Classical reenactment

Classical reenactment tends to focus on portrayals of the Greco-Roman world, and especially on modern recreations of Roman legions and ancient Greek hoplites.

Roman reenacting

Reenacters portraying 1st-2nd century AD Roman legionaries

Most groups that concentrate on Roman reenacting focus on one particular Roman legion; nearly all of the legions portrayed actually existed historically, and the reenactors strive to recreate the legion as accurately as possible. This attention to realism generally extends to the equipment worn and displayed, and to behavior displayed to each other and especially to the public; indeed, many public demonstrations attempt to recreate Roman military drills, marches, and even stage mock battles.

Roman reenactment groups usually welcome women and children, in an effort to both accommodate entire families and to portray Roman civilian life. Additionally, it is not unknown for older male reenactors (who might have previously played Roman legionaries) to portray consuls, senators, or even a Roman emperor.

The Roman Army did not remain static and, whilst sometimes demonstrating these changes in displays of the evolving equipment and appearance of the legionary, most groups also focus on a particular time period. The most popular period is probably the 1st-2nd century, with legionaries wearing the characteristic segmented armour illustrated on Trajan's Column. However, some groups portray the Late Roman legion, after the army reforms of Diocletian.

Roman reenacting is popular in both the United States and Europe.

Roman gladiator reeenacting

A smaller subset of Roman reenactors attempt to recreate Roman gladiator troupes. Some of these groups are part of larger Roman reenactment groups, and others are wholly independent, though they might participate in larger demonstrations of Roman reenacting or historical reenacting in general. These groups usually focus on portraying mock gladiatorial combat in as accurate a manner as possible.

Ancient Greeks reenacting

Reenacters portraying 5th century BC Greek hoplites

Greek reenacting groups concentrate mostly on classic era hoplites though archaic, hellenistic and earlier eras are becoming popular as well. Most reenactors focus on Greek hoplites and tend to depict the classical ages around the Peloponnesian wars, but accurate depictions of Greeks in earlier Mycenaean and other times are beginning to show up such as the Persian wars and that of the Macedonian phalanx. Besides groups there are also individuals that sometimes excel in their efforts to reenact the heroes of ancient Greece. International conventions are being held with the first being in Watford, Britain in the summer of 2006.

Some groups stage mock battles such as the Spartan warband that equips its members with durable aspis and equipment and reenact the Phalanx formation tactics to their fullest extent by making two hoplite squads of reenactors to clash with each other.The Spartan Army is very popular as a theme as can be evidenced by the The Hellenic Warriors who appear at museums, schools and universities on the east coast of the United States.

The biggest hype in groups seems to be shield devices as they differentiate each reenactor in a similar way as that of the medieval knights.

Greek reenacting is popular in the United States, Europe and Australia and whose members from around the world will gather at the 2010 International Ancient Greek Hoplite Festival.

Celts re-enacting

Celts, Gauls and any and all of the many tribes are being re-enacted from tribal warfare to even domestic re-enactment of Celtic societies. Many specific tribes are being re-enacted, as are important events such as battles and festivals. Typically, Celtic groups are sister groups to a Roman legion.

See also