The Slingers of Rhodes

Heavy infantry could never catch lightly equipped archers, let alone faster cavalry. And a fully armed heavy infantry charge could not be sustained for long—when they stopped to rest, the Persian arrows began to fall again.

The Greek hoplites hid their bodies behind their round shields, greatly reducing the chance of injury, but it was not eliminated. For one thing, their arms and thighs had no protection; for another, their thick linen breastplates, though able to stop arrows from penetrating, could not prevent some flesh wounds.

Without the ability to close with the enemy, the heavy infantry could not use their strength and could only stand still and take arrows. Cleanho dared not send up his light infantry, because javelins had a shorter range than arrows, and light infantry had less protection than heavy infantry—that would only increase casualties.

Just then, Timasion sent two hundred Cretan archers rushing over as reinforcements.

Cleanho, who had high hopes for them, was soon disappointed. The famous Cretan archers of the Greek city‑states did not have as long a range as the Persian archers, who dominated the Mediterranean through their military reliance on archery. In trying to close the distance, the Cretans left the protection of the heavy infantry and suffered a dozen casualties…

…

By this time, the entire mercenary army had halted, and the leaders were all trying to think of a way.

On the left wing, Davos was anxiously listening to the messengers’ reports. Then Tolmides rode up: “Commander Davos, Cheirisophus wants you to send a detachment on a long detour, avoiding enemy scouts, and circle around behind them to attack.”

Davos thought for a moment and understood Cheirisophus’s plan. He looked over at Philistos, who nodded at him.

“Asiastes, go quickly and tell Capus to come here!” Davos ordered.

“Yes!”

Philistos had expected Davos to consult with him about who to send, but Davos made the decision directly—and it was exactly the most suitable choice. It seemed that all the advice Philistos had given him on the march was not just for show; this young leader really had a strong ability to learn.

While Capus led his company of heavy infantry on their way, Hieronymus on the other side also dispatched a company of heavy infantry, both attempting to get behind the Persians and then, together with Cleanho’s front, encircle and destroy them.

But the experienced Artaozus had long been on guard. The goose‑wing formation had Persian horse archers spread wide on both flanks, also serving as scouts. They quickly detected the anomaly and immediately withdrew, foiling the mercenaries’ attempt.

The cautious Capus, seeing the plan fail, promptly fell back; but on Hieronymus’s side, the commander who had taken the initiative to fight was Xenophon. He was unwilling to give up and kept pursuing. In the process of advancing and stopping, he not only failed to wound a single Persian but also suffered over a dozen wounded. If Artaozus’s men had not run out of arrows, the loss to Xenophon’s company would have been far greater. When he returned, he was reprimanded by Hieronymus.

With Artaozus no longer harassing them, the Greek army quickened its pace and finally reached the villages the guide had mentioned before sunset. Though most of the villagers had already fled, the weary soldiers were still reinvigorated. Davos had no heart to stop the soldiers from looting; he only suggested to Mesis that they try to capture as many Persian slaves as possible, promising them freedom in exchange for their genuine assistance, and then he hurried to the commanders’ tent.

Before he even entered, he heard Cleanho complaining: “These Persians are like flies—you can’t swat them and you can’t drive them away. We don’t have enough cavalry, and we have no way to deal with them!”

Davos and Philistos walked into the tent. Everyone nodded to them in greeting—far more willingly than yesterday, when they had been distant. Clearly, Davos’s performance had won their approval, though they were too worried about Artaozus’s attacks to show their enthusiasm.

“If the Persians keep attacking us tomorrow the same as today, what are we going to do?” Cleanho asked, worried. Today he had suffered the heaviest losses.

“What’s more worrisome is that if we cannot quickly find a way to drive them off, the Persians will surely think this method of attack is the most effective against us. They won’t just continue using it—next time there won’t be just a few hundred, but thousands of horse archers and foot archers! I think that will be our disaster,” Xenophon said heavily. He had certainly had a rough day.

The other leaders were equally grim. In the great battle against the Persian King, they had won easily, and Tissaphernes’s restraint had only made them more confident in their own strength. But today, a small Persian force composed entirely of archers and horse archers had given their proudly held heavy infantry a terrible time. They suddenly realized the weakness of their army.

“We must have archers with a range as long as or longer than the Persians’—” Cheirisophus said, emphasizing each word.

“Rhodian slingers!” Xenophon suddenly shouted.

Davos’s eyebrows twitched. He had heard from Antonios that the Rhodians of the Greek city‑states were skilled with the sling; their stones could reach four or five hundred paces at best and were extremely accurate within a hundred paces. That was why the Mediterranean city‑states all liked to hire Rhodian slingers as an important auxiliary force.

Davos was familiar with the name Rhodes not only because of the slingers but also because the famous “one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World”—the Colossus of Rhodes—stood on that island, though it seemed to have been built after Alexander the Great.

Davos thought to himself: In military terms, the Greek city‑states actually had many unique and elite troop types—Cretan archers, Thessalian cavalry, Rhodian slingers, Spartan hoplites, the Athenian navy… If Greece were united and these forces combined, they could surely dominate the Mediterranean! Unfortunately, the freedom‑loving Greeks had always been a scattered mess. The last one to attempt such unification—Athens—had been defeated. As for the current hegemon of Greece, Sparta, even without knowing the historical outcome, its extremely closed and conservative political system made it impossible…

While Davos was sighing inwardly, Timasion said regretfully, “Too bad we don’t have any Rhodian slingers!”

“But we do have Rhodians!” Xenophon said excitedly. “Gentlemen, slinging is a skill the Rhodians practice from childhood. They make a living from it, just as the Cretans do from archery! When we recruited mercenaries in Ionia, many Rhodians joined. It was only because Cyrus the Younger was generous and provided plenty of weapons and equipment that they gave up their slings and took up expensive round shields and spears that they would otherwise have had to buy themselves. Now it’s time for them to take up the sling again!”

“Xenophon is right. We should gather them immediately and form a slinger unit to counter the Persian archers,” Cleanho added quickly.

Everyone agreed.

Cheirisophus nodded. “Do it at once. We have plenty of sheep; kill some and use the sheep intestines to make slings.”

“We also need cavalry. Otherwise, when the Persians retreat, we won’t be able to catch them. I suggest that each camp pool their spare pack horses and pick soldiers who are good riders to form a cavalry unit,” Xanthiparis chimed in.

“Agreed!”

In the face of crisis, the leaders united and quickly reached a consensus.

The whole army immediately set to work. Soon, over three hundred Rhodians skilled at slinging were organized, and more than fifty pack horses were gathered. Most of the riders selected came from Davos’s camp—after all, most of his soldiers were Thessalians.

When Xenophon recommended the Athenian Lysius to lead this small cavalry unit, Davos objected, arguing that his camp’s Thessalian Laedes (recommended by Philistos) was more suitable.

Since the majority of the cavalrymen were Thessalians, the leaders eventually agreed.

The next day, the mercenaries did not continue their march; instead, they rested for a day and gave emergency training to the newly formed slinger company and the cavalry unit.