THESSALIAN HEAVY CAVALRY

Last modified on: 23-December-2015.

FRESH FROM THE PAINTING TABLE

I started working on this unit of Thessalian heavy cavalry several months ago and I finally finished the bases and the final spray of mat varnish yesterday.

Unfortunately, I started on these figures so long ago that I don’t remember who manufactures which ones. The vast majority of the miniatures are made by Aventine Miniatures. There may be one or two Wargames Foundry figures. Several had their heads removed and replaced by heads with more appropriate helmets for Thessalian cavalry. I like helmets with plumes or crests, so I added those to several figures. Some also had their right arms cut off and replaced with arms throwing a javelin.

The following photo shows the entire unit of 12 miniatures. They are each armed with a javelin (Ancient Greek: akōn) in their right hand and a thrusting spear (doru) in their left hand. They wear a helmet (kranos), a cuirass (thōrax), and a cloak (khlamys). Like Greek hoplites, these horsemen are each dressed uniquely. I doubt that these aristocratic cavalrymen would have worn a uniform even when they were serving Philip II of Makedonia or his son Alexander the Great. They may have worn a uniform of sorts in later generations after decades of Makedonian rule.

I am not entirely happy with this unit. I can clearly see which figures had new heads or new right arms. To me they stick out like a sore thumb! Hopefully, someday soon a manufacturer will produce suitable miniatures for Thessalian heavy cavalry. In this case, I had to purchase a number of different packs just to get one or two suitable figures per pack. Even then, I still had to alter several figures!

To represent Thessalian cavalry, figures should:

• Be throwing a javelin in their right hand. See below for details.
• Be holding a thrusting spear in their left hand. If there is room, they could also be holding a second javelin.
• Be wearing a suitable helmet.
• Be wearing a metal muscled cuirass or a linen cuirass. In the later Seleucid army, their cavalry was apparently a bit heavier. Perhaps, that meant more metal muscled cuirasses.
• Perhaps be wearing a cloak.
• Be riding an unarmoured horse. In the later Seleucid army, the Thessalians may have ridden horses with some armour such as a prometōpidios (frontlet), a prosternidion (covering for the chest), and possibly a paramēridia (armour for the flanks) also covering the rider’s thighs. All three of these items had been recommended by Xenophon in ca. 360 BCE.

Silver Stater of Alexander of Pherai, Thessaly, ca. 369–358 BCE.
A Thessalian heavy cavalryman wearing an apparent variation of a Boiotian
helmet with a longer front visor and lacking the characteristic folds on the
sides of a Boiotian helmet. He wears a metal, muscled cuirass with pteryges
(flaps). A sword hilt is visible on his left hip. He holds a spear underhanded.
Though the vast majority of ancient Greek coins depict mythological scenes, this
coin evidently depicts a realistic likeness of a real life Thessalian cavalryman.

Xenophon (Peri Hippikēs. 8.10) advised that Athenian cavalrymen should practise their horsemanship by hunting or by a chase over rough terrain between two horsemen both armed with blunt akontes (javelins) and dorata (spears). They would throw the blunt akontes at each other and thrust at their opponents with the butt end of the dorata. Xenophon (Peri Hippikēs. 12.1–7, 10) also recommended that Athenian cavalry wear a well fitting thōrax (cuirass) that would not hinder sitting or bending and a kranos (helmet). This would appear to have been the standard, versatile method of fighting and the standard equipment for all Greek cavalry of the Greek Classical Age (ca. 500–323 BCE) including Thessalian cavalry.

During the Hellenistic Age (323–30 BCE), Thessalian cavalry continued to be much sought after. They served with distinction in the army of the Epeirote king Pyrrhos (reigned 307–303 and 297–272 BCE). In Pyrrhos’ first battle against the Romans, his Thessalian cavalry were responsible for routing the Romans at the battle of Herakleia in 280 BCE (Plutarch. Pyrrhos 17.3). Thessalian horsemen were settled in a Seleucid military colony in Syria called Larisa after the famous Thessalian city and fought in the elite agema of the Seleucid cavalry (Diodoros. 33.4a).

For detailed background information on Thessalian cavalry, see my blog pages on A History of Thessalian Cavalry and Xenophon on Cavalry.


THESSALIAN LIGHT CAVALRY?

I personally believe that the existence of Thessalian light cavalry is a fantasy. I don’t see that there was a social class in Thessaly during the Greek Classical Age (ca. 500–323 BCE) from which light cavalry could have been regularly recruited. In addition, the meagre evidence from ancient Greek authors all points to Greek cavalry as being heavy cavalry with helmets and cuirasses. Below is a photo of a Thessalian coin showing what is—in my opinion—a Thessalian nobleman dressed for hunting not warfare. See the blog pages mentioned above for further details.

Silver drachma of Pharsalos, Thessaly, ca. 424–404 BCE.
A Thessalian horseman wearing a petasos (hat), khlamys (cloak), and khitōn (tunic).
He holds a lagōbolon (throwing stick, literally ‘hare missile’). In ancient Thessaly,
the above iconic image —often depicting the horseman armed with javelins— was
very popular on coins from virtually every Thessalian city. More often than not,
ancient Greek coins depict mythological scenes. This image likely depicts Thessalos,
the legendary, eponymous ancestor of all Thessalians. He is shown dressed in
an aristocrat’s hunting attire and wielding a lagōbolon for clubbing tasty rabbits.