Athenian Military and Man Power

• It is estimated that there were 40,000 male Athenians in 431BC
• About 1,000 men were estimated to be wealthy enough to be cavalrymen
• As many as 20,000 may have been eligible to serve as hoplites (the heavily armoured infantry men who formed the core of the army)
• Less than half of these would be called to fight at any given time
• Athens' forces were composed of allied citizens and mercenaries
• The Athenians excelled in naval power. They developed their navy after the first Persian invasion so that they would be prepared if the Persians tried to invade again (which they did)
• They contributed the most ships during the Persian war (147 out of 271)
• This meant that they could react quickly to any events overseas
• Their naval forces allowed Athens to dominate the Aegean sea
• However, managing a large fleet required a lot of resources that were difficult to acquire
• A trireme (ship) usually required 150-170 oarsmen, plus skilled sailors and steersmen, who were especially hard to find
• Using mercenaries to supplement their numbers was risky