Shale
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Canada
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The Critias is an unfinished dialogue by Plato about an ancient war between Atlantis and Athens. According to the dialogue each military district in the central region of Atlantis was responsible for contributing two hoplites, two archers, two slingers, three stone-throwers and three javelin throwers, as well as cavalry, chariots and sailors (119b). The account is fiction, of course, but Plato did not need to be so specific about the composition of the Atlantean army. I wonder if the ratios --- 1:6 ratio of heavy infantry to missile troops and a 1:5 ratio of slingers to other missile troops --- gives us a rough idea of the composition (or the ideal composition) of military force in Plato's time.
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