Another Chance to Register for Plataia 2022

Some of you will remember that the registration for the reenactment event at Plataia, Greece, was posted in 2018. From Giannis Kadoglou, there is now a new site to re-register for the event at https://plataea2022.com/

Welcome!

It’s been a long road to get here, but we have all of our permissions in place, and COVID-19 and world events permitting, we’ll be on the ground at Plataea from 25-31 July 2022.

Our event is being held with the support of the local community and the Ephorate of Antiquities, and the re-enactment Organization ‘Hoplologia,’ and we’re very excited to finally being getting together.

Plataea 2022 is being run by Hoplologia in cooperation with the Government of Greece. All reenactors attending need to read and understand the following.

* No display of modern political slogans, songs, symbols or any other device will be tolerated.
* No example of hate speech, verbal abuse, threat, or slur will be tolerated. We expect to have both people of colour and women serving in many roles; if your group can’t tolerate that, you shouldn’t come.
* All participants will do their best to wear authentic kit, to correctly represent their role, and to obey the orders of the officers appointed to run the event.

Any failure to follow these three simple rules will result in expulsion. We want this event to be a place where reenactors experience immersion in the world of the past without concern for the modern world and its issues.

I have not yet had time to read the new registration site so I do not know whether registration carries over for those of us who already registered and paid on the old site. But congratulations to the organizers for the update! The deadline for registration is 10 July 2022

Edit 2022-04-04: see also this note on their homepage:

The Digital Experience (coming soon) offers a set of videos on the Battle itself, on hoplite warfare, on craftsmanship and other aspects of the period, and on the archaeological Museum of Thiva (Thebes) in Greece. … if you are an historian, craftsperson or reenactor and cannot attend, please consider making a (short) video on a period subject and submitting it to us.

Edit 2022-04-28: see also this tentative schedule from ‘Aristeides Dikaios’ on corporate social media

Here’s the proposed schedule for the Plataea event. Details may change, but the broad outline will not. We have some very promising developments in the last few weeks and we already have 80+ reenactors registered. Note that the tours are included in the schedule, but like the food, you will have to sign up for them. And more on all that later!

Schedule Plataea 2022
Every day has 12-1530L open for most people to rest. Most days have all activities closed by 2000L for dinner, whether served or bought or found. Breakfast will have to be quick and light and you will need to provide your own.
Officer’s Call is open to all, and is where direction is passed down and comments can be passed back up the chain. We’d like to keep the meetings brief and efficient. It will be informal.
Σύναξις (Sinaxis) is a general muster to be held every morning, to count heads, check safety equipment, and make sure everyone knows what we’re doing. It will be military (in formation)
Schedule!
Sunday (leaving from Athens) 0900L Tour to Thermopylae. Cost and details TBD. There will be a guide.
Monday – 1200L Camp Opens to reenactors. Reenactors are invited to build camp.
Tour Athens to Delphi to Plataea (from Athens!) Tour will leave from Athens, visit Delphi, and return TO PLATAEA. NOT IN KIT. Cost and details TBD. There will be a guide.
Tuesday – 0800L Gathering at the road (Camp) for those attending organized tour of Leukra and Chaeronea (From Camp) Cost TBD. A professional guide will be provided.
0900L – All Day Tours of the Ancient City of Plataea with professional archaeologists. We’ll sort out the times, but maximum 15 persons in each group.
All Day—Build Camp, local tours
4PM Evening Guard mount begins until darkness falls.
5PM Selected participants to Thiva Museum for afternoon presentation in the courtyard. (TBD)
1800L First formation (Σύναξις) (Sinaxis, or muster) Just so we look organized for our first formation 😊
2000L Welcome Ceremony at Hellentistic Wall
Wednesday—0730L All ‘Officers’ (unit leaders, etc)
0800 Σύναξις of all reenactors; Hoplites, Persians, psiloi, non-combatants, etc. NB Early formations are to avoid the heat. Muster is also a meeting! You tell us what you need, we discuss the days activities.
Immediate exercises – Setting the phalanx, methods of movement we’ll use all week (filing from the right, left, and center as per Onassander, for example). Experiment One; Giannis, Paul, Christian – The Spartan Countermarch, breaking and reforming.
1200L Morning exercises over. No activities planned until 4PM.
11AM-4PM Docent/Interpreters (TBD, there will be a roster) to the visitor’s center
1600L Phalanx (and Persians/Psiloi) ‘Fall in’ in front of the camp (we’ll do this in the same place every time to avoid confusion). We’ll have a safety inspection in camp and allow ½ hour for things to be fixed/amended/hidden in tents.
1700L Selected participants to Thiva for demonstrations in the courtyard of the museum.
1700L First ‘Scenario’
‘Persians/Psiloi’ move to fields below Ancient City. Main ‘phalanx’ moves down the road past the Ancient Spring, where we offer a libation of sacrifice and then deploy at the foot to the Ancient City spur. A small representation of the Megaran/Persian fight (which actually happened 8 kilometers to the east).
2000L – camp closed, go to bed, because…
Thursday—
0400 Σύναξις (Yes, that’s right.) Form in phalanx practised yesterday, in the dark. Drive/bus to ‘Spartan Second Position’ in time for sun up. Lectures on the battle. Then whole Phalanx (now playing Spartans) will march from Spartan Second Position to Spartan Final Position. The real march on the real route at the correct time of day!
12-1600 Docent/Interpreter at the Visitor Center, otherwise, everyone back in camp resting.
1600L Σύναξις for drill and experiments
1800L Archery Contest with prize. ( A silver cloak brooch)
2000L Day over, camp closed.
Friday –
0730L Officer’s Call (Morning meeting)

800. Σύναξις .
     Second ‘Scenario,’ the fight between the Athenian Phalanx and the Theban Phalanx (and cavalry).
     We’ll drive to Theban Camp and then the Athenian Position. Lectures on the battle at this position. ‘
     0930L Athenian vs Theban fight on the original ground.
     1200 back in camp.
     11-1600 Docent/Interpreter in Visitor’s Center
     1600L Σύναξις Sunaxis for safety inspection, discussion of the battles so far, briefing on Saturday climax ‘battle.’ Practice for battlefield interactions Saturday; scripted combats assigned and practised. Further experiments
     1800L Footraces; Two Stadion, Two Stadion in armour. (Awards for all participants)
     Voting for Best Hoplite (Gets to kill Mardonios on Saturday!)
     2000L camp closed, dinner.
     Saturday
     0730L Officer’s call
     0800L Σύναξις (muster). Safety inspection and drill. Board buses (0830)
     Saturday the ‘event’ moves to the ‘Spartan Third Position’ at Aghios Dimitrios
     1000L Persians attack Aghios Dimitrios (up the road and around the high ground if sufficient psiloi)
     1100L climax of the battle
     1200L back to camp
     1200L-??? Camp open to public, individual and group demonstrations (NB this is probably the only day we’ll get public, but… we don’t know yet.)
     Sunday
     0730L Officers Call
     0800L Last Σύναξις
     0900L Closing Ceremony (Location TBD) Re-enacting the yearly ceremony for the fallen at Plataea (still performed in 250AD
     1000L-1200L Final experiments
     0800L –1600L Pack out all day. Events are for those who can make them.
     1200-1600 for those staying, a large military demonstration at the museum in Thiva.