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Short description

Hetairoi are a social and military elite, fighting as heavy cavalry and using shock and mass tactics to break the enemy.

Description

The Hetaroi were the elite shock cavalry of the Macedonian kingdom, recruited from among the king’s companions and their clients, well-mounted on strong horses, and lavishly equipped with a metal cuirass, greaves, as well as a large helmet. The latter are mainly of the Boiotian type, but smaller numbers of the Hetairoi have also been equipped with Phrygiboiotian and Ascalon type helmets. The Hetairoi fought in the ‘Macedonian style’, charging home with the typical one-handed cavalry lance, the xyston. This cavalry spear was about seven to ten feet in length, made of tough cornel wood, and generally used to stab and thrust the enemy. When the shaft broke, it was most likely reversed in order to bring the metal butt spike into play – or it was dropped and the sword was drawn (Sidnell, Warhorse (2007), p. 80).

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The advent of heavy cavalry was a reasonably recent development in western warfare in 270 BC. The use of heavy cavalry that delivered a shock charge with lance and edged weapons, rather than fighting as mounted skirmishers, was first perfected by King Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great. Alexander’s heavy cavalry were trained to fight at close quarters with lance and sword, and were organised into squadrons (‘ilai’) which varied in size from 180 to 225 men. After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC the deployment of bodies of heavy cavalry on the battlefield became a standard feature of Hellenistic warfare among the Successors as well as other Greeks.

Hellenistic heavy cavalry were specialised in shock combat, and charged in a wedge formation with their lance. The triangular wedge formation was originally devised by the Scythians and taken up by the Thracians before being adopted by the Macedonians and Thessalians (Du Plessis, 2022, p. 87-88). A single rider formed the leading point, each successive wave containing more men. If a full squadron formed a single wedge, it would have some sixteen ranks. The wedge formation conferred two advantages; first, the narrow frontage meant that wheeling to charge direction could be done relatively quickly, as the formation just followed the leader ‘as in the flight of cranes’ (Asclepiodotus, Tactics, 7.3); secondly, the wedge made it easy to cut through enemy formations. Alexander the Great used his heavy cavalry to break the enemy battle line by charging into gaps in the wedge formation.

When a squadron in line charged an enemy unit, only some of the horsemen in the front rank were likely to find a convenient gap in the enemy’s line through which they could ride. Men in the target unit moving aside in one part of the line would cause denser crowding in others, so, unless the enemy broke and scattered straight away, many riders would have to come to a halt. By contrast, when a wedge charged the lead rider needed only to find a gap for himself to ride at and the rest of the squadron would pile into it behind him. The passage of the lead horse, assisted by its rider’s weapons, widened the breach for the two or three horses immediately behind; they did the same for the next rank, and so on and so forth (Sidnell, Warhorse (2007), p. 79-80).

The numbers of the Hetaroi were carefully nurtured by Macedonian kings. The Argead king Philip II provided his companions with rich estates in Macedon, Thrace and elsewhere, so that they might possess the income needed to fight equipped as heavy cavalry. They had to furnish themselves as well as their grooms with horses from these resources. The mount, therefore, remained the property of the cavalrymen rather than the state. Epigraphic evidence suggests that this system survived well into the Hellenistic era (Sekunda, Macedonian Armies (2012), p. 9-10).

The limitations of heavy cavalry during the Hellenistic period should be remembered. Such cavalry required flat, open terrain to be effective. Importantly, ancient cavalry lacked stirrups, and so they needed to keep their seat and control their mount using their legs. For this reason, heavy cavalry could not strike their target with the lance while charging without the leverage provided by stirrups. In melee, cavalry were vulnerable to being unhorsed. This is no doubt why heavy cavalry are often described as dismounting to engage in hand-to-hand combat. Heavy cavalry did not launch frontal charges against unbroken infantry formations, but rather protected the flanks of the infantry line, attacked enemy cavalry, charged through gaps in the enemy battle line, assailed enemy skirmishers, and attacked the flanks and rear of the enemy battle line. It was common for heavy cavalry to attack in conjunction with light-armed infantry or elite infantry, such as hypaspists.

The type of close mounted combat that the written sources depict is entirely consistent with the riding skills that result from sitting a horse without saddle and stirrups as well as the collected style of riding recommended by Xenophon and commonly depicted in the figured evidence. All else being equal, the bareback rider will be more skilled than one using a saddle. He will have a deeper seat with a lower centre of gravity; he will of necessity develop a better sense of balance, since no security will be offered by the shape of the saddle or lateral support from stirrups; and he will have better control by virtue of the close contact between his legs and the sides of the horse (Xen. Horse. 7).