Set of four Plates - Warriors, Trireme, Owl, Chariot - Ancient Greece - Classic Period - Attica - Athens - Desk Miniatures - Ceramic Items

Condition: New, Handmade in Greece
First Plate:
Each Plate Diameter: 8 cm - 3,1 inches
Weight with the Base: 50 g
Material: clay, paint, ceramic, terracotta
Total weight: 200 g

A hoplite was the most common type of heavily armed foot-soldier in ancient Greece from the 7th to 4th centuries BCE, and most ordinary citizens of Greek city-states with sufficient means were expected to equip and make themselves available for the role when necessary.
Sparta, where all male citizens over 20 were members of a permanent professional army, was the notable exception to this approach of only calling up an army when absolutely needed.
Hoplites were organised into regiments or lokhoi (several hundred men strong), and they fought in ranks eight or more men deep (known as a phalanx), and standing close together, half of the shield of one man protected his neighbour on his left side. This, interestingly, meant that the phalanx often moved forward at a slight angle to the right as men sought to keep behind the shield of their neighbour. This resulted in the left flank usually breaking formation first, and so this was the flank a competent commander would attack with priority, and he would, therefore, ensure he had his best troops on his own right flank. The Greek phalanx advanced at a walk or faster, often accompanied by rhythmic music from aulos players, and shouting a tremendous war-cry (paean). On engaging the enemy the hoplites first thrust their spears, usually overarm. After that initial contact, the opposing lines usually went through a series of pushing and shoving (othismos) and close-quarter fighting with swords which only ended when one side broke ranks. The pursuit of retreating hoplites was usually only over a short distance in order to maintain the protective close formation.

It was an oared warship with three rows of oars on each side. It constituted the masterpiece of ancient Greek naval art and the glorified weapon in the Persian wars. It was the revolutionary development of the bireme (very probably from the Corinthian shipbuilder Ameinokles) with the addition of a supplementary row of oarsmen in the empty space next to the gunwale at a higher level than that of the other oarsmen. For the guarantee of the required torque, the brilliant outboard oarlocks (outriggers) were devised. The three rows of oarsmen ensured the ship triple motion force than the penteconter without a necessarily increase in length. This was an important advantage in persecutions and the embolisms/ramming of opponents. Navigation was achieved with the two big oars of the stern. Complementarily, it had a big square sail in the middle and a smaller one at the stern with many pulleys for its unencumbered handling. The crew usually consisted of 170 oarsmen, 10 sailors, 14 (to 80 in special cases) warriors, 5 commanders and the captain. It reached 40 metres in length, 5,20 metres in width and 1,10 metres in draft. Its speed reached 12 naval miles per hour. Usually, it had a full deck mainly for the protection of the oarsmen but also the unencumbered transport of warriors.

In Greek mythology, a little owl (Athene noctua) traditionally represents or accompanies Athena, the virgin goddess of wisdom, or Minerva, her syncretic incarnation in Roman mythology. Because of such association, the bird – often referred to as the "owl of Athena" or the "owl of Minerva" – has been used as a symbol of knowledge, wisdom, perspicacity and erudition throughout the Western world.
The reasons for the association of Athena and the owl are uncertain. Some mythographers, such as David Kinsley and Martin P. Nilsson, suggest that she may descend from a Minoan palace goddess associated with birds and Marija Gimbutas claim to trace Athena's origins as an Old European bird and snake goddess.
On the other hand, Cynthia Berger theorizes about the appeal of some characteristics of owls – such as their ability to see in the dark – to be used as symbol of wisdom while others, such as William Geoffrey Arnott, propose a simple association between founding myths of Athens and the significant number of little owls in the region (a fact noted since antiquity by Aristophanes in The Birds and Lysistrata).
In any case, the city of Athens seems to have adopted the owl as proof of allegiance to its patron virgin goddess, who, according to a popular etiological myth reproduced on the West pediment of the Parthenon, secured the favor of its citizens by providing them with a more enticing gift than Poseidon.
Owls were commonly reproduced by Athenians in vases, weights and prize amphoras for the Panathenaic Games. The owl of Athena even became the common obverse of the Athenian tetradrachms after 510 BC and according to Philochorus, the Athenian tetradrachm was known as glaux (γλαύξ, little owl) throughout the ancient world and "owl" in present-day numismatics.They were not, however, used exclusively by them to represent Athena and were even used for motivation during battles by other Greek cities, such as in the victory of Agathocles of Syracuse over the Carthaginians in 310 BC – in which owls flying through the ranks were interpreted as Athena's blessing – or in the Battle of Salamis, chronicled in Plutarch's biography of Themistocles.

A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power.
The chariot was a fast, light, open, two-wheeled conveyance drawn by two or more equids (usually horses) that were hitched side by side, and was little more than a floor with a waist-high guard at the front and sides. It was initially used for ancient warfare during the Bronze and Iron Ages, but after its military capabilities had been superseded by light and heavy cavalries, chariots continued to be used for travel and transport, in processions, for games, and in races.

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