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Johnny
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Sample
Sep 27th, 2004 at 10:39am
 
Chris,
Let me know what you think about this.

Battle of Eknomos 311 B.C.
In the year 311 B.C., The Greeks under the generalship of Agathocles of Syracuse, was at war with Hamilcar of Carthage. At Eknomos, Sicily, the battle at one point was going badly for the Carthaginans until Hamilcar brought forth 1000 Baliaric slingers. Diodorus, the Sicilian-born historian writes:

“But when Hamilcar saw that his men were being overpowered and that the Greeks in constantly increasing number were making their way into the camp, he brought up his slingers, who came from the Baliaric Islands and numbered at least a thousand. By hurling a shower of great stones, they wounded many and even killed not a few of those who were attacking, and they shattered the defensive armour of most of them. For these men, who are accustomed to sling stones weighing a mina, contribute a great deal toward victory in battle, since from childhood they practise constantly with the sling. In this way they drove the Greeks from the camp and defeated them.”

The stones that the Balearics used weighed a mina, or around one and one forth pound, about the size of a man’s fist. The Balearics, unlike the Greeks, seem to have favored stones over lead bullets.

Balearic Slingers
Diodorus of Sicily writes:
“Their equipment for fighting consists of three slings, and of these they keep one around the head, another around the belly, and the third in the hands. In the business of war they hurl much larger stones than do any other slingers, and with such force that the missile seems to have been shot, as it were, from a catapult; consequently, in their assaults upon walled cities, they strike the defenders on the battlements and disable them, and in pitched battles they crush both shields and helmets and every kind of protective armour. And they are so accurate in their aim that in the majority of cases they never miss the target before them. The reason for this is the continual proctice which they get from childhood, in that their mothers compel them, while still young boys, to use the sling continually; for there is set up before them as a target a piece of bread fastened to a stake, and the novice is not permitted to eat until he has hit the bread, whereupon he takes it from his mother with her permission and devours it.”

Livy writes:
“There are two Balearic Islands, one larger and richer in arms and men. It has a harbour also, where Mago-and it was now the end of autumn-believed he could winter comfortably. But an attack was mage on the fleet, just as if the inhabitants of the island were Romans. The sling, now their most used weapon, was then their only one, and not a single man in any other tribe so excels in the art of using it as do all the Balearic islanders in comparison with other peoples. Accordingly such a volley of stones, like the densest hail, was rained upon the fleet now approaching land that, not venturing to enter the harbour, they headed their ships out to sea. Thereupon they crossed over to the smaller of the Balearic Islands, fertile in its land, not so strong in men and arms.”
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Re: Sample
Reply #1 - Sep 27th, 2004 at 8:45pm
 
Here are some quotes from the Bible about Hebrew slingers. I need to write some commentary about each subject, but for now, this is what I gathered concerning Biblical slingers.

The Mighty Men at Ziklag
Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, While he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish: and they were among the mighty men, helpers of the war. They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow, even of Saul’s brethren of Benjamin.
1 Chronicles 12:1-2

Lefthanded Slingers of Benjamin
Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.
Judges 20:16

Army of Uzziah
And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons(body armour), and bows, and slings to cast stones.
2 Chronicles 26:14

Battle with the Moabites
And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kir-har-a-seth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.
2 Kings 3:8

David and Goliath
And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine....

And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him;...
1 Samuel 17
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Re: Sample
Reply #2 - Sep 28th, 2004 at 1:37pm
 
It's a great start.  These quotes are great, but maybe you could dicuss each one and work in physical archeological evidence (i.e. Balearic stone projectile caches or something).  I think there needs to be more discussion, and these quotes leave much to be discussed. 

It seems your writing more about the balearic slingers then about the Battle of Eknomos.  Leave the other topic to the person doing just balearic slingers (or switch topics).  People are going to step on each others toes a bit, but the concentration should be that particular topic.  If you want to write about the Battle of Eknomos, I'd maybe review the following:

Where is Eknomos?
What time is it? 
Contributing events?
Why are the two armies at war?
What was the timeline of the battle?
Where did the slingers come in?
What did the slingers contribute?
Who were these slingers? 

(Try to include notable things about the balearic slinger in this battle, not just balearic slingers in general. Maybe just mentioned them as the "famed balearic slingers".  Readers can learn more in the balearic section.)

Things like that.  I think you've got some great quotes, and a lot of knowledge about this (an other) battles.  You've just got to find a way to nicely package this into a defined topic. 

Chris
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Re: Sample
Reply #3 - Sep 28th, 2004 at 1:43pm
 
Chris,
Thanks, I'll go into hoplite warfare also and maybe a little history of Carthage and Syracuse(why the Greeks and Carthaginians colonized Sicily) etc....
Johnny
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