Lokhos
Encyclopedia
A lochos, plural lochoi was a tactical sub unit
of Classical Greece
and of the modern Greek army. The term derived from the ancient Greek for ambush
and the men carrying out the ambush, but in practice, its meaning was essentially that of "war-band", a body of armed men. This translation has been used traditionally, e.g. for the Sacred Band of Thebes
.
from that of tribal Greece to that of the Greek city-state
s, the lochos varied in size and organisation over time and from city state to city state, ranging in size from a single file to about 640 men. The best surviving description of the lochos is that by Xenophon
in his Anabasis
, however this must be taken as being illustrative of a particular time and place, that of 5th century BC Sparta
, rather than being truly representative. Aelian
and Arrian
use the terms lochos as file and lochagos as file leader.
, among which the lochagos, and the men in the even rows epistates
. Should the line perform a pyknosis, that is close its ranks by placement of half the lochos in the interval between the original lochoi, then the epistates of the lochagos would become the promachos
protostates of the newly employed file.
A half-file was called hemilochion or dimoiria and a quarter-file enomotia
there being 6 morai in the Spartan Army
. The morai would normally be commanded by a Polemarch
, and the lochos by a lochagos. However the actual numbers would vary depending on the needs of a campaign. Spartan military organisation relied on dividing its citizen army into 8 age classes and full strength enomotiai consisted of 5 men from each of the age classes. However, it was unusual to draw men from the older age classes, so on campaign an enomotia would consist of 30 to 35 men with the lokhos and mora being correspondingly smaller.
If only the first 4 or even fewer age classes were called up
, than the "short" organisational lochos would be grouped together to form a full strength tactical lochos.
Whatever the theoretical size of the lochos, units of about 300 men appear frequently in the classical Greek records, this being the number of the Sacred Band of Thebes
, the Spartans at Thermopylae
, and the number on each side of the "Battle of the Champions
" fought between Argos
and Sparta in 546 BC. This number would give a frontage of about 40 shields given the traditional eight-deep phalanx
, and probably represents the smallest number needed to form a usable phalanx.
, the lochos continued being used as a term for the file
. It was the basic infantry unit of usually 8 men, composed of the file leader (lochagos) and seven soldiers. In the tradition of the Roman contubernium
, this unit slept and ate together in a single tent, and had a permanently attached servant. Alternative names were dekarchion and dekarchos for the file leader, meaning "leader of ten".
Military organization
Military organization is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer military capability required by the national defence policy. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation's armed forces...
of Classical Greece
Classical Greece
Classical Greece was a 200 year period in Greek culture lasting from the 5th through 4th centuries BC. This classical period had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire and greatly influenced the foundation of Western civilizations. Much of modern Western politics, artistic thought, such as...
and of the modern Greek army. The term derived from the ancient Greek for ambush
Ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops...
and the men carrying out the ambush, but in practice, its meaning was essentially that of "war-band", a body of armed men. This translation has been used traditionally, e.g. for the Sacred Band of Thebes
Sacred Band of Thebes
The Sacred Band of Thebes was a troop of picked soldiers, consisting of 150 male couples which formed the elite force of the Theban army in the 4th century BC. It was organised by the Theban commander Gorgidas in 378 BC and played a crucial role in the Battle of Leuctra...
.
Size and organisation
Evolving as it did with ancient Greek warfareAncient Greek warfare
With the emergence of Ancient Greece from its 'Dark Age', the population seemed to have significantly risen, allowing restoration of urbanized culture, and the rise of the city-states . Such developments would have consequently restored the possibility of organized warfare between statelets...
from that of tribal Greece to that of the Greek city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
s, the lochos varied in size and organisation over time and from city state to city state, ranging in size from a single file to about 640 men. The best surviving description of the lochos is that by Xenophon
Xenophon
Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
in his Anabasis
Anabasis (Xenophon)
Anabasis is the most famous work, in seven books, of the Greek professional soldier and writer Xenophon. The journey it narrates is his best known accomplishment and "one of the great adventures in human history," as Will Durant expressed the common assessment.- The account :Xenophon accompanied...
, however this must be taken as being illustrative of a particular time and place, that of 5th century BC Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
, rather than being truly representative. Aelian
Aelianus Tacticus
Aelianus Tacticus was a Greek military writer of the 2nd century, resident at Rome.Aelian's military treatise in fifty-three chapters on the tactics of the Greeks, titled "On Tactical Arrays of the Greeks" , is dedicated to Hadrian, though this is probably a mistake for Trajan, and the date 106...
and Arrian
Arrian
Lucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon , known in English as Arrian , and Arrian of Nicomedia, was a Roman historian, public servant, a military commander and a philosopher of the 2nd-century Roman period...
use the terms lochos as file and lochagos as file leader.
Lochos as file
A lochos comprised an inconsistent number of men that could range from 8 to 16 men . Asclepiodotus offers three alternative names, namely stichos , synomotia and dekania . The file leader was called a lochagos and the file closer an ouragos. The men in the uneven rows were called protostatesProtostates
A protostates , in Ancient Greece, was the man in front of an epistates . The Greek phalanx was made up of alternate ranks of protostates and epistates. Thus, in a file of 8 men, the protostates were the men in positions 1,3,5 and 7, while the epistates occupied positions 2,4,6 and 8 . The term...
, among which the lochagos, and the men in the even rows epistates
Epistates
An epistates in ancient Greece was any sort of superintendent or overseer. In Hellenistic kingdoms generally, an epistates is always connected with a subject district , where the epistates, a resident representative, exercised control and collected taxes on behalf of the king.-Military use:In...
. Should the line perform a pyknosis, that is close its ranks by placement of half the lochos in the interval between the original lochoi, then the epistates of the lochagos would become the promachos
Promachos
In ancient Greece and during the Byzantine era, the Promachoi were the men fighting in the first rank of the phalanx...
protostates of the newly employed file.
A half-file was called hemilochion or dimoiria and a quarter-file enomotia
Spartan lochos
The Spartan lochos, according to Xenophon, consisted of 640 men, composed of 4 pentekostyes of 160 men, with the pentekostyes in turn being composed of 4 enomotiai of about 40 men each. The lochos in turn formed half of a moraMora (military unit)
A mora was an ancient Spartan military unit of about a sixth of the Spartan army, at approx. 600 men by modern estimates, although Xenophon places it at 6000. This can be reconciled by the nature of the Spartan army with an organisation based on year classes, with only the younger troops being...
there being 6 morai in the Spartan Army
Spartan Army
The Spartan army was the military force of Sparta, one of the leading city-states of ancient Greece. The army stood at the centre of the Spartan state, whose citizens' primary obligation was to be good soldiers. Subject to military drill from infancy, the Spartans were one of the most feared...
. The morai would normally be commanded by a Polemarch
Polemarch
A polemarch was a senior military title in various ancient Greek city states . The title is composed out of the polemos and archon and translates as "warleader" or "warlord", one of the nine archontes appointed annually in Athens...
, and the lochos by a lochagos. However the actual numbers would vary depending on the needs of a campaign. Spartan military organisation relied on dividing its citizen army into 8 age classes and full strength enomotiai consisted of 5 men from each of the age classes. However, it was unusual to draw men from the older age classes, so on campaign an enomotia would consist of 30 to 35 men with the lokhos and mora being correspondingly smaller.
If only the first 4 or even fewer age classes were called up
Mobilization
Mobilization is the act of assembling and making both troops and supplies ready for war. The word mobilization was first used, in a military context, in order to describe the preparation of the Prussian army during the 1850s and 1860s. Mobilization theories and techniques have continuously changed...
, than the "short" organisational lochos would be grouped together to form a full strength tactical lochos.
Whatever the theoretical size of the lochos, units of about 300 men appear frequently in the classical Greek records, this being the number of the Sacred Band of Thebes
Sacred Band of Thebes
The Sacred Band of Thebes was a troop of picked soldiers, consisting of 150 male couples which formed the elite force of the Theban army in the 4th century BC. It was organised by the Theban commander Gorgidas in 378 BC and played a crucial role in the Battle of Leuctra...
, the Spartans at Thermopylae
Battle of Thermopylae
The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas of Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place simultaneously with the naval battle at Artemisium, in August...
, and the number on each side of the "Battle of the Champions
Battle of the 300 Champions
The Battle of the 300 Champions was a battle fought in roughly 545 BC between Argos and Sparta. Rather than commit full armies both sides agreed to pitting 300 of their best men against each other. Both sides would not allow for any injured men to be taken . The day called for complete destruction...
" fought between Argos
Argos
Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
and Sparta in 546 BC. This number would give a frontage of about 40 shields given the traditional eight-deep phalanx
Phalanx formation
The phalanx is a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons...
, and probably represents the smallest number needed to form a usable phalanx.
Byzantine use
In the Byzantine armyByzantine army
The Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct descendant of the Roman army, the Byzantine army maintained a similar level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization...
, the lochos continued being used as a term for the file
File (formation)
A file is a military term for a number of troops drawn up in line ahead, i.e. one behind the other in a column. The number of files is the measure of the width of a formation of troops in several ranks one behind the other.- Ancient Greek use :...
. It was the basic infantry unit of usually 8 men, composed of the file leader (lochagos) and seven soldiers. In the tradition of the Roman contubernium
Contubernium
The contubernium was the smallest organized unit of soldiers in the Roman Army and was composed of eight legionaries. The men within the contubernium were known as contubernales. Ten contubernia were grouped into a centuria...
, this unit slept and ate together in a single tent, and had a permanently attached servant. Alternative names were dekarchion and dekarchos for the file leader, meaning "leader of ten".
Modern use
The term lochos, along with the associated rank of lochagos and its derivatives, has been revived in the modern Greek military for a company-sized command.See also
- CohortCohort (military unit)A cohort was the basic tactical unit of a Roman legion following the reforms of Gaius Marius in 107 BC.-Legionary cohort:...
a Roman military unit of about the same size as a large lokhos - Sacred BandSacred bandThe term Sacred Band, also Sacred Company or Sacred Squadron can refer to one of the following military units:In the ancient world:* Sacred Band of Thebes* Sacred Band of Carthage...
for a number of units named Ieros Lochos in Greek history - Tagma (military)Tagma (military)The tagma is a term for a military unit of battalion or regiment size. The best-known and most technical use of the term however refers to the elite regiments formed by Byzantine emperor Constantine V and comprising the central army of the Byzantine Empire in the 8th–11th centuries.-History and...