The Cavalry General
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Etext prepared by John Bickers, jbickers@templar.actrix.gen.nz.
The Cavalry General
By Xenophon
Translation by H. G. Dakyns
Xenophon the Athenian was born 431 B.C. He was a
pupil of Socrates. He marched with the Spartans,
and was exiled from Athens. Sparta gave him land
and property in Scillus, where he lived for many
years before having to move once more, to settle
in Corinth. He died in 354 B.C.
The Cavalry General is a discourse on the merits
a cavalry general, or hipparch, in Athens should
have. Xenophon also describes the development of
a cavalry force, and some tactical details to be
applied in the field and in festival exhibition.
PREPARER'S NOTE
This was typed from Dakyns' series, "The Works of Xenophon," a
four-volume set. The complete list of Xenophon's works (though
there is doubt about some of these) is:
Work Number of books
The Anabasis 7
The Hellenica 7
The Cyropaedia 8
The Memorabilia 4
The Symposium 1
The Economist 1
On Horsemanship 1
The Sportsman 1
The Cavalry General 1
The Apology 1
On Revenues 1
The Hiero 1
The Agesilaus 1
The Polity of the Athenians and the Lacedaemonians 2
Text in brackets "{}" is my transliteration of Greek text into
English using an Oxford English Dictionary alphabet table. The
diacritical marks have been lost.
The Cavalry General
By Xenophon
Translation by H. G. Dakyns
THE DUTIES OF A HIPPARCH[1]
or
Commander of Cavalry at Athens
I
Your first duty is to offer sacrifice, petitioning the gods to grant
you such good gifts[2] as shall enable you in thought, word, and deed
to discharge your office in the manner most acceptable to Heaven, and
with fullest increase to yourself, and friends, and to the state at
large of affection, glory, and wide usefulness. The goodwill of
Heaven[3] so obtained, you shall proceed to mount your troopers,
taking care that the full complement which the law demands is reached,
and that the normal force of cavalry is not diminished. There will
need to be a reserve of remounts, or else a deficiency may occur at
any moment,[4] looking to the fact that some will certainly succumb to
old age, and others, from one reason or another, prove unserviceable.
[1] For the title, etc., see Schneid. "Praemon. de Xeno." {Ipp}.
Boeckh, "P. E. A." 251.
[2] Or, "with sacrifice to ask of Heaven those gifts of thought and
speech and conduct whereby you will exercise your office most
acceptably to the gods themselves, and with . . ." Cf. Plat.
"Phaedr." 273 E; "Euthr." 14 B.
[3] The Greek phrase is warmer, {theon d' ileon onton}, "the gods
being kindly and propitious." Cf. Plat. "Laws," 712 B.
[4] Lit. "at any moment there will be too few." See "Les Cavaliers
Atheniens," par Albert Martin, p. 308.
But now suppose the complement of cavalry is levied,[5] the duty will
devolve on you of seeing, in the first place, that your horses are
well fed and in condition to stand their work, since a horse which
cannot endure fatigue will clearly be unable to overhaul the foeman or
effect escape;[6] and in the second place, you will have to see to it
the animals are tractable, since, clearly again, a horse that will not
obey is only fighting for the enemy and not his friends. So, again, an
animal that kicks when mounted must be cast; since brutes of that sort
may often do more mischief than the foe himself. Lastly, you must pay
attention to the horses' feet, and see that they will stand being
ridden over rough ground. A horse, one knows, is practically useless
where he cannot be galloped without suffering.
[5] Lit. "in process of being raised."
[6] Or, "to press home a charge a l'outrance, or retire from the field
unscathed."
And now, supposing that your horses are all that they ought to be,
like pains must be applied to train the men themselves. The trooper,
in the first place, must be able to spring on horseback easily--a feat
to which many a man has owed his life ere now. And next, he must be
able to ride with freedom over every sort of ground, since any
description of country may become the seat of war. When, presently,
your men have got firm seats, your aim should be to make as many
members of the corps as possible not only skilled to hurl the javelin
from horseback with precision, but to perform all other feats expected
of the expert horseman. Next comes the need to arm both horse and man
in such a manner as to minimise the risk of wounds, and yet to
increase the force of every blow delivered.[7] This attended to, you
must contrive to make your men amenable to discipline, without which
neither good horses, nor a firm seat, nor splendour of equipment will
be of any use at all.
[7] Lit. "so that whilst least likely to be wounded themselves, they
may most be able to injure the enemy."
The general of cavalry,[8] as patron of the whole department, is
naturally responsible for its efficient working. In view, however, of
the task imposed upon that officer had he to carry out these various
details single-handed, the state has chosen to associate[9] with him
certain coadjutors in the persons of the phylarchs (or tribal
captains),[10] and has besides imposed upon the senate a share in the
superintendence of the cavalry. This being so, two things appear to me
desirable; the first is, so to work upon the phylarch that he shall
share your own enthusiasm for the honour of the corps;[11] and
secondly, to have at your disposal in the senate able orators,[12]
whose language may instil a wholesome fear into the knights
themselves, and thereby make them all the better men, or tend to
pacify the senate on occasion and disarm unseasonable anger.
[8] See "Mem." III. iii.
[9] Cf. Theophr. xxix. "The Oligarchic Man": "When the people are
deliberating whom they shall associate with the archon as joint
directors of the procession." (Jebb.)
[10] Or, "squadron-leaders."
[11] "Honour and prestige of knighthood."
[12] "To keep a staff of orators." Cf. "Anab." VII. vi. 41; "Cyrop."
I. vi. 19; "Hell." VI. ii. 39.
The above may serve as memoranda[13] of the duties which will claim
your chief attention. How the details in each case may best be carried
out is a further matter, which I will now endeavour to explain.
[13] "A sort of notes and suggestions," "mementoes." Cf.
"Horsemanship," iii. 1, xii. 14.
As to the men themselves--the class from which you make your pick of
troopers--clearly according to the law you are bound to enrol "the
ablest" you can find "in point of wealth and bodily physique"; and "if
not by persuasion, then by prosecution in a court of law."[14] And for
my part, I think, if legal pressure is to be applied, you should apply
it in those cases where neglect to prosecute might fairly be ascribed
to interested motives;[15] since if you fail to put compulsion on the
greater people first, you leave a backdoor of escape at once to those
of humbler means. But there will be other cases;[16] say, of young men
in whom a real enthusiasm for the service may be kindled by recounting
to them all the brilliant feats of knighthood; while you may disarm
the opposition of their guardians by dwelling on the fact that, if not
you, at any rate some future hipparch will certainly compel them to
breed horses,[17] owing to their wealth; whereas, if they enter the
service[18] during your term of office, you will undertake to deter
their lads from mad extravagance in buying horses,[19] and take pains
to make good horsemen of them without loss of time; and while pleading
in this strain, you must endeavour to make your practice correspond
with what you preach.
[14] Lit. "by bringing them into court, or by persuasion," i.e. by
legal if not by moral pressure. See Martin, op. cit. pp. 316, 321
foll.
[15] i.e. "would cause you to be suspected of acting from motives of
gain."
[16] Reading {esti de kai ous}, or if as vulg. {eti de kai}, "More
than that, it strikes me one may work on the feelings of young
fellows in such a way as to disarm." See Hartmann, "An. Xen. N."
325.
[17] Cf. Aesch. "P. V." 474; Herod. vi. 35; Dem. 1046. 14; Thuc. vi.
12; Isocr. {peri tou zeugous}, 353 C. {ippotrophein d'
epikheiresas, o ton eudaimonestaton ergon esti.} See Prof. Jebb's
note to Theophr. "Ch." vi. p. 197, note 16.
[18] Lit. "if they mount."
[19] Like that of Pheidippides in the play; see Aristoph. "Clouds," 23
foll. And for the price of horses, ranging from 3 minas (= L12
circa) for a common horse, or 12 minas (say L50) for a good saddle
or race-horse, up to the extravagant sum of 13 talents (say 3000
guineas) given for "Bucephalus," see Boeckh, "P. E. A." (Eng. tr.)
p. 74. Cf. Isaeus, 55. 22; 88. 17; Lys. "de Maled." 133. 10; Aul.
Gell. "Noct. Att." v. 2.
To come to the existing body of knights,[20] it would tend,[21] I
think, to better rearing and more careful treatment of their horses if
the senate issued a formal notice that for the future twice the amount
of drill will be required, and that any horse unable to keep up will
be rejected. And so, too, with regard to vicious horses, I should like
to see an edict promulgated to the effect that all such animals will
be rejected. This threat would stimulate the owners of such brutes to
part with them by sale, and, what is more, to exercise discretion at
the time of purchase. So, too, it would be a good thing if the same
threat of rejection were made to include horses that kick on the
exercising-grounds, since it is impossible to keep such animals in the
ranks; and in case of an advance against a hostile force at any
point,[22] they must perforce trail in the rear, so that, thanks to
the vice of the animal which he bestrides, the trooper himself is
rendered useless.
[20] Or, "As regards those who are actually serving in the cavalry."
For a plausible emend. of this passage (S. 13) see Courier ("Notes
sur le texte," p. 54); L. Dind. ad loc.
[21] Lit. "the senate might incite to . . ."
[22] Reading {ean}, or if {kan} with the MSS., trans. "even in case of
an advance against the enemy."
With a view to strengthening the horses' feet: if any one has an
easier or more simple treatment to suggest, by all means let it be
adopted; but for myself, as the result of experience, I maintain that
the proper course is to lay down a loose layer of cobbles from the
road, a pound or so in weight, on which the horse should be put to
stand, when taken from the manger to be groomed.[23] The point is,
that the horse will keep perpetually moving first one foot and then
another on the stones, whilst being rubbed down or simply because he
is fidgeted by flies. Let any one try the experiment, and, I venture
to predict, not only will he come to trust my guidance, but he will
see his horse's hoofs grow just as round and solid as the cobbles.
[23] See below, "Horse." iv. 4. The Greeks did not "shoe" their
horses.
Assuming, then, your horses are all that horses ought to be, how is
the trooper to attain a like degree of excellence? To that question I
will now address myself. The art of leaping on to horseback is one
which we would fain persuade the youthful members of the corps to
learn themselves; though, if you choose to give them an
instructor,[24] all the greater credit to yourself. And as to the
older men you cannot do better than accustom them to mount, or rather
to be hoisted up by aid of some one, Persian fashion.[25]
[24] Like Pheidon, in the fragment of Mnesimachus's play "The Breeder
of Horses," ap. Athen. See Courier, ib. p. 55.
[25] See "Anab." IV. iv. 4; "Horsemanship," vi. 12.
With a view to keeping a firm seat on every sort of ground, it may be
perhaps be thought a little irksome to be perpetually marching out,
when there is no war;[26] but all the same, I would have you call your
men together and impress upon them the need to train themselves, when
they ride into the country to their farms, or elsewhere, by leaving
the high road and galloping at a round pace on ground of every
description.[27] This method will be quite as beneficial to them as
the regular march out, and at the same time not produce the same sense
of tedium. You may find it useful also to remind them that the state
on her side is quite willing to expend a sum of nearly forty
talents[28] yearly, so that in the event of war she may not have to
look about for cavalry, but have a thoroughly efficient force to hand
for active service. Let these ideas be once instilled into their
minds, and, mark my words, your trooper will fall with zest to
practising horsemanship, so that if ever the flame of war burst out he
may not be forced to enter the lists a raw recruit, unskilled to fight
for fame and fatherland or even life itself.
[26] In the piping days of peace.
[27] See "Econ." xi. 17. Cf. Theophr. "Ch." viii. "The Late Learner":
{kai eis agron eph' ippou allotriou katakhoumenos ama meletan
ippazesthai, kai peson ten kephalon kateagenai}, "Riding into the
country on another's horse, he will practise his horsemanship by
the way, and falling, will break his head" (Jebb).
[28] = L10,000 circa. See Boeckh, op. cit. p. 251.
It would be no bad thing either, to forewarn your troopers that one
day you will take them out yourself for a long march, and lead them
across country over every kind of ground. Again, whilst practising the
evolutions of the rival cavalry display,[29] it will be well to gallop
out at one time to one district and again to another. Both men and
horses will be benefited.
[29] Lit. "the anthippasia." See iii. 11, and "Horsemanship," viii.
10.
Next, as to hurling the javelin from horseback, the best way to secure
as wide a practice of the art as possible, it strikes me, would be to
issue an order to your phylarchs that it will be their duty to put
themselves at the head of the marksmen of several tribes, and to ride
out to the butts for practice. In this way a spirit of emulation will
be roused--the several officers will, no doubt, be eager to turn out
as many marksmen as they can to aid the state.[30]
[30] On competition cf. "Cyrop." II. i. 22, and our author passim.
And so too, to ensure that splendour of accoutrement which the force
requires,[31] the greatest help may once again be looked for from the
phylarchs; let these officers but be persuaded that from the public
point of view the splendid appearance of their squadrons[32] will
confer a title to distinction far higher than that of any personal
equipment. Nor is it reasonable to suppose that they will be deaf to
such an argument, since the very desire to hold the office of phylarch
itself proclaims a soul alive to honour and ambition. And what is
more, they have it in their power, in accordance with the actual
provisions of the law, to equip their men without the outlay of a
single penny, by enforcing that self-equipment out of pay[33] which
the law prescribes.
[31] Or, "a beauty of equipment, worthy of our knights." Cf. Aristoph.
"Lysistr." 561, and a fragment of "The Knights," of Antiphanes,
ap. Athen. 503 B, {pant' 'Amaltheias keras}. See "Hiero," ix. 6;
"Horse." xi. 10.
[32] Lit. "tribes," {phulai} (each of the ten tribes contributing
about eighty men, or, as we might say, a squadron).
[33] i.e. the {katastasis}, "allowance," so technically called. Cf.
Lys. "for Mantitheos"; Jebb, "Att. Or." i. 246; Boeckh, "P. E. A."
II. xxi. p. 263; K. F. Hermann, 152, 19; Martin, op. cit. p. 341.
But to proceed. In order to create a spirit of obedience in your
subordinates, you have two formidable instruments;[34] as a matter of
plain reason you can show them what a host of blessings the word
discipline implies; and as a matter of hard fact you can, within the
limits of the law, enable the well-disciplined to reap advantage,
while the undisciplined are made to feel the pinch at every turn.
[34] "The one theoretic, the other practical."
But if you would rouse the emulation of your phylarchs, if you would
stir in each a personal ambition to appear at the head of his own
squadron in all ways splendidly appointed, the best incentive will be
your personal example. You must see to it that your own bodyguard[35]
are decked with choice accoutrement and arms; you must enforce on them
the need to practise shooting pertinaciously; you must expound to them
the theory of the javelin, yourself an adept in the art through
constant training.[36]
[35] Techn. {prodromoi}, possibly = the Hippotoxotai, or corps of 200
mounted archers--Scythians; cf. "Mem." III. iii. 11. Or, probably,
"mounted skirmishers," distinct from the {ippotexotai}. Cf.
Arrian, "An." i. 12. 7. See Aristot. "Ath. Pol." 49. 5.
[36] Reading as vulg. {eisegoio}, or if with L. D. {egoio} (cf. above,
S. 21), trans. "you must lead them out to the butts yourself."
Lastly, were it possible to institute and offer prizes to the several
tribal squadrons in reward for every excellence of knighthood known to
custom in the public spectacles of our city, we have here, I think, an
incentive which will appeal to the ambition of every true Athenian.
How small, in the like case of our choruses, the prizes offered, and
yet how great the labour and how vast the sums expended![37] But we
must discover umpires of such high order that to win their verdict
will be as precious to the victor as victory itself.
[37] See "Hell." III. iv. 15; "Hiero," ix. 3; "Cyrop." I. vi. 18;
Martin, op. cit. p. 260 f.
II
Given, then, that your troopers are thoroughly trained in all the
above particulars, it is necessary, I presume, that they should
further be instructed in a type of evolution the effect of which will
show itself not only in the splendour of the great processions[1] in
honour of the gods, but in the manouvres of the exercising-ground; in
the valorous onslaught of real battle when occasion calls; and in the
ease with which whole regiments will prosecute their march, or cross a
river, or thread a defile without the slightest symptom of confusion.
What this formation is--essential, at least in my opinion, to the
noblest execution of their several duties--I will now, without delay,
endeavour to explain.[2]
[1] e.g. the Panathenaic, as depicted on the frieze of the Parthenon.
[2] Or, "what this best order is, the adoption of which will give
these several features fair accomplishment, I will without further
pause set forth."
We take as our basis, then, the constitutional division of ten
tribes.[3] Given these, the proper course, I say, is to appoint, with
the concurrence of the several phylarchs, certain decadarchs
(file-leaders)[4] to be selected from the men ripest of age and
strength, most eager to achieve some deed of honour and to be known to
fame. These are to form your front-rank men;[5] and after these, a
corresponding number should be chosen from the oldest and the most
sagacious members of the squadron, to form the rear-rank of the files
or decads; since, to use an illustration, iron best severs iron when
the forefront of the blade[6] is strong and tempered, and the momentum
at the back is sufficient.
[3] See "Revenues," iv. 30.
[4] Decadarchs, lit. commanders of ten, a "file" consisting normally
(or ideally) of ten men. Cf. "Cyrop. II. ii. 30; VIII. i. 14. It
will be borne in mind that a body of cavalry would, as a rule, be
drawn up in battle line at least four deep (see "Hell." III. iv.
13), and frequently much deeper. (The Persian cavalry in the
engagement just referred to were twelve deep.)
[5] See "Cyrop." III. iii. 41, 57; VI. iii. 24, 27; VII. i. 15; "Pol.
Lac." xi. 5. These front-rank men would seem to correspond to our
"troop guides," and the rear-rank men to our serre-files to some
extent.
[6] Cf. Aelian Tact. 26, ap. Courier.
The interval between the front and rear-rank men will best be filled
supposing that the decadarchs are free to choose their own supports,
and those chosen theirs, and so on following suit; since on this
principle we may expect each man to have his trustiest comrade at his
back.
As to your lieutenant,[7] it is every way important to appoint a good
man to this post, whose bravery will tell; and in case of need at any
time to charge the enemy, the cheering accents of his voice will
infuse strength into those in front; or when the critical moment of
retreat arrives, his sage conduct in retiring will go far, we may well
conclude, towards saving his division.[8]
[7] {ton aphegoumenon}, lit. "him who leads back" (a function which
would devolve upon the {ouragos} under many circumstances). Cf.
"Cyrop." II. iii. 21; "Hell." IV. viii. 37; Plat. "Laws," 760 D. =
our "officer serre-file," to some extent. So Courier: "Celui qui
commande en serre-file. C'est chez nous le capitaine en second."
[8] Or, "the rest of the squadron." Lit. "his own tribesmen."
An even number of file-leaders will admit of a greater number of equal
subdivisions than an odd.
The above formation pleases me for two good reasons: in the first
place, all the front-rank men are forced to act as officers;[9] and
the same man, mark you, when in command is somehow apt to feel that
deeds of valour are incumbent on him which, as a private, he ignores;
and in the next place, at a crisis when something calls for action on
the instant, the word of command passed not to privates but to
officers takes speedier effect.
[9] i.e. all find themselves in a position of command, and there is
nothing like command to inspire that feeling of noblesse oblige
which is often lacking in the private soldier. See Thuc. v. 66;
"Pol. Lac." xi. 5.
Supposing, then, a regiment of cavalry drawn up in this formation:
just as the squadron-leaders have their several positions for the
march (or the attack[10]) assigned them by the commander, so the file-
leaders will depend upon the captain for the order passed along the
line in what formation they are severally to march; and all being
prearranged by word of mouth, the whole will work more smoothly than
if left to chance--like people crowding out of a theatre to their
mutual annoyance. And when it comes to actual encounter greater
promptitude will be displayed: supposing the attack is made in front,
by the file-leaders who know that this is their appointed post; or in
case of danger suddenly appearing in rear, then by the rear-rank men,
whose main idea is that to desert one's post is base. A want of
orderly arrangement, on the contrary, leads to confusion worse
confounded at every narrow road, at every passage of a river; and when
it comes to fighting, no one of his own free will assigns himself his
proper post in face of an enemey.
[10] Lit. "where to ride," i.e. in what formation whether on the line
of march or in action.
The above are fundamental matters not to be performed without the
active help of every trooper who would wish to be a zealous and
unhesitating fellow-worker with his officer.[11]
[11] Cf. "Hiero," vii. 2; "Cyrop." II. iv. 10.
III
I come at length to certain duties which devolve upon the general of
cavalry himself in person: and first and foremost, it concerns him to
obtain the favour of the gods by sacrifices in behalf of the state
cavalry; and in the next place to make the great procession at the
festivals a spectacle worth seeing; and further, with regard to all
those public shows demanded by the state, wherever held,[1] whether in
the grounds of the Acadamy or the Lyceum, at Phaleron or within the
hippodrome, it is his business as commander of the knights to see that
every pageant of the sort is splendidly exhibited.
[1] Cf. Theophr. "Ch." vii. (Jebb ad loc. p. 204, n. 25).
But these, again, are memoranda.[2] To the question how the several
features of the pageant shall receive their due impress of beauty, I
will now address myself.
[2] Read {tauta men alla upomnemata}, or if with Pantazid. {apla},
trans. "these are simply memoranda."
And first to speak of the Processions.[3] These will, I think, be
rendered most acceptable to Heaven and to earth's spectators were the
riders to ride round the Agora and temples, commencing from the
Hermae, and pay honour to the sacred beings, each in turn, whose
shrines and statues are there congregated. (Thus in the great
Dionysia[4] the choruses embrace their gracious service to the other
gods and to the Twelve with circling dance.[5]) When the circuit is
completed, and the riders are back again in front of the Hermae, it
would add, I think, to the beauty of the scene[6] if at this point
they formed in companies of tribes, and giving their horses rein,
swept forward at the gallop to the Eleusinion. Nor must I omit to note
the right position of the lance, to lessen as far as possible the risk
of mutual interference.[7] Each trooper should hold his lance straight
between the ears of his charger, which in proportion to the
distinctness given to the weapon will rouse terror, and at the same
time create a vague idea of multitudinousness.[8]