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hoplite

1 9.1

A heavily armed foot soldier from ancient Greece who fought with a shield and spear

noun
/ˈhɒplaɪt/

: hoplita

During the battle of Marathon, the disciplined hoplites fought bravely against the Persian forces.
Athenian hoplites
Greek hoplites
10,000 hoplites

And so then you have a really interesting clashes where you've got hoplites, Greek hoplites, Athens, Sparta, etcetera, etcetera.

Examples

In the face of the enemy, at least, Athenian hoplites were equal.

Academic text (1995)
The ancient Greek hoplite charged fearlessly into battle, wielding his shield and spear.
The day that those hoplite farmers saved Greece.
In Sparta, the hoplites did define the community.

Academic text (1995)
For offense they used the Dory Hoplite spear and the Xiphos sword.
It is important to note that all hoplites, regardless of the social or economic differences among them, fought in the phalanx:

Academic text (1995)
Furthermore, the success of hoplite citizen-soldiers greatly reinforced the socioeconomic conditions that helped to bring hoplites into being.

Academic text (1995)
In Athens, however, hoplites existed in a socioeconomic context that made their citizenship claims, culminating in direct political control, undeniable.

Academic text (1995)
The weapon that slew me at Thermopylae was an Egyptian hoplite spear, driven in beneath the plexus of the ribcage.

Fiction book (1999)
Each city-state provided its own hoplites to form a formidable army during the Peloponnesian War.

Synonyms

foot soldier

vshoplite

27 3.8

A person who fights on foot or does basic work for a group

is a historically specific heavily armed Greek warrior using shield and spear

Surface Forms

hoplite singular

hoplites plural

Etymology

Hoplite comes from the old Greek word hoplon, which means 'weapon' or 'shield', so a hoplite was literally a 'weapon-carrying' foot soldier and is remembered for heavy armor and a large shield.