Description
These Greek soldiers from Karia in western Anatolia were known for their use of deadly one-handed, single-headed axes. Axes had long been used throughout Egyptian and Greek culture, from the slashing, pole-mounted examples of the former to the double-edged labrys, associated with Labraunda and held sacred by the Karian people. Acting as shock troops in Ptolemaic armies, the Karians used their axes to hack their way through armour. Even heavy or chain armour was no defence, as the concussive force of a weighted axe head could still crush bones and organs even if it failed to penetrate. Although effective, fighting in this way was both tiring and clumsy, and the initial benefit from a charge would soon wear off. Lightly armoured, with little more than shields and helmets, Karian axemen were best employed attacking the flanks of more heavily armoured foes.
