Total War: Rome II THE RISE OF ROME dlc

[Sir Slash]

They don't look too short and they don't have axes so you should be OK. 

[MengJiao]

They don't look too short and they don't have axes so you should be OK. 

Yep.  And here are some standard hoplites who have just survived against all the odds and are winning:

[Destraex]

That is a pretty loose formation actually. Must have been some fight.

[MengJiao]

That is a pretty loose formation actually. Must have been some fight.

   It was pretty intense.  We the Tarantines attacked the Samnites in a village and it turned out they had two armies in range so the battle was something like Taratines at 1500 attacking 3000 Samnites.  At one point this particular hoplite formation was engaged on two sides (I have the murky screenshots to prove it!) but still got loose and eventually did this final assault seen above.

   PS:  Not so Murky, but here are the Taratine Hoplites attacked from two sides with their own skirmishers trying to panic in the middle of it all:

[Gusington]

Pfft...why recruit hoplites and not go directly for the heavy ones??

[MengJiao]

Pfft...why recruit hoplites and not go directly for the heavy ones??

  The skirmishers are a separate formation.  In the game hoplites do come in various configurations -- light, regular and the commander's bunch which tends to be superheavy.
   So there's a lot of differentiation around the basic armored guy with a shield and spear thing -- for example, the Samnites have armored spearmen not hoplites and so do the Gauls.  And then there are all kinds of other hoplites -- BUT they are really all just more or less heavy, spear-armed infantry.

[Gusington]

But 'hoplite' is an awesome word to read and say. Much better than 'spearman.'

[Sir Slash]

Oh, it's a spearman. I thought we were talking about small, fast rabbits. 

[Father Ted]

And smarter too. Instead of cutting off an ear to impress his Lady, he just cropped it. 

Obviously a "thing" with artists - Van Gogh did the ear cropping too

[jomni]

Hoplites are called hoplites because of the shield they carry.
Noticed something wrong.  Hoplites should be thrusting with spears overhead while pushing with shield. Not thrusting low like regular spearmen.

[Destraex]

Jomni that is the subject of hot debate. A lot of contemporary art certainly shows the overhead method and older mods for rome1 showed the animations with overhead (europa baraborum iirc).
I own a book called storm of spears I need to read that sheds some light on it iirc.

[besilarius]

For what it's worth.  In the Renaissance, the Swiss pikemen, who had a lot of training in their canton system, used the overhead  carry and thrust.
The german Landsknechts, who typically were recruited each season, used the under hand carry.

[Destraex]

For what it's worth.  In the Renaissance, the Swiss pikemen, who had a lot of training in their canton system, used the overhead  carry and thrust.
The german Landsknechts, who typically were recruited each season, used the under hand carry.

Yes but they did not have the massive hoplon shields to carry.

[MengJiao]

Hoplites are called hoplites because of the shield they carry.
Noticed something wrong.  Hoplites should be thrusting with spears overhead while pushing with shield. Not thrusting low like regular spearmen.

  The Chigi vase (via wikipedia) shows both spear positions and overhand thrusts do happen in the game:

[mikeck]

Might the method of carrying the spear vary based on what you are doing? Meaning maybe if your unit is trying to hold against another units “push”, holding the spears lower would provide a sturdier platform and lower center of gravity. Maybe when protecting musket units against cavalry (obviously 15th-17th century) While a unit trying to attack might use overhand? I’ve no idea but it. Seems like it would be a lot harder to push back a phalanx when they have Spears braced against the body as opposed to over the Shoulder?