Learn about the Spartan Army and its mysterious unit of Elite Irregulars, the Skiritai. Get your SPECIAL OFFER for MagellanTV here: [ Ссылка ]. It's an exclusive offer for our viewers! Start your free trial today. MagellanTV is a new kind of streaming service run by filmmakers with 3,000+ documentaries! Check out our personal recommendation and MagellanTV’s exclusive playlists: [ Ссылка ].
In this history documentary we continue our Units of History series by turning once again to Sparta. But rather than talking about their more famous units like the Spartan Royal Guard or even the Spartan Hoplite of Perioikoi, we talk about a unit you likely have not heard of. These were the Skiritai, a mysterious unit from the Skiritis mountains north of Laconia who served alongside Sparta for nearly its entire history. Our sources tell us they were the first into battle and the last to leave. However what role they played in ancient warfare is unclear as our sources mention them taking up the left flank, the vanguard, and the reserves.
In this episode we tease apart the small morsels of information left to us by our sources to then build a reasonable model for the Skiritai. We cover their origins, equipment, tactics, and service history through the Greco Persian Wars, the Peloponnesian War and more.
What units of history do you want to see covered next?
Bibliography:
"A History of Trust in Ancient Greece" by Steven Johnstone
"The Spartan Army" by John Lazenby
Xenophon, "Constitution of the Lacedaimonians" 12.3
Xenophon, "Hellenica" 6.5.24
Xenophon, "Cyropaedia" 4.2.1
Thucydides, "History of the Peloponnesian War"
Credits:
Research: Roel Konijnendijk
Script: Roel Konijnendijk
Narration: Guy Michaels
Artwork: Penta Limited
#UnitsOfHistory
#Sparta
#Documentary
