‘Xenophon gives us the remarkable detail that, in preparation for the battle, the Theban cavalry “eagerly whitened their helmets” and the Arcadians “painted clubs upon their shields, as though they were Thebans” (7.5.20), telling us that the Thebans usually had such a blazon on their shields (that is the club of Heracles). All the men sharpened their spears and blades and burnished their shields.’

This episode was written by Murray Dahm.

Murray is an ancient and medieval military historian from New Zealand, living in Australia. He has written more than 100 articles on various aspects of ancient and medieval military history and other historical topics from all periods. He is the author of Macedonian Phalangite vs Persian Warrior, Athenian Hoplite vs Spartan Hoplite and Leuctra 371 BC, all from Osprey Publishing. He is a regular on the Ancient Warfare Podcast.