Description
As centuries passed, naval tactics and needs changed across the Mediterranean. There was a move towards larger ships, partly as an expression of national or dynastic power: the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt were particularly fond of large ships to show their wealth and influence in a physical way. These 'polyremes', a term meaning many oared, were not suitable for ramming work in battle. In practice many of them had no more oars than smaller ships; what they had were more rowers per oar than smaller ships. A Roman hexareme or Greek hexeres would have a couple of banks of oars with three men per oar, and appear to be an over-sized version of a smaller ship. Even so, thanks to being tremendously heavy and strongly constructed, they were slow moving, and hardly capable of the quick turns needed to take advantage of enemy mistakes. Instead the large ships made use of their wide decks and plentiful carrying capacities and became fighting platforms for infantry and artillery. Boarding or long-range bombardment were the methods to be used to defeat the enemy; naval warfare had come full circle in terms of fighting methods, even if ships had grown significantly.
The Agrianes were a Paeonian tribe of fierce fighters. Known for their incredible dexterity and speed, they became an auxiliary infantry unit in the army of Alexander the Great. Carrying a clutch of javelins into battle, the Agrianes were able to move fast and strike hard. They wore little or no armour to hinder them and carried no shield. Alexander employed them time and time again as front line troops in many of his major battles, where they developed into an elite missile assault unit under the command of his general Attalus, proving especially effective in mountainous areas where agility was essential and the phalanx formation proved unwieldy. Carrying axes and knives that could also be used as climbing hooks, the Agrianes were exceptional not only at climbing and traversing difficult terrain, but also when assaulting manmade defences and walls. Fiercely loyal and extremely effective, they were also used to protect siege equipment before joining the crack hypastists for the assault. Alexander rewarded the Agrianes for their service with the right to govern their own lands. Later an elite force of Agrianes fought for Antiochus at Raphia in 217BC against Ptolemy IV.
