Military history scholars, enthusiasts, and reenactors are frequently tempted to try to acquire bits of arms, armor, and uniforms that are connected with their field(s) of special interest, and I am no exception. The idea of obtaining a complete panoply suitable for equipping a classical Greek hoplite -- more specifically, a Spartan from the time of the Persian Wars -- poses a challenge but offers its own reward. By dint of much effort, patience, and a not insignificant (but not intolerable) expenditure of cash, I have succeeded in my quest and offer some advice here to help others along who undertake similar pursuits. We start with some basic truths: actual ancient Greek artifacts are not feasible to obtain, since we're dealing with very old, very rare items that when they come to light at all are not in the best of conditions and are immediately whisked away to museums. Unlike WWII reenactors and collectors, we cannot rely on military surplus stores to meet our needs.(Anyone on eBay offering "gently used helmets from the Peloponnesian Wars" or "unissued sandals from a recently discovered warehouse find" is best avoided.) So we must deal with modern reproductions, just as the Roman legion reenactors do. If you are sufficiently skilled and motivated, you can learn all about metalworking, woodworking, leathercraft, and garment making and construct your own outfit; many of the Roman and Greek reenactors do this, and there is information available on many websites hosted by these groups. But if you're like me, without the time or aptitude to tackle all this complicated stuff (I can barely assemble a cheap bookcase kit, let alone hammer out a breastplate or sword blade or shape a spear shaft or cut and sew a set of pteruges), you'll want to buy your gear from a professional supplier. There are some links to a few manufacturers on this website and we would be glad to add more as people contact us. There is a growing demand for period costume and a growing number of people who cater to these needs, at every level of authenticity and expense. Diligent web-searching or ad consulting in military history and reenactor hobby magazines will reveal many avenues of approach. Begin with armourers, since we're dealing with an age when body armor defined a soldier as much as weaponry. The major articles you'll need to assemble a full Greek panoply will need to be made of metal. An armourer can supply this, and perhaps some leather goods or fabric items as well. Note: We have already created a list of armourers that can manufacture Greek items to spare interested parties the pain of scouring the Internet. I'm assuming that anyone interested enough to want to own a piece or pieces of ancient Greek militaria will insist on quality, serious reenactor-level goods, things that are made to look and function just like the originals and that are suitable for wear and display. So I'm not going to discuss stage costumes, which are cheap and easy to find but usually wholly lacking in period correctness or durability. Be wary of many mass-market dealers, who frequently sell inaccurate or non-functional items. Do your research, so you can tell fakes and fantasy items from the real deal. Be prepared to make a lot of inquiries and to make your purchases from various sources. Since there are not many people making Greek items, you will probably have to gather individual pieces from a variety of suppliers, and will almost certainly have to arrange custom orders if you want things made to measure. This can be a long and tiresome process. It took me at least two years to acquire my panoply (and I'm not entirely satisfied with some aspects). If you can find a local armourer to work with, you'll fare better than having to rely soley on mail orders. I'm still looking for someone in the Austin, Texas, area who can modify some of my ill-fitting bronze pieces (email me if you want some business!). Comparatively speaking, a hoplite panoply costs less in today's money than it did in ancient times, when it was roughly the equivalent of a nice car. You shouldn't have to spend that much; in exchange, you'll take your place among the ranks of the citizen-soldiers of the phalanx. (If you have aristocratic leanings, try the cavalry -- except for the Spartans, who tended to treat cavalry as a second-class branch of service.) So don't look on your hoplite armament as a frivolous indulgence; think of it as your ticket to middle-class respectability and the exercise of your full citizen's rights in your polis. And if the Persians ever invade again, why, then you'll be more than ready to take them on. Here's a round-up of How I Did It, for the benefit of those just starting out and who can learn from my mistakes. Working from the inside out: The Chiton (tunic): The basic foundation of your hoplite wardrobe. It's a simply constructed garment, so if you can't find one for sale, you can always try your luck with scissors and thread. (I bribed one of those redoubtable Spartan Women to make mine.) Many of the Roman reenactor websites contain instructions and patterns for making legionary tunics, and the short Greek chiton is very similar. Mine is cut along the lines of the Roman model, very full and with sleeves (this prevents chafing). You should use a medium to heavy wool fabric, nothing less. Cheaper, lighter cloth is not going to wear as well or have the proper look. It is useful to remember that until the modern era, the only clothing materials available to Europeans were hides/furs, wool, linen, and (less commonly) cotton or silk (very rare until the late Roman era). Spartans were famous for wearing a bright red uniform (translated variously as scarlet or crimson), so I've chosen a scarlet wool that was bought from a reenactor uniform cloth supplier. This has also been used for the cloak that was another hallmark of Spartan dress. I have left these cloth items unadorned, since we don't know what if any personal distinctions would be tolerated. Tie the chiton tight around the waist with a cord and allow it to hang to a point above the knee. Oh, yes, and you'll probably want to get some lighter-weight red skivvies made, too, for decency's sake. Take it from me, as a Scottish kilt-wearer, high winds can lead to revealing moments. No sense in frightening old ladies or causing young women to fan themselves furiously. Footwear: Authentic footwear (that is also comfortable for wear) is one of the hardest, and most annoyingly expensive, things for reenactors to find. Hoplites probably wore sandals or open-toed leather boots. The later might be converted from some of the plainer, solid-sole moccasins sold today. For sandals, I'm using a pair of Roman caligulae from Valentine Armouries of Canada. Not correct, but close enough (sue me). You see hoplites depicted barefoot in lots of paintings, but anyone who goes around barefoot these days in Texas, with blazing asphalt, broken glass, sharp stones, fire ants, scorpions, and rattlers, is more of a Spartan than I can ever hope to be. Greaves: You should put these on before donning your body armor (try it the other way around sometime and you'll see why). These are made of bronze and ideally should be light and springy enough to snap in place, where they should stay in place of their own accord. They will have to be carefully shaped to fit your legs, from above the knee joint to just shy of the ankle. Mine were made by Darkheart Armoury from a too-heavy gauge of bronze and do not bend in the slightest. Consequently they are a bad fit and are very difficult to put on and take off. I asked for straps and buckles be added in an attempt to remedy things, but this has not improved things. Och! The inner surfaces are lined with leather, which is necessary to prevent chafing and perhaps also to keep them cool in the summer. Pteruges (groin/thigh protector): This item is not vital to the outfit, but offers a more defined look. Since I was aiming for the bell cuirass, this meant a separate set of pteruges ("feathers") that would be worn apart from and below the bronze plates. Darkheart, my chosen armourer, did not offer this item, so I hunted elsewhere. Valentine Armouries made a similar item for its Roman line, so I asked them if they could do a custom order. They could (albeit for a substantial price), so I supplied some measurements and specifics and received the item in a fairly speedy turnaround. I'm reasonably happy with it; it looks too "modern" in its finishing, but only very close examination by an expert would detect this. The garment is constructed of thick, undyed leather with a double layer of overlapping strips that cover most of the skirt of the chiton and offer some protection against slashes or punctures. It wraps around the waist and buckles closed at the side. The cuirass covers it at the top. It came supplied with a chintzy-looking gilt bar embossed over the leather at the bottom of each strip; this was unsatisfactory, so I paid Darkheart Armoury to attach genuine bronze strips over each embossed gilt stamp. This was a definite improvement. Now I have the authentic clatter of leather and bronze when I am on parade. Body armor: There are several options here, and I went with a plain, modified bell cuirass that would have been getting slightly old fashioned by 480 B.C. This is made from bronze in two separate sections, a breastplate and a backplate, which are joined at the sides by metal pins slotted into aligned tubes and also with straps and buckles (also at the shoulders). I have found that it is impossible for me to put this on by myself -- you just can't see what you're doing or reach where you need to reach -- so you'll have to train a helot armor-bearer to assist you. Metal armor looks impressive but it is very unbending! You'll discover a new appreciation of all the little things a fully armored Greek hoplite can't easily do, like kneel, or drive a car, or scratch his back. I should make a general comment at this point about metals -- the Greeks wore bronze; not steel, not brass. there are not a lot of armourers who choose to work in bronze, for some reason, so you'll have to insist on this from anyone you deal with. Brass is not the same. To cut a really impressive figure, try a fully muscled cuirass that makes you look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. I was very tempted to get a composite cuirass made. Matthew Amt from The Phalanx constructed his own (you can read about this at his webpage http://www.larp.com/hoplite/ )and it's a fine piece of work. I was concerned about the durability of it compared to all-metal armor, however, and also how expensive it would be in comparison, since I was going to have to pay to have it made and it looked to be more labor-intensive than a bronze cuirass. Darkheart Armoury , who ended up making most of my body armor, was actually willing to have a try for slightly LESS money than the bronze; but would I be satisfied with the results, if I commissioned it from someone who had never made one before? The plus was a lighter, more flexible garment that included the pteruges. Maybe I could even don it by myself! The downside was the worry about durability (you don't want to watch your cuirass disintegrate or rot if you get caught in the rain), the inability tho predict what the final product might look like (hard to exert creative control from across the continent), and the lessened impact as a display piece. Unfortunately, either the measurements I supplied Darkheart were faulty or they did not follow them correctly, because when the cuirass arrived it was not a good fit -- it was a hard struggle to put it on, in fact, and choked me at the neck, cut into my armpits, and bruised my shoulders. The armourer was good about accepting it back for refinement and modification, and this revamped cuirass is somewhat better, but still a painful fight to get into and out of, and my armor-bearer caught my arm between the plates and bruised me rather badly the last time I tried it on. I'm a little afraid of it now, to tell the truth. The Chalmys (cloak): The short cloak favored by travellers and for military use. The himation, or tribon, was a longer, fuller cloak. I've based mine on descriptions and patterns found in various History of Clothing books and some of Nicholas Sekunda's titles on ancient Greek soldiers, and it's basically a longer chlamys that's suitable for warm or cold weather. (See the photos for my imitation of the Spartan soldier figurine wrapped in his cloak that can be seen today at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut -- been there, done that!) I should have used a lighter-weight material for this, since it is a heavy garment that is hard to keep in place. I have two bronze brooches to secure the cloak at the right shoulder (keeping the weapon arm free). One is a venerable, two-piece, pin and circlet design that is Celtic in style; the Spartans appear to have had some trading links with southern Gaul, as evidenced by the Aix krater. I bought this from a jeweller who sells his wares on the Scottish Highland Games circuit. The other is based, for private amusement, on the brooches worn in the film "The 300 Spartans", a round device with a stylized flower or star design that can be seen in production stills and costume closeups. Darkheart made this as a special order but it took them two tries to come up with something functional and it still doesn't look all that great. Helmet: I knew I wanted the classic bronze Corinthian-style helmet, the most typically "Greek" design. It was worn by most hoplites during the Persian Wars period and earlier and never wholly disappeared until the Roman age. It is an elegant piece of armor, one of the most beautiful objects Greek artisans ever created, andused as the model for the well-known American M1 infantry helmet . I supplied Darkheart with some reference material and specifications. My helmet is based on some of the latter models, with longer, sharper cheekguards and a more angular pitch. Other than that, it is fairly unadorned. The interior crown lining is glued-in felt (the classical Greeks do not appear to have used a suspension liner) and the helmet must be worn with an arming cap (the pilos cap may have been originally used for this) or turban-style head wrap for a snug fit and for comfort. The crest box is wood, painted in a typically Greek pattern, and the horsehair crest is dyed red and features a long tail. I am particularly happy with this piece, although wearing it brings home the limitations imposed on the individual hoplite during combat. Hearing is severely subdued (but your voice echoes like Darth Vader) and your field of vision is limited. Even turning your head around to see over your shoulder is next to impossible. Nothing to do but focus your eyes straight ahead and move forward. Shield (hoplon): The heavy, round shield of the Greek infantryman probably gave rise to hoplite warfare and phalanx tactics, and so is utterly indispensable for a serious collector. Unfortunately, it also proved to be the most difficult item to obtain. Only the Greeks ever made something so complicated and specialized, and nobody since then seems to have been quite so crazy. Most armourers won't touch this, not if they seem to understand what's involved (the genuine article was made from wood, leather, and metal, plus rope and painted ornamentation, is made in a peculiar convex shape, and some of the secrets of its construction are not understood by metallurgists even today). The few I've seen carried by reenactors are either self-made or fantastically expensive. After being turned down by many suppliers, I finally took up Darkheart Armoury on an offer to construct an all-bronze replica that would seek to duplicate the look of the thing without being an exact reproduction. After all, I reasoned, if the wooden core is going to be covered by a leather liner and a bronze facing and rim anyway, who's to know the difference? I supplied reference materials again and waited a long time (Darkheart was beginning to fall severely behind schedule in delivery of custom orders, and last I checked had ceased to accept special orders at all), nearly a year, before arrival of my shield. The appearance and proportions are very good, and the shield makes a striking display item propped against the base of my "armor tree" (an old wooden coat rack modified into a cross, which when loaded down with armor looks very like illustrations of Greek battle trophies). But it is way overweight, something like 30 to 35 pounds, almost twice as heavy as it should be, despite Darkheart's earlier reassurances that the weight of a thinner bronze disc would not surpass the weight of a shield made with a thicker wooden core. Darkheart has had a recurring problem of using heavier gauge bronze than is suitable for many of these Greek items. ( This stuff is heavy enough without making it heavier!) Moreover, because there is no core to which to attach the central armband, hand grip, or cord rings, these are riveted directly into the bronze disc itself, and the butt-ends show on the shield face despite polishing and paint. I'm glad to have it, but there's definitely room for improvement. Spear: The main weapon of the hoplite was the long thrusting spear, and this is a relatively easy item to get. Darkheart supplied mine complete and ready for assembly (some suppliers only sell heads and you're on your own for the shaft). The total length is about eight feet. The spearhead is iron and based on archaeological finds. The bronze butt-spike (styrax) is a key feature and is made from a surviving Laconian example illustrated in Nick Sekunda's "The Spartan Army". The importance of these "lizard stickers" is described by modern experts like Sekunda and Victor Davis Hanson (see the Book List) and I'm pleased to have accounted for this small but significant detail. Sword: Darkheart was commissioned to make a sword, scabbard, and leather baldric, and turned out a fine job. The Spartans were known for carrying distinctive short swords as a secondary weapon, and my reproduction is modeled on surviving artistic evidence and a possible archaeological find (see Sekunda, "The Spartan Army"). As far as I know, it's the first one made of its kind. The blade is iron, the grip plain wood, and the crossguard and pommel bronze. The wooden scabbard is covered in leather and has bronze fittings. There is a widely repeated story about the Spartan who complained about the shortness of his sword, to which is mother replied, "Add to it one step forward." You can't top those old-time Spartan women for fighting spirit. If the Three Hundred had only taken their Mums with them to Thermopylae, they might be holding it to this very day. Kevin Hendryx