Outis Posted November 13, 2023 Report Share Posted November 13, 2023 Why are they called as such? Is it a historical name? I propose to call the advanced champion Spartiates, Spartan Hippeis. Historically, Spartan Hippeis are the royal bodyguard of the Spartan kings, and are picked from the best Spartiates. Fun fact: Spartans were banned from some Olympic Games because they were so good it was considered unfair to compete against them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreakfastBurrito_007 Posted November 13, 2023 Report Share Posted November 13, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wowgetoffyourcellphone Posted November 14, 2023 Report Share Posted November 14, 2023 They are Olympic champions and can therefore stand next to the king on the honored right flank of the phalanx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outis Posted November 14, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2023 Olympic champion as in winner of the Olympic Games? I thought this was a bit generic. Hippeis is a historical Spartan unit which stood next to the king in battle, hence my proposal . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outis Posted November 14, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2023 From "The Border of War and Peace" by Natasha Bershadsky here https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/bershadsky/files/the_border_of_war_and_peace_myth_and_rit.pdf : The Spartan hippeis were an elite corps of hoplites (their equestrian appellation notwithstanding), who numbered three hundreds. In the Classical period, the hippeis fought in close proximity to the king and had the task of protecting him. They also served as the Spartan “emergency force” in cases of internal or external danger. The hippeis were chosen on the basis of their excellence from the body of hêbôntes. The relevance of the hippeis to the present discussion stems from their character as picked troops and from their number, coinciding with the number of the Spartan warriors at Thyrea. In a recent article, Thomas Figueira suggests that the three hundred Spartans who fought in the battle of Champions must have been hippeis. In the light of the previous discussion, we can modify Figuiera’s suggestion: the battle, in which all the Spartan participants die heroically, can be construed as a foundation myth of the hippeis, setting a benchmark for their fighting conduct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outis Posted November 14, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2023 (edited) from Greece and Rome at war by Peter Connoly, citing Xenophon 7 hours ago, wowgetoffyourcellphone said: stand next to the king on the honored right flank of the phalanx. Edited November 14, 2023 by Outis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outis Posted November 14, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2023 7 hours ago, wowgetoffyourcellphone said: stand next to the king on the honored right flank of the phalanx. I think it fits here perfectly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gurken Khan Posted November 14, 2023 Report Share Posted November 14, 2023 2 hours ago, Outis said: Olympic champion as in winner of the Olympic Games? Weren't this the dudes who weren't allowed to compete at Olympia because it was considered unfair? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vantha Posted November 14, 2023 Report Share Posted November 14, 2023 What unit are you talking about? Which unit in the game is currently called 'Spartan Olympic Hoplite'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genava55 Posted November 14, 2023 Report Share Posted November 14, 2023 13 minutes ago, Vantha said: What unit are you talking about? Which unit in the game is currently called 'Spartan Olympic Hoplite'? I think those are the champion's upgrade with experience Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyperion Posted November 14, 2023 Report Share Posted November 14, 2023 Well, wasn't there an olympic discipline of running with hoplite gear? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vantha Posted November 14, 2023 Report Share Posted November 14, 2023 1 hour ago, Genava55 said: I think those are the champion's upgrade with experience Uhm, what do you mean by this? The Champions are called Spartiates, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wowgetoffyourcellphone Posted November 14, 2023 Report Share Posted November 14, 2023 Yes, we are aware of the Hippeis. The Olympic Champions are specifically 2 men who flank the king on either side of him in the combat line. They are garlanded and their shields depict the cult of Zeus at Dodona. But I guess we could have multiple layers of Spartiate upgrades. Spartiate -> Hippeis -> Olympic Champion 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outis Posted November 14, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2023 4 hours ago, hyperion said: Well, wasn't there an olympic discipline of running with hoplite gear? It was called Hoplitodromos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outis Posted November 14, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2023 6 hours ago, Gurken Khan said: Weren't this the dudes who weren't allowed to compete at Olympia because it was considered unfair? Spartans did not join some fighting competitions such as pankration after some date, supposedly because they are used to taking it too far so the competitors got injured or died, or because they were so good at it that it was deemed unfair to compete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gurken Khan Posted November 14, 2023 Report Share Posted November 14, 2023 1 hour ago, Outis said: they are used to taking it too far so the competitors got injured or died Who'd 've thunk hippies were so rough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
real_tabasco_sauce Posted November 14, 2023 Report Share Posted November 14, 2023 5 hours ago, Vantha said: Uhm, what do you mean by this? The Champions are called Spartiates, no? 6 hours ago, Vantha said: What unit are you talking about? Which unit in the game is currently called 'Spartan Olympic Hoplite'? Sorry nobody filled you in @Vantha these units belong to the spartan civ in the working version of a27. The civ was reworked to be more differentiated and interesting. These "olympic champion" units are stronger than regular hoplites. The current champion hoplites are actually available in p1 and promote to the discussed olympic champion. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outis Posted November 14, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2023 35 minutes ago, Gurken Khan said: Who'd 've thunk hippies were so rough. This was reportedly their shield device 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vantha Posted November 15, 2023 Report Share Posted November 15, 2023 14 hours ago, real_tabasco_sauce said: Sorry nobody filled you in @Vantha these units belong to the spartan civ in the working version of a27. The civ was reworked to be more differentiated and interesting. These "olympic champion" units are stronger than regular hoplites. The current champion hoplites are actually available in p1 and promote to the discussed olympic champion. Thanks for explaining! I wasn't aware champions could rank up. It's a cool idea though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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