Latest / The History of Greece: Philosophy, Empire, and Endless Reinvention — Fexingo History / Iphicrates and the Peltasts: Light Infantry That Changed Greek Warfare
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about hoplites and phalanxes in earlier episodes — the heavy infantry that dominated Greek battlefields. But today I want to look at the flip side: the light infantry, and specifically the reforms of an Athenian general named Iphicrates. Luna: Iphicrates — I've heard the name but I don't know much about him. Wasn't he the one who did something with peltasts? Lucas: Exactly. Peltasts were a type of light infantry, named after the pelte — a small, crescent-shaped shield. Before Iphicrates, peltasts were mostly skirmishers from Thrace or other northern regions, used to harass the enemy with javelins and then run away. They weren't considered a decisive force. Lucas: But Iphicrates changed all that. He came from a humble background — his father was a shoemaker — and he rose through the ranks based on merit. Around 390 BCE, during the Corinthian War, he got command of a force of peltasts and completely re-equipped them. Luna: What did he change? Lucas: He lengthened their spears — almost to the length of a sarissa, the pike that Philip and Alexander would later use. He gave them smaller shields, lighter armor, and better boots. The idea was to create a unit that could stand up to hoplites in close combat, but still move fast. Lucas: And the proof came at the Battle of Lechaeum in 390 BCE. Iphicrates and his peltasts caught a Spartan mora — a regiment of about 600 hoplites — out in the open near Corinth. The Spartans were returning from a raid, and they had no cavalry or light infantry support. Luna: So the peltasts could just pick them off? Lucas: Right. The hoplites were slow and heavily armored. The peltasts would dash in, throw javelins, and retreat. Every time the Spartans charged, the peltasts ran back — but they were faster. And when the Spartans tried to form a defensive line, the peltasts just kept peppering them from all sides. Lucas: In the end, about 250 Spartans were killed, and the rest barely escaped. It was the first time a force of light infantry had defeated Spartan hoplites without support. Xenophon, who was a Spartan sympathizer, admits in his Hellenica that it was a painful lesson. Luna: That must have shaken the whole idea of hoplite supremacy. Lucas: It did. And Iphicrates became a celebrity. He was later sent to the Hellespont to fight for Athens, and then he served as a mercenary for the Thracian king Cotys — he even married Cotys's daughter, which was a huge step up for a shoemaker's son. Luna: So he went from being a nobody to a royal son-in-law. Lucas: And a general who influenced warfare for generations. But his career also shows the complexity of Greek politics. Later, he served the Persian satrap Pharnabazus, helping him reconquer Egypt. But the campaign failed, and Iphicrates fell out of favor. Lucas: He returned to Athens, but by then he was old. He was even put on trial for alleged treason — though he was acquitted. His legacy, though, is the peltast revolution. After him, every Greek army started integrating light infantry as a core component, not just support. Luna: And that eventually leads to the Macedonian phalanx with its combined arms. Lucas: Exactly. Philip II learned from Iphicrates. He used peltasts — the hypaspists — alongside heavy phalanx and cavalry. So in a way, Iphicrates was ahead of his time. He saw that flexibility and speed could beat raw power. Luna: It's almost like the Greek version of a military reformer changing the whole paradigm.