The chariots in Homer are drawn, for the most part, by two horses coupled together; that of Achilles had no more, the names of his horses being only Xanthus and Balius. So Lycaon's*, παρὰ δέ σφιν ἑκάστῳ δίζυγος ἵπποι Two well-pair'd steeds to every chariot stand. And Æneas's in Virgil ', Absenti Eneæ currum, geminosque jugales. PITT. To these two they sometimes added a third, which was not coupled with the other two, but governed with reins, and therefore called σειραῖος, σειραφόρος, παράσειρος, &c. but in Homer usually παρήορος, and the rein wherewith he was held in, zagogia. The same custom was practised by the Romans, till the time of Dionysius the Halicarnassian, though left off in Greece long before. In the eighth Iliad, Hector's chariot seems to be drawn by four horses; for there the hero thus bespeaks them: Ξάνθε τε, ἢ σὺ Πόδαργε, κα Αἴθων, Λάμπε τε δίκιο And however some ancient critics will have the two former to be no more than epithets of the latter, because Hector afterwards speaks to them in the dual number; Νῦν μοι τὴν κομιδὴν ἀποτίνετον· Yet it is evident, from other places, that even in Homer's time it was customary to have chariots drawn by four horses; as, when he tells us, the Phæacian ship shaped her course, - ὡς ἐν πεδίῳ τετράορες ἵπποι. Every chariot carried two men, whence it was termed di❤gos, q. Sipogos; though that word does not, in its strict and proper acceptation, denote the whole chariot, but only that part wherein the men were placed. One of these was called loxos, because he governed the reins, which in those days was not a servile or iguoble office, but frequently undertaken by men of quality; for we find Nestor, Hector, and several others of note employed in it; and that not on extraordinary occasions, but frequently some of them making it their profession. Yet the charioteer was inferior, if not always in dignity, at least in strength and valour, to the warrior, who was called agabarns, and had command of the other, and directed him which way to drive, as Eustathius observes *. When he came to encounter in close fight, he alighted out of the * Iliad. . y Æneid. vii, v. 280. 7 Antiquit. Rom, lib. vii, a Odyss. ». b Eustathius. d Iliad. g. e Iliad 9'. chariot, as we find every where in Homer, and the rest of the poets. So Hercules and Cycnus, about to engage, · εὔπλεκέων δίφρων πόρον αἶψ ̓ ἐπὶ γαῖα». Leap'd from their chariots on the ground. And Turnus in Virgil 8, -Desiluit bijugis, pedes apparat ire, Dismounts his horse, and fits himself to walk. When they were weary, which often happened by reason of their armour being heavier than any other, they retired into their chariots, and thence annoyed their enemies with darts and missive weapons. Besides these, we find frequent mention in historians of chariots, called currus falcati, and geñavopigo, because armed with hooks or scythes, with which whole ranks of soldiers were cut off together. But afterwards, it being considered they were never of any use but in plain and open ground, and were frequently turned back by affrighted and ungovernable horses, upon their own party, to its confusion and ruin, several methods also being contrived to defeat or elude their force, these and all other chariots were wholly laid aside. Accordingly, when military discipline was carried to its height, though sometimes they were brought into battles by barbarians, as may be observed of the Persians in Curtius; yet we never find the Grecians making any use of them, or much damaged by them; but, contemning that old and unskilful method of fighting, they chose rather to ride on horseback; which custom seems to have been received in a short time after the heroic wars. Of all the Grecians, the Thessalians have the greatest name for horsemanship; and in all wars we find their cavalry most esteemed. The Colophonians had once, by many remarkable actions, arrived to such a pitch of glory, as to be esteemed invincible. In all long and tedious wars, their assistance was courted, and the party that obtained supplies from them, was certain of success and victory; insomuch, that xoλopãve Téves, and in Latin, colophonem imponere, was used proverbially for putting a conclusion to any affair h The Lacedæmonians were but meanly furnished with cavalry; and, till the Messenian wars, it does not appear, that either they, or the rest of the Peloponnesians, employed themselves in horsemanship, but reposed their chief confidence in foot'; Peloponnesus being a mountainous and craggy country, and therefore unfit for horsemen, who in such places become almost h Strabo, lib. xiv. k Plato. f Hesiodus Scuto. 8 Æneid. x. i Pausanias, lib. iv. useless in fight. But the Messenians being subdued, the Spartans, carrying their arms into other countries, soon found the great occasion they had of horses to support and cover their foot; and in a short time supplied that defect, by instructing their youth in horsemanship; to which end we find they had masters in that art, called inoxagárai1. But the greatest part of their cavalry was furnished from Sciros", a town not far distant from Sparta, the inhabitants of which claimed, as their proper post, the left wing in the Lacedæmonian armies". Attica was likewise a hilly country, and therefore not designed by nature for breeding horses; we find accordingly, the Athenian cavalry to have been exceeding few in number, consisting only of ninety-six horsemen; for the whole Athenian nation being anciently divided into forty-eight naucratiæ, we are told by Pollux, that the number of horses each of these was obliged to furnish to the war, was no more than two. And, therefore, it is no wonder if the Medes thought them deprived of reason, when at the battle of Marathon they had courage to encounter a strong and numerous army with so small, and apparently contemptible, a force. Having afterwards expelled the Medes and Persians out of Greece, and raised themselves to a flourishing condition, they increased the number of their cavalry to three hundred; and, not long after, having once more restored peace to their city, and established it in greater power and splendour than before, they augmented them to twelve hundred, and armed, at the same time, an equal number of men with bows and arrows P, of which they had before no greater plenty than of horses; for both then and afterwards the strength of most of the Grecian armies consisted in their heavy-armed foot. The Athenians admitted none to serve on horseback, till they had undergone a strict probation; and if any person was found to have fraudulently insinuated himself into the roll, upon conviction he was declared μs, and disfranchised. This consisted, with respect to the men, in a search after their estates, and observation of their strength and vigour of body; for no persons were entered into the roll, but such as had plentiful possessions, and were in good. plight of body. This probation was performed by the 'Iaçxos, general of the horse, who, if occasion required, was assisted by 1 Hesychius. Xenophon Kugsmaid, lib. iv. P Eschines Orat. de falsa Legatione, Andocides Orat. de Pace. 9 Lysias Orat. de Ordine deserto. B the phylarchi, and senate of five hundred. In horses they observed their obedience to their riders; and such as they found ungovernable, or fearful, were rejected. This was examined T xadavos 40, by the sound of a bell, or some other instrument of that nature: whence xwdwr is expounded uglu, to try, or prove, and axadvisor is the same with antígasov, unproved. Such horses, likewise, as were beaten out with long service, they branded upon the jaw with a mark, frequently termed reoxos, being the figure of a wheel or circle; and sometimes reveixion, whereby the beast was released from farther service. Hence ἐπιβάλλειν τρυσίππιον, is to ex cuse. Thus in the following verse of Eupolis; Εἴθ ̓ ὥσπερ ἵππῳ μοι ἐπιβαλεις τρυσίππιον. Which was thus expressed by Crates in his comedy, entitled, The Samians: Ἱππῳ γηράσκοντι τὰ μέονα κύκλ ̓ ἐπίβαλλε. We meet with several titles and appellations of horsemen, most of which were derived from the variety of their armour, or different manner of fighting, as that of axboλisai, who annoyed their enemies with missive weapons at some distance, dogoropógos, Eusopógol, ὑπακοντιςαὶ, ἱπποτοξόται, κοντοφόροι, θυρεοφόροι, with others, the distinction of all which is sufficiently intimated in their names. “, "AμQ, sometimes by mistake, or corruption, called were such as for conveniency had two horses, on which they rode by turns. They were sometimes termed ἱππαγωγοί, διὰ τὸ ἄγειν ἵππον, because they led one of their horses, which was not a late contrivance, but practised soon after the heroical times, as appears from Homer's mentioning it.. ὁ δ ̓ ἔμπεδον ἀσφαλὲς αἰὲ Θρώσκων ἄλλοτ' ἐπ' ἄλλον ἀμάβεται, οἱ δὲ πέτονται. Nor does he ever fall, tho' at full speed He leap from one upon the other steed. Aquaxa, first instituted by Alexander the Great, were a sort of dragoons, and accommodated with armour something heavier than that of ordinary horsemen, but not quite so weighty as that of the foot soldiers, to the end they might be ready to serve either on horseback or on foot; for which reason they had servants attending to take their horses, whenever the general commanded them to alight w. They were also distinguished into κατάφρακτοι and μὴ κατάφρακτοι, Aristophanis Scholiastes in Ranas. t Conf. Zenobius Cent. iv. prov. 41. |