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Short description

The Rhodians are well known as the best slingers in the Greek world, combining spectacular range with impressive endurance.

Description

These slingers are notorious for their deadly aim and thus both revered and dreaded throughout the Mediterranean world. Equipped with slings made from leather, hemp, or braided flax, they could shoot small lead bullets as far as 400 metres and were able to easily outrange most other missile troops of the time. Xenophon describes their effectiveness during the campaign of the mercenary army known as the “Ten Thousand” through Asia Minor. On their way back to Greece, they were constantly harassed by Persian horse archers and slingers, who remained outside of the range of the Cretan archers. Xenophon had his Rhodian hoplites produce make-shift slings to “sent back an answering volley, and not a man among them missed his mark” (Xen. Anab. 3.4.15). Thanks to their smaller lead bullets the Rhodian slingers could shoot further than the Persians, who were using stones, and forced them to give up the chase.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The invention of the sling goes back to the Upper Palaeolithic, since when it was traditionally used by communities of shepherds, pastoralists, and hunters, usually being perceived as a lower status weapon by the urbanised peoples of the Bronze and Iron Age. Greek poleis especially did not pay much attention to the lighter troops of their armies, rather focusing on the hand-to-hand combat of their hoplites. The inhabitants of the island of Rhodes, however, were taught to use the sling from an early age, and hence became very proficient slingers. Using special lead bullets, they were able to shoot with a high degree of accuracy from a very far distance, which made them popular as mercenaries. To mock their enemies, they occasionally engraved words like ΔΕΞΑΙ (“Catch!”) into their ammunition. The first account of their effectiveness is described by Xenophon who, as mentioned above, did not have a contingent of Rhodian slingers in his army, but rather Rhodian hoplites who were spontaneously made into a slinger unit that still outclassed both the Cretan archers on their own side and the missile troops of the enemy (Xen. Anab. 3.4.16). The small bullets and long range were excellent at keeping unarmoured men and horses at a distance and a perfect counter to enemy light troops. For the Sicilian Expedition in 415 BC, the strategos Nikias brought javelinmen, archers from Crete and 700 Rhodian slingers (Thuc. 6. 43) with him, to “act against the enemy’s cavalry” (Thuc. 6. 22). They remained a popular part of Greek armies in the Hellenistic age.