The emergence and function of narrative images in ancient Greece

Abstract

Conceptions of military valor underwent a fundamental change at the turn from the eighth to the seventh century, with the emergence of the hoplite phalanx: rows of heavily armed men standing close to each other and marching in step, each using his own shield to cover also his neighbor, and relying on the shield of his other neighbor for his own coverage.39 This new formation, which is depicted in the upper frieze of the Chigi vase (fig. 5), robbed the well-trained, highly mobile single warrior—the heroic prototype of which is swift-footed Achilles in the Iliad—of his military predominance and much of his social privilege. The composition of the elite changed.