Thearos
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The piece is published in French (there might be an English abstract). I seem to remember their point is that the sling, the arrow, are low status weapons-- cheap, and fight from afar: cowardly, in contrast to close up fighting, which is aristocratic or civic. On this, see e.g. F. Lissarrague, L'Autre Guerrier (1989 ?). Slings and projectile weapons are tactically very useful, but ill regarded (Thuc. 4. can't remember the chapter, shows a Spartan prisoner after Sphakteria callling the arrow "spindle", a term of Spartan contempt); a fragment of Archilochos talks of the Lords of Euboia spurning missile weapons, in favour of manly, "groaning" close ing fighting with swords (projected into a near past rather than descriptive of Arhcilochos' own ti me, but the more indicative of ideology(. Hence the rarity of images of slingers--and generally of light armed (though there are some peltasts on C5th vases, clearly as "other" warriors-- but there are pictures of "hoplites in ambush")
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