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Locrian slingers (Read 22689 times)
Johnny
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Locrian slingers
Mar 30th, 2004 at 2:24pm
 
In the Iliad, Homer mentions the Locrians," who wear no armor and trust in their bows and their well twisted wool(slings)". Sounds kind of like Peruvian type slings! Anyone have more information on this? I saw an Osprey book the other day on the city of Troy, there was a photo of a pile of slingstones that was dug up in and around the city. They looked about the size of an egg or billard ball.
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Johnny
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Re: Locrian slingers
Reply #1 - Mar 30th, 2004 at 2:37pm
 
The Locrian squadrons nor the javelin wield,
Nor bear the helm, nor lift the moony shield;
But skill’d from far the flying shaft to wing,
Or whirl the sounding pebble from the sling,
Dexterous with these they aim a certain wound,
Or fell the distant warrior to the ground.
Thus in the van the Telamonian train,
Throng’d in bright arms, a pressing fight maintain:
Far in the rear the Locrian archers lie,
Whose stones and arrows intercept the sky,
The mingled tempest on the foes they pour;
Troy’s scattering orders open to the shower.
Book XIII from the Iliad

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mgreenfield
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Re: Locrian slingers
Reply #2 - Mar 30th, 2004 at 3:28pm
 
Wow!  That's pretty to read out loud.  Ulrica the poet/artist will like it.    mgreenfield
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Chris
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Re: Locrian slingers
Reply #3 - Mar 30th, 2004 at 6:25pm
 
Another historical reference showing the true power of the sling, and that it rivaled the bow in effectiveness.

Chris
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Johnny
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Re: Locrian slingers
Reply #4 - Mar 30th, 2004 at 7:53pm
 
Here is another translation by Robert Fagles:

They had no love for stand-and-fight encounters-
had no crested bronze helmets to guard their heads,
no balanced shields in their grasp, no ashen spears,
only their bows and slings of springy, twisted wool.
Trusting these, they followed their chief to Troy,
shooting with these, salvo on pelting salvo,
they tore the Trojan battle lines to pieces.
So the men in heavy armor fought at the front,
they grappled Trojans and Hector helmed in bronze
while Locrians slung from the rear, safe, out of range,
till the Trojan troops forgot their lust for blood
as showering arrows raked their ranks with panic.

I think I like this translation better! Hope ya'll like it!!
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Re: Locrian slingers
Reply #5 - Mar 30th, 2004 at 9:30pm
 
I like the regular 5-footed lines & rhyming couplets of the first version.   Almost like a Shakespearian sonnet.  Also, it gives slings more mention/credit. Grin  A noble sport this slinging I guess.    mgreenfield
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Hondero
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Re: Locrian slingers
Reply #6 - Mar 31st, 2004 at 3:05am
 
Beautiful text and curiously there is not more sling literary references about the Greeks of those mithological times narrated by Homer that the two that appears in Iliad, and this one you mention is the best. Nevertheless  Homer didn´t live in those times, so the references may be only fiction. More interest have the archeological finds such this pile of slingstones that was dug up in and around the city of Troy. Early excavations in Troy gave some objects that were erroneously interpreted as sling proyectiles, but surely this one is more recent. Has the picture and text more information about, like the excavations date, etc?. I´d like to have a look on the Osprey publication if you remember the title, serie, etc.

Hondero
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« Last Edit: Mar 31st, 2004 at 7:18am by Hondero »  

He brought a conquering sword..., a shield..., a spear... , a sling from which no erring shot was discharged.&&
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Re: Locrian slingers
Reply #7 - Mar 31st, 2004 at 6:58am
 
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/title_detail.php?title=S7034&ser=FOR
Try this site Hondero. The slingstones were at the same layer as the ancient city of Troy. Along with the slingstones were arrowheads.
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Re: Locrian slingers
Reply #8 - Mar 31st, 2004 at 2:42pm
 
Thanks Johnny, I´ll try to get the book. I´ve found in the net some information about recent excavations at Troy and as I suspected there have been differents campaigns along the times. In the campaign of 1990 and following years they found a reservoir of sling proyectiles in one of the gates of the city. And curiously the excavation was directed for Manfred Korfmann, the famous (for all us) author of "The sling as a weapon"  Smiley
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Johnny
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Re: Locrian slingers
Reply #9 - Mar 31st, 2004 at 3:30pm
 
Hondero
Do you still have the link to that website(Korfmann)?
Thanks
Johnny
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Hondero
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Re: Locrian slingers
Reply #10 - Mar 31st, 2004 at 4:54pm
 
No, I´m sorry, but you can get it in Google looking for "Troia" that is the German name of Troy and the name of the archaeological project. In one of the years that appears there is an abstract by Korfmann that mention briefly the slingstones. Just to go over some years till you find it.

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Re: Locrian slingers
Reply #11 - Apr 4th, 2004 at 3:22pm
 
I´ve found some pages. Altough in german:

http://www.kzu.ch/fach/as/aktuell/2000/28_troia/01.htm

http://www.baz.ch/reusable/druckversion.cfm?objectID=C9C3EA37-174C-4D04-8C6698B1...

There was more pages. I searched on www.altavista.com ; with three words:  Troia + Korfmann + Schleuder

Maybe you can translate it with bablefish??

/Ulrica
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May the stones go your way&&&&//Ulrica
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Re: Locrian slingers
Reply #12 - Apr 4th, 2004 at 6:19pm
 
I´ve found again the exact link to the Korfmann abstract:

http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/troia/st/two/ab/english/ab7eng.html

He mention briefly the find of slingstones and a fragment of a silver vase from the epoch with slingers represented in it (I have the picture).

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Re: Locrian slingers
Reply #13 - Apr 4th, 2004 at 8:39pm
 
Ulrica, Hondero
Thanks for the links!
Can you post the picture Hondero?
Thanks!
Johnny
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Chris
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Re: Locrian slingers
Reply #14 - Apr 5th, 2004 at 12:27am
 
Here's a picture of the vase and a fuzzy line drawing to help you make it out.  These are the best pictures I could find online.  It's interesting to see that the slingers start by holding the pouch over their heads. 



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