5 Most Elite Special Forces Of Ancient Greece

For hundreds of years the competing kingdoms and city-states of ancient Greece waged war against one another as well as hostile outsiders, this period of unending conflict birthing some of the most potent military societies the world has ever known. However, amongst the ranks of these conventional armies could also be found units of elite troops that served as some of the earliest examples of special forces. These men who were the best of the best, tasked with highly specialized and often extremely dangerous missions. Here are my choices for five of the most elite special forces from ancient Greece. Number five, the Krypteia. Sparta is widely regarded as one of history's most successful warrior societies. The hoplites, her harsh training schools produced considered formidable individually and near invincible when fighting as one in a phalanx. However, despite this now legendary fame and renown, there also existed an equally potent but far more mysterious group of Spartans known as the Krypteia, a clandestine organization of elite reconnaissance and guerrilla warfare specialists whose brutal training involved the state-sponsored murder of the Spartan slave class. This frequent violent culling of the strongest and thus most dangerous slaves, equipping these young highly trained assassins with the skills needed to perform a scouting role within the main Spartan army, as well as carry out hit and run ambushes on enemy troops. After the Spartans conquered and settled the lands of Laconia in the 8th century BC, they made slaves of the area's original inhabitants, forcing them into generational serfdom in service of their new masters. Now known as helots, these once free men were reduced to little more than beasts of burden, spending their short harsh lives tilling the land and carrying out all of the manual work required by the state, allowing Spartan men to dedicate their lives to martial training, a system which enabled the Spartan army to become one of the most feared fighting forces in the ancient world. Yet as the Spartans were now both economically reliant on and vastly outnumbered by the helots, they lived in constant fear of a slave revolt, an event that would shatter their economy, leave them vulnerable to rivals, and perhaps even spell their ultimate doom. It would be from this ever-present fear of a helot uprising that the shadowy institution of the cryptia was born. The Agogi was the Spartan training academy that molded boys from the age of seven into disciplined, skillful, unremorseful killing machines, and it would be from these academies of excellence in death that those judged to be the most intelligent and able were selected to join the ranks of the cryptia, a form of ancient Spartan secret service. The young men the Agogi produced were already some of the best warriors in the world, yet only the most promising of these could make the cut. Those who had completed their training with such distinction that they were already marked out as potential future leaders in Spartan society. Such precious talent could serve Spartan interests in far more useful ways than simply taking a place in the phalanx. Desperate to snuff out even just the threat of unrest and rebellion, the Spartan magistrates declared war upon the helots each year after entering office, thus making the killing of The vanguard of this annual assault on the helots were the cryptia. These talented graduates of the Agogi sent out into the wilderness alone with no supplies and equipped with a simple dagger, their orders to spy on, stalk, and ultimately kill any helots they encountered, with the strongest and most independently minded considered the priority targets. Yet simply carrying out the state-sanctioned murder of random helots in broad daylight was considered a dereliction of duty. The young Spartan assassins were expected to stealthily move amongst the helot population, spying on their activities, stealing the food and supplies they needed, and identifying those slaves most likely to incite and lead a rebellion, ultimately eliminating these dangerous targets before they had a chance to gather any meaningful support. This regular purge of the strongest and most potentially revolutionary elements of the helot population proved to be extremely effective. The slave population kept weak, in check, and on their knees, the slaves soon learning that the most outspoken and courageous amongst them rarely lived to see old age, such men likely to greet the rising sun with a slit throat. These annual assassinations kept those left behind permanently cowed, as for the Spartans it was better to prevent a rebellion than crush one. The best way for a helot to live a long life was to ensure that their existence never presented a threat to their master's world order. Yet the actions of the Krypteia served a dual purpose. The skills the young men acquired during their time alone in the wilderness would prove to be highly prized in war. Enduring conditions that tested the young Spartan to his physical and mental limits, each boy who was perhaps just 18 years of age would be isolated from his friends and all means of support, thrown into a harsh and potentially deadly environment with no shelter, food, or supplies, and armed with only a Barefoot in the winter cold, the Spartan assassin was forced to sleep out in the open, his body exposed to the unforgiving elements, the knowledge that permanent shame and a severe beating would await him if he dared return home without carrying out his mission. Yet such privations were imposed on the initiate for good reason, the suffering he endured accustomizing him to the hardships of war that he would most certainly encounter in future. If the young Spartan wished to eat, he would have to steal food along with anything else he needed, his eyes constantly surveying his surroundings for supplies and potential new targets for his blade, the permanent state of secrecy and stealth that he lived under, teaching the young man how to survive in hostile territory while gathering information on enemy forces. The covert survival field craft each initiate acquired would prove invaluable to the Spartan military. The expertise of the cryptia likely to have been utilized by Spartan commanders for scouting and reconnaissance, while their experience moving unseen through mountainous territory also made them elite ambush specialists able to conduct hit and run guerrilla raids on enemy forces before melting into the countryside ready for the next operation. Such clandestine tactics placed them in the almost polar opposite of the traditional heavily armored hoplites who fought in rigid cohesion with their comrades as part of a phalanx and although the hoplite excelled in conventional warfare, in certain circumstances they would be an unsuitably blunt instrument where a more subtle and refined approach was required. The cryptia warrior who utilized concealment, speed, mobility and surprise often able to achieve objectives that would have otherwise been out of reach. Number four, the Cretan archers. The ability to slay even the world's greatest warriors from afar is a talent that military commanders throughout history have been understandably keen to acquire. Yet in the ancient Greek world, it would be the archers of Crete whose services were in the greatest demand. Their fame so legendary that the home island's name became synonymous with their battlefield craft. As centuries of mountainous civil conflict between some 60 warring city-states produced archers so skilled with the bow that they would consistently see action as mercenaries on battlefields stretching from Britain to India over a period of 2,000 years. The remarkable tale one of the earliest examples of a successful brand building and marketing campaign that enabled the men of Crete to earn a lucrative income from their trade in death. Warfare in ancient Greece was dominated by the heavily armored hoplite, a highly trained and disciplined warrior who usually fought in a near impenetrable phalanx formation. However although formidable when facing enemy infantry, such a tightly packed mass of men was dangerously vulnerable to missile fire. A single arrow capable of ending the life of a man who possessed the finest training, weapons and armor that technology could create and money could buy. When you consider that just one archer could loose several arrows per minute, it's easy to see why military commanders were keen to utilize the services of the skilled ranged killers in their armies. Perhaps the finest and most famous archers in the ancient Greek world hailed from the island of Crete. The skilled bowmen this mountainous land produced, carving themselves out a profitable niche as mercenaries in some of the greatest armies the world has ever known. Armed with a powerful compound bow that gave them greater range than other Greek archers, the Cretans were able to rain death upon the enemy from afar with pinpoint accuracy. However unlike most other missile troops at the time, they were also armed with shields, leather armor and a dagger or short sword. Additional equipment that made them more than capable of defending themselves in melee combat. This extra versatility gave the Cretans far more utility than ordinary archers who would have quickly been slaughtered in any kind of up-close fighting and made them a favorite for use in naval combat where they could first launch waves of arrows at enemy ships before boarding the deck and finishing off the survivors with their swords. A single unit of Cretan archers performing a highly valuable dual role in combat. In fact their use as mercenary archers became so widespread that when bowmen with no specific cultural origin are mentioned in Greek and Roman historical texts, it's simply assumed that the writer was referring to Cretan archers. Yet what was it about the Cretans that made the home island's very name become synonymous with archery? While archaeological evidence shows that Cretan hunters utilized archery as early as 2200 BC, it is likely that the island's mountainous terrain forced the natives to not only use bows but to specialize in them. With ancient Crete fractured into perhaps 60 small city-states that were constantly waging war against one another, the island's rugged terrain evolved a style of warfare that favored missile troops with small numbers of heavy infantry deployed to block narrow choke points and mountain passes, while the main force of archers pelted the pinned-down enemy from a safe distance. The island's mountainous landscape made pitched battles between large numbers of cavalry and heavy infantry simply unfeasible, the Cretans thus favoring light armor and weaponry for its increased mobility, the terrain of their homeland forming a kind of evolutionary pressure on the abilities of the island's inhabitants. In addition to the longer-range composite bows made from wood, sinew, and horn, the Cretans also developed what's now called the Mediterranean draw, the style of draw most widely used by archers even in the present day, a technique which involved pulling the string with the thumb, forefinger, and middle finger, thus providing superior grip and strength when compared to the draw technique used by most other archers in the ancient Greek world. With superior range, power, reload times, and accuracy, as well as the versatility in both ranged and melee combat, it's easy to understand why Cretan archers became so prized by military commanders, however the historical association with the bow and arrow can also be partly attributed to widespread self-promotion and effective brand building. As more Cretan mercenary archers were hired by Mediterranean armies, the young Cretan men remaining at home realized that specializing in archery was their best chance at earning a lucrative income, and thus more men were drawn into the profession, flooding the market with even more Cretan archers, and further cementing the link between Crete and missile warfare. In such high demand, Cretan archers built a long and storied history, seeing action at the forefront of some of history's most famous and pivotal battles, the service stretching across 2,000 years from the First Mycenaean War in 743 BC, right through until the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Marching with Alexander the Great from the Balkans to as far away as India, partaking in the epic retreat of the 10,000 following the Battle of Cunaxa in 401 BC, and later fighting for the Romans at the Siege of Syracuse in 212 BC, and the fall of Carthage in 146 BC, Cretan archers remained a potent force on the battlefield until the final significant deployment at the fall of Constantinople in 1453, when a small contingent fought a desperate but doomed defense of the ancient city in the face of overwhelming odds, as the last remnant of a bygone age was swept aside by the ascendant Ottomans. An army of men who are old enough to be pensioners and grandfathers might not initially seem like an intimidating force to be reckoned with, but when those same men have spent their entire lives at war, their presence upon the battlefield becomes a far greater cause for concern amongst the enemy tasked with fighting them. As veterans of some of history's most pivotal battles, there was little that such men hadn't seen or done, their long and bloody march from Macedonia to India in service of Alexander the Great, forging them into some of the most lethal and skilled killing machines the world has ever known. With unbreakable courage and unyielding resolve, killing came as easy to the silver shields as breathing, the experience gained from dozens of victories in battle earning them a well-deserved reputation. However, despite outlasting the legendary conqueror who founded their unit, these hardened and often cantankerous veterans would ultimately fall victim to their own success. The respect and fear they inspired in others, evolving into hatred and resulting in their own commanders intentionally sending them to die in pointless, unwinnable battles at the furthest reaches of the empire. When Alexander the Great first crossed into Asia, few could have possibly predicted the incredible victories that lay ahead. However, as the Macedonians carved out a giant new empire on their march across Asia, the achievements of the men whose skill, courage and sacrifice won such a prize are often eclipsed by the blinding brilliance of their young king. Although it's Alexander's name that is now immortalized in history, the king's victories could never have been won alone. The army he inherited from his late father, Philip II, undoubtedly one of the finest war machines ever assembled, a body of warriors who would prove themselves again and again in the many battles fought on the epic journey from Greece to as far away as India. The cream of this formidable fighting force were the hippaspists or shield bearers, the elite hand-picked arm of the Macedonian heavy infantry, each man individually chosen for his bravery and skill in combat. While almost invincible head-on, the Macedonian phalanx was dangerously vulnerable at its flanks, the weight of their armor combined with the 22 feet long pikes drastically reducing their agility and thus their ability to turn quickly in the heat of battle to meet any threats to their flanks. The primary job of the hippaspists was to guard the vulnerable flanks of the Macedonian phalanx, the shorter pikes, secondary swords and larger shields making them far more versatile in combat and thus more able to meet and repel any flanking maneuvers performed by the enemy. Acting as more of a special forces unit than standard infantry, the hippaspists could adapt to any situation, fighting in a regular hoplite formation, dispersing among friendly cavalry during an attack and even scaling city walls during a siege, their larger shields warding off the majority of enemy missile fire as they advanced. As the years passed and the tally of battles fought increased, by the time Alexander reached India, the veteran remnants of the original hippaspists were reformed into a special corps of royal bodyguards, their shields plated with real silver in recognition of their many astounding accomplishments, an act which gave rise to their name, the silver shields, and likely came at great expense to the Macedonian treasury, a well-deserved and public reward for their loyal service and proven prowess in battle. At this point in Alexander's campaign, the survivors of the silver shields had been fighting in the Macedonian army for decades, with the majority of them likely aged between 50 and 60 years old, and some reported as even being in their 70s. These battle-hardened professional killers, forged by their experiences into some of the most proficient and deadliest warriors on the face of the planet, and although their strength had now been reduced to perhaps just 3,000 in number by years of casualties, the men remaining were a concentrated, cohesive and highly intimidating force that could be deployed to the most crucial points of a battlefield, the commanders safe in the knowledge that the silver shields would never break or run from the enemy. The younger men who dared to face them, cowled by the knowledge that each individual man of the silver shields had already taken more lives with his sword than they had spent years on this earth, with perhaps their own young heads soon to be just another notch on this grisly old man's tally of kills. As veterans of Philip's Greek Wars, their contribution to Alexander's success cannot be understated. Whether during a siege, skirmish, or conventional battle, the silver shields would usually be entrusted with the most pivotal tasks, storming the walls of Tyre, scaling the mighty Sogdian Rock Fortress, and being some of the first to engage the mighty Persian army at the Battle of Gargamela. And when the defeated Persian King of Kings, Darius III, fled for his life, it was the silver shields who joined Alexander in giving chase. Yet for all their honor, laurels, and skill, it would be mortal desire for worldly riches that would be their undoing, and most of them would never see home again. Following the death of Alexander in 323 BC, the silver shields threw their support behind General Eumenes as the Macedonians fought one another for control of the vast empire that had only recently been won. These old veterans, many of whom were now well into their sixties, shocking the opposing Macedonian factions they fought against with their incredible prowess in battle. Despite the ripening age, the enemy generals enraged at these grizzled old relics' ability to frustrate their plans time and time again. Yet at the Battle of Gabien in 316 BC, a cruel twist of fate resulted in General Antigonus capturing the silver shields' baggage train, despite being bested by them in the main battle, a devastating blow to the old veterans, whose wives and children were now in enemy hands, along with four decades' worth of plunder. Following this disaster, the silver shields agreed to betray General Eumenes, handing him over to General Antigonus in exchange for the return of their families and possessions, the men who had once been Eumenes' greatest asset now becoming his ruin. Yet this alliance between old enemies would do little to lessen General Antigonus' animosity towards the cantankerous old silver shields, the resentful Macedonian commander unable to put the past behind him after almost dying in a mutiny caused by the silver shields, as well as suffering several humiliating defeats in battle at their hands. Unwilling to tolerate such a potential thorn in his side, he swiftly moved to break the power of the silver shields forever, executing their leader and sending the survivors to the remotest part of the empire in present-day Afghanistan, the governor of the area ordered to whittle away their remaining numbers by throwing the silver shields into only the most dangerous missions, the vast majority of these remarkable warriors finally perishing in battle after a lifetime of war. Number 2. The Skiritae. Subjugated and forced to fight for their new masters, a small band of 600 elite warriors known as the Skiritae would earn a reputation for skill and ferocity in battle that even impressed the warlike Spartan overlords. First to engage in a fight and last to withdraw, this army of ancient expendables was callously thrown into the hardest, most dangerous fights by their uncaring Spartan commanders. Yet although considered to be little more than disposable foreigners, these soldiers who are said to have entered combat adorned with animal skins rather than protective armor would prove themselves to be a force capable of turning the tide of an entire battle, their deployment into a fight often the decisive moment and one that could turn disaster into victory. The people who lived in the rugged, mountainous region of Skiritis were an otherwise unassuming rural people who had managed to carve out a home for themselves amongst inhospitable land. However, it would be this very location that would prove to be their undoing, their towns and villages occupying a strategically important location between Sparta and Arcadia that was quickly seized by their Spartan neighbors in the south. Now under Spartan dominion, the people of Skiritis found themselves relegated to being a subservient class of non-citizens and like other subjugated peoples in ancient Greece, were obliged to provide regular levies of troops during times of war to serve as auxiliaries in the service of the regular Spartan army. Taking a white hawk over a black background as their symbol, the troops levied from Skiritis became known as the Skiritai, a battalion of 600 light infantry selected for their impressive physical strength, endurance and combat ability. Yet despite now serving the very Spartan army which had subjugated their lands, the Skiritai quickly proved themselves to be a loyal and elite fighting force. Equipped with lighter animal skins instead of heavy armor, these proud warriors were far more mobile than their Spartan counterparts, abandoning sturdy defenses in favor of speed and raw offensive power. Able to quickly close large distances on the battlefield, the Skiritai were armed with long and short swords instead of the unwieldy spears of the traditional Greek hoplite, making them ideal for rapid assaults and close quarters fighting in the chaos of battle. The Skiritai were deployed on the left wing of the Spartan army, which was the position considered to be the most threatening to an enemy phalanx, as a hoplite always carried his shield on his left arm, providing protection to himself as well as the soldier to his immediate left. However the last hoplite on the extreme right had no such luxury and was thus far more vulnerable, as he only had his own shield for protection as there was nobody else to his right. The speed, mobility and ferocity of the Skiritai was utilized to exploit this fundamental flaw in the Greek phalanx, the 600 lightly armed men attempting to overlap the enemy's right flank and attack its least defended wing, a job the Skiritai seemed to excel at as this position in Spartan army was exclusively reserved for them alone. Yet despite proving their worth in battle again and again, the Skiritai would always be considered expendable foreigners to the Spartans, the life of a single Spartan citizen hoplite considered far more valuable than the life of an outsider, resulting in the Skiritai given the hardest, most unpleasant and even most dangerous of tasks. Often the first to engage the enemy and last to leave the field, the Skiritai acted as the Spartan vanguard, scouts and even camp guards at night and were given the honor of riding ahead of the king and the main army in battle, while at the same time humiliated with menial tasks such as digging latrines, a paradox which shows that although the Spartans respected the fighting prowess of the Skiritai, they could never consider them to be equals. Number one, the Companions. History remembers the names of only a select few, but what of the uncountable ranks of the Anonymous, whose skills, sacrifice and heroism enabled such grand achievements to be woven. As Alexander the Great burned a trail of conquest across Asia, it would be the elite cavalry of now largely forgotten Macedonian noblemen who fought by his side, which would time and time again deliver the decisive, crushing blow to the armies of their king's many foes. These men who were both Alexander's mightiest warriors and closest companions, equipped with the finest weapons, horses and training money could buy. The customary wedge formation, capable of smashing a hole in even the most well defended enemy line. A single determined charge, acting as the hammer which shattered some of the mightiest armies in history against the anvil of the Macedonian phalanx. Few sons are blessed with an inheritance as priceless as the war machine the assassinated King Philip II of Macedon, bequeathed to Alexander. Painstakingly constructed for a single purpose, this highly disciplined, well-trained and finely equipped army had been assembled to carry out a war of retribution against the Persian Empire, finally taking the fight to the ancient enemy after so many years of struggle and bloodshed on Greek soil. Determined to realize his late father's vision and secure greatness for his own name, Alexander departed Macedonia in 334 BC at the head of one of the greatest fighting forces the world had ever seen, crossing into Asia to begin one of the most incredible conquests in history, advancing towards an inevitable final showdown with his nemesis King Darius III of the Persian Empire. Yet although every one of the 50,000 soldiers at his command could be considered elite in their own right, it would be a small body of horsemen known as the Companions that would prove crucial in the pivotal battles to come. This relatively small group of noblemen considered the elite of an already extremely potent Macedonian cavalry, men who were not only armed with the best weapons atop the finest horses in Greece, but also led into battle by Alexander himself. As Alexander's personal friends, retinue and bodyguards, these chosen few were utterly loyal to their warrior king, the Companions functioning as a mobile royal court, as well as a lethally efficient corps of mounted shock troops, and although numbering perhaps less than 3,000 men, their overwhelming offensive power was capable of transforming the course of a battle when unleashed. When the fighting commenced, the tactics utilized by the Companions were straightforward, but devastatingly effective. The long pikes of the Macedonian phalanx pinning enemy infantry in place while the Companions smashed into the flank or rear, and when this classic hammer and anvil tactic could not be brought to bear, the Companions would simply launch a direct all-out charge, their wedge formations punching straight through even the most well-defended enemy line, allowing the rest of the unit through the newly formed breach, from where they could envelop and destroy the now-surrounded, out-of-formation foe. At the head of this wedge would be the fiercest and bravest of their number, the men chosen to be the tip of the spear that would pierce the enemy defenses, possessing unmatched courage and resolve, while every member of the Companions forming the rest of the wedge fought with almost superhuman vigor and morale under the gaze of the warrior-king whom they effectively hero-worshipped, the knowledge that Alexander himself would witness their every action, pushing them on to unrivaled deeds of almost reckless bravery in battle, as they fought with a fanatical disregard for their own safety. Under the weight of such a relentless and brutal assault, the shock and awe unleashed by the Companions' charge was easily enough to scatter an entire army, their deployment in battle usually dealing the killer blow and adding yet another triumph to Alexander's rapidly growing list of military victories. Organized into seven squadrons of 200 men, each squadron was comprised of men from the same region of Macedonia, as it was believed that such geographical ties would strengthen their bond in battle, while the eighth royal squadron was directly led by Alexander himself and contained 300 of the best and most loyal fighters, the men tasked with fighting in a battle while at the same time protecting Alexander from harm, the young king known for recklessly risking his own life in the heat of battle. Equipped with the finest armor, spears, short swords and horses, the Companions were by Alexander's side in every major battle the young king fought, proving instrumental in Macedonia's most incredible victories, as time and time again they demonstrated how even the world's mightiest warriors simply could not withstand their attacks. Yet although the list of the Companions' achievements is long and steeped in glory, it would be at the Battle of Guagamila that the legend was truly cemented, as Alexander led his elite cavalry in an audacious charge directly at the center of the massive Persian army opposing him, their famous wedge formation driving deep into the heart of enemy lines as the Companions recklessly hurled themselves at King Darius III's position, their impetuous assault shocking and terrifying the Persian king, who turned tail and ran for his life in full view of the men who were in the process of laying down their own lives to protect a man who now publicly abandoned them at the first sign of risk to his own safety, a turn of events that shattered Persian morale and put the entire army to flight, winning Alexander an empire and securing the Companions' place in the history books as one of the most elite fighting forces the world has ever known. So those are my choices for five of the most elite special forces from ancient Greece, as always let me know your thoughts in the comments below and I'll see you again on the next video.