A agema: The Makedones royal guard squadron of companion cavalry. agora: a Hellenic marketplace. archon: lifelong military leader of the Thessalian confederacy asthetairoi: Makledones phalangist units from the highland chiefdoms B basileos: An Hellenic tribal chief or king D Dark Age: The period of Hellenic history between Mycenaean times and the rise of the city-states (1200 800 BC). deme: an administrative unit of Attika. E enomotia: A Spartan military unit of company strength ephors: Elected Spartan magistrates. G gerousia: The Spartan life senate of senior Spartiates. Gorpiaios: Makedon lunar month, equivalent to August in 338 BC Great King: Ruler of the Persian Empire. H hegemon: The leading state or leader who is preeminent among the Hellenes, and is keeper of the peace. helots: Surfs, especially Messenians, enslaved by the Spartans to work their agricultural lands; state- owned, not privately owned. hoplites: Hellenic heavy infantry hoplon hypaspistai: Elite formations of Makedones phalangists. I Iliad: The great cultural epic of the Hellenes describing incidents in the war with Troy, ascribed to Homer. K koinon: A Hellenic confederacy, generally within a particular ethnos or Hellenic people. Koine Eirene (Common Peace): A peace based on general alliance and guaranteed by a major power; an elusive goal of successive powers. Korinthian War: Fought against Sparte by Athenai, Korinthos, Thebaui, and others (395 - 384 BC). L lochos: A Hellenic military formation, equivalent to a regiment or battalion depending on the army. M Metageitnion: Attikan lunar month, equivalent to August in 338 BC N neodamodeis: Helots enfranchised to serve in the Spartan army, notably under Brasidas. O Odyssey: The second cultural epic of the Hellenes describing Odysseos efforts to return home to Ithaka, ascribed to Homer. P periokoi: Those living about Sparte but not within the city, not Spartiates, yet not of the underclass of helots. peltai: Originally Thrakioties armed with small, light shields and javelins. Later other such light armed footmen. pezhetairoi: Makedon foot comparimions, the phalangists from the lowlands of Makedonis. phalangist: The pike carrying footmen of the Makedon phalanx. phalanx: The close ordered formation of the Hellenic hoplites and the Makedon phalangists. psiloi: Skirmishers, such as slingers and bowmen S Sacred Band: An elite Theban hoplite unit formed in 379 BC of 150 paired companions, led by Pelopiclas at Tegyra and Leuktra and annhilated at Khaironea. sarissa: The long pike of the Makedon phalangist. satrap: The Persian governor of a satrapy. satrapy: A province of the Persian Empire. Social War: The revolt of the Athenian allies, led by Rhodos, Khios, and Kos, with the support of Byzantion and Mausolos of Karia (357-355 BC). stade: A unit (stadion) of distance measure, defined differently by various city-states (c.600 feet: Attik foot II.6", Olympian foot 12.6", Aegina foot 13.1"). strategoi: Elected Athenian generals; ten elected annually. syntagma: A Makedon military unit, equivalent to a regiment or battalion. T trireme: An Hellenic warship of three banks of oars. Back to Table of Contents -- Against the Odds vol. 1 no. 1 Back to Against the Odds List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2002 by LPS. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com * Buy this back issue or subscribe to Against the Odds direct from LPS.