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A history lesson I cut and pasted. Hope it isn't too apt...

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Tsalagi:
We haven't even touched on the fact that the Greeks hired mercenary archers. From Crete. The Greek hoplites thought peltasts (archers, slingers, javelineers) were something along the lines of "unsporting" and would not use projectile weapons themselves----though they certainly weren't opposed to the idea of hiring them. These Cretan archers knew their trade very well and commanded high prices. I saw a photo of some Cretan arrowheads and from the tang, it appears they were using a cane or reed shaft. A phalanx was solid shield-wall armor up front, but if a foe could work some peltasts along the flanks of a phalanx, they could open up some serious holes in it. The Athenians also hired Scythians to be their de facto police force in the city.

The Romans hired Syrians as archers. Many of them used thumb ring release as one was found near Hadrian's Wall, where a unit of Syrian archers was stationed.

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