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Short description

Despite their lack of armour, these professional skirmishers can also pack quite a punch in melee.

Description

As a part of his military overhaul, Kleomenes III also reformed the skirmishers into the Euzonoi, made up from proper Spartan citizens. Despite their lack of armour, these professional skirmishers can also pack quite a punch in melee.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

In 244 BC, Agis IV from the house of the Eurypontids became king of Sparta, at about 20 years old. He saw that Sparta was in decline: the number of Homoioi had shrunken to somewhere between 1300 and 700 and of the remaining citizens, many had become impoverished with the land being concentrated in the hands of the few (Plutarch, Life of Agis 5, probably exaggerates when saying only a hundred still possessed land at all, but the problem was clearly there). To remedy the situation, Agis suggested to cancel all outstanding debts and to divide the land into 4500 klaroi (parcels) for the Spartiates and 15,000 for the non-citizen Perioikoi. Despite popular support, the law did not pass the gerousia, the council of elders, allegedly due to the influence of Agis' Agiad co-king Leonidas II. Accordingly, Agis had Leonidas II exiled, only for him to return when the reforms, that had by then been passed, were not put into effect quick enough (Plutarch, Life of Agis 11-21).

Agis was eventually murdered, but his ideas lived on: in 235 BC, Leonidas II died, and his teenage son Kleomenes III was adamant to continue where his father's rival had been stopped. By naturalising Perioikoi and even some Helots, he increased the number of Spartiates/Homoioi to 5,000 and trained them to fight in a Macedonian Phalanx. In 227 BC, he dissolved the Ephorate and did away with his co-king, thus earning him the title "tyrant" in the eyes of his enemies (Plutarch, Life of Kleomenes 6-11; Polyb. II, 47, 3; Plutarch, Life of Aratos 38).

As a part of his military overhaul, Kleomenes also reformed the skirmishers: up until then, the unfree Helots had served Sparta as javelinmen, slingers or archers; usually poorly trained and ill-disciplined, even though there were exemptions (Thuk. V, 34). Kleomenes, however, saw the need to protect his new phalanx with a force of capable skirmishers and had some of the less privileged Neodamodeis (new citizens) equipped as light infantry. Lacking proper body armour and being only protected by a small shield and the pilos helmet, they were Spartan citizens nonetheless and became a professional force that fought at the Battle of Sellasia in 222 BC (Polyb. II, 69, 3), where Kleomenes was eventually overcome by his foes. The fact that they opened the battle together with the mercenaries implies that they were experienced fighters, experts at skirmishing who could also be used to break up the enemy's light infantry in melee.