Now reading Du Plessis's book on light infantry of the Greek and roman world I got interested in one of the passage explaining that sparta did perhaps use Cretan archers fromthe time of messenian wars or the 8th century BC

So I looked for the sources and in Xenophon's work found this

[4.8.3] The Lacedaemonians were far superior both in tactics and training, and also in numbers, for they had with them the neighboring peoples already reduced and serving in their ranks, and the Dryopes of Asine, who a generation earlier had been driven out of their own country by the Argives and had come as suppliants to Lacedaemon, were forced to serve in the army. Against the Messenian light-armed they employed Cretan archers as mercenaries. Cretan archers in spartan armies

So my question : if there are autors ( Pausanias, Xenophon ) who hint at the use of cretan arches from the messenian wars why can't they use the cretan archers before 416 BC in the list ?

A case of following other army lists.  Seems to me that the restriction should be removed.
I might even consider it for the 2025 army lists....

Richard

I think my irony-meter just exploded   

Quote from: nikgaukroger on October 22, 2024, 07:01:49 AM
I think my irony-meter just exploded   

We shall discuss it in November at stockport ( Irony )