionally been seen as near opposites, modern scholarship has changed these traditional interpretations and the result is two forms of warfare that seem quite similar. First, it is important that these traditional views are examined to understand the changes that have been made to them. These traditional views on the Homeric style of warfare as described in the Iliad focus almost completely on a series of duels between the wealthy and heavily armed aristocrats. In contrast to this, the traditional view of warfare in Archaic Greece focuses on the Greek phalanx where two opposing armies get involved in a
