Vortrag am 31. Mai von Prof. Hans van Wees (London)

Herodotus’ story about hoplites raiding Egypt and ending up in the service of Psammetichus I is generally taken quite seriously. Egyptologists accept that the use of foreign mercenaries gave Psammetichus the edge he needed to unify Egypt under his rule, while Greek historians cite the story as evidence for Greek mercenaries finding employment far and wide, from an early date. I shall argue, however, that long-term, large-scale Greek mercenary service began no earlier than 625 BC, and the Egyptian evidence suggests that a particular set of circumstances created opportunities here for Greek soldiers at this time. These conditions did not apply earlier or elsewhere, except in Lydia, and did not include the supposed superiority of hoplites to ‘barbarian’ troops.