Ive spent a while thinking about this and i cant find an answer, Eldar are close due to similar Religious views (Khaine is almost a double of Ares, Vaul is shares a story with Hephaestus, ect) but there are also Egyptian influences en-masse which seem to deter that. The imperium is based off of a Soviet / Third Reich style Hyper-Religious view of things, and is based of Catholicism not Orthodoxy so shares little if not no similarities. Ultramarines are based off of a Greco-Roman Stand point, yet have few Greek references included and too many Roman ones. Tau arent even in question, same with tyranids, orks, nearly 100% of other chapters listed officially, the Inquisition is another catholic practise, the IG so far has no regiments resembling WWI, WWII, Modern or Ancient Greek Armies, and necrons just simply share no likes at all.

Im really baffled at finding anything, if anyone has any similarities that ive missed out, or influences that ive forgotten to look over it would be really appreciated if you could post them here please.



Dakkawolf 07

Blood Angels are the Greeks here.


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Oh, and Necrons are more of an Egyptian rip-off than the Eldar.

Alkasyn wrote:Blood Angels are the Greeks here.

Really? Are they?

Okay, im going to assume (dangerous I know) that the OP is thinking of ancient greek styles etc etc...

In which case, I cant think of one but could make for an nice looking space marine chapter of your own! Or the custodian guard (arn't there 300 personal guard to the Emperor?)!

Check out the Iron Snakes by Dan Abnet - he was certainly thinking Greek Warriors when he wrote about them....... (or watching the excellent 300)

In at least one of the stories they even fight a bit like them with spear and shield!

its cool

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Iron_Snakes

Ultramarines have essentially Roman spirit.
They are the closest thing when it comes to Antic culture.

Presuming the question referes to classical Greece, there aren't many direct analogues, beyond the Iron Snakes and (to a lesser extent) the Ultramarines, whose background is a vaguely classical mish-mash.

Other than that, the Imperium itself draws heavily upon Mediaeval Byzantium, and Warmaster Macharius is very obviously Alexander the Great. The Blood Angels' general style, however, is borrowed from Renaissance Italy, not classical Greece. Likewise, what of the Eldar isn't borrowed from Michael Moorcock is mainly Egyptian, not Greek.

As suggested above, if you want something authentically based in classical/Hellenistic Greece, you'd be better inventing your own Guard regiment or Astartes chapter.

PrometheusZero wrote:Or the custodian guard (arn't there 300 personal guard to the Emperor?)!

The Adeptus Custodes number around 10000, of which 300 are the so-called "Companions", the Emperor's personal bodyguard. They're not space marines though.

The only think I can think of is the Alpha Legion, and that's a small resemblance. They had a democratic council for forming plans, and their symbol was the Hydra. Alpharius' weapon was Roman though.

AlmightyWalrus wrote:The Adeptus Custodes number around 10000, of which 300 are the so-called "Companions", the Emperor's personal bodyguard. They're not space marines though.

The custodian guard aren't space marines?

Do you mean that they arn't part of the legions or that they are not gene-seed warriors?

As a slightly off-topic question resulting from this, are the terms 'Space Marines' and 'Adeptus Astartes' synonymous?

Adeptus Custodes, not custodians. One cleans the halls, one guards them.

Regardless, I would say Ultramarines. They're basically roman supersoldiers IIIIIN SPAAAAAAAAAAAACE.

YEah but Greeks in Spaceeeeee are wanted - so I'd go with the Iron Snakes!

or as suggested make up a Greek style planet and associated PDF/Guard/Astartes.........

Orks.

They have no economy worth mentioning, riot for no reason, and exist everywhere in the known world.

DarknessEternal wrote:Orks.

They have no economy worth mentioning, riot for no reason, and exist everywhere in the known world.

This post wins the thread.

Melissia wrote:Adeptus Custodes, not custodians. One cleans the halls, one guards them.

Regardless, I would say Ultramarines. They're basically roman supersoldiers IIIIIN SPAAAAAAAAAAAACE.

The audio books call the Custondian Guard.

Blood Angels are Greek. Iron Snakes are Spartans too.

KamikazeCanuck wrote:Blood Angels are Greek. Iron Snakes are Spartans too.

Did I miss some significant change in the background? The Blood Angels do still come from a world called Baal and have names like Dante, Raphael and Lorenzo, right?

Orks most closely resemble present-day Greeks.

Derp.

English Assassin wrote:

KamikazeCanuck wrote:Blood Angels are Greek. Iron Snakes are Spartans too.

Did I miss some significant change in the background? The Blood Angels do still come from a world called Baal and have names like Dante, Raphael and Lorenzo, right?

Hmmm......good point.

Blood Angels are basically Transylvania Knights with a hint of Italian.
Greeks and Italians are completely different.
Greeks had shields on all their soldiers.
Romans had ranks of soldiers.
Romans and greeks are completely different.
Only similarities are their gods, and some parts of their government.
Romans do not equal the ancient greeks.

Fluff wise I have no idea

Army list wise:

Coteaz
6x units of 12 crusaders

Model the crusaders as hoplites, and deploy/move as a phalanx. 3+ invul means you don't mind being out of cover, so you can act like a true greek phalanx. Also tough as nails due to the invuln, compared to other T3 troops.

DarknessEternal wrote:Orks.

They have no economy worth mentioning, riot for no reason, and exist everywhere in the known world.

I fell of my chair when i read this. 1+ internets to you sir!

As far as looks go it would be Ultrasmurfs due to the Honour Guard having plumy heads. Your best bet would probably be to knock out your own Chapter and turn em into ancient Greeks.

Well i meant either age, modern, ancient and medieval. I considered Blood angels, but i dont see many references, iron snakes i did forget however, but i dont see what im looking for directly in them.

the BAs are more Roman in their style(Batnipple Sanguinary Guard armor plates anyone?)

Well then I'd have to say the Iron Snakes of Ithaka are the Greeks of the grim dark universe. Spartan though they may be.

Grey Templar wrote:the BAs are more Roman in their style(Batnipple Sanguinary Guard armor plates anyone?)

Sanguinary Guard are based on the stylized Greek imagery of armor, Romans used a very different style.

Roman armor:





Greek Armor:

So many uneducated posters... the fail is strong in this thread.

Well the Iron snakes i had a look at are VERY close, im just curious as to any other possible armies / races which have resemblences.. Ultra's as ive said before are Roman, they use a Gladius as their main close combat weapon and their whole codex is based off of Roman ideals (companies - Cohorts).. Blood angels again, you could find similarities but not any significant ones..

Platuan4th wrote:

Grey Templar wrote:the BAs are more Roman in their style(Batnipple Sanguinary Guard armor plates anyone?)

Sanguinary Guard are based on the stylized Greek imagery of armor, Romans used a very different style.

Roman armor:





Greek Armor:

Stupid me

I meant Greece. Don't know what I was thinking, it was too early to be posting.

dakkawolf wrote:Well i meant either age, modern, ancient and medieval. I considered Blood angels, but i dont see many references, iron snakes i did forget however, but i dont see what im looking for directly in them.

So what *are* you looking for?

If you're looking for some sort of Jason-and-the-Argonauts sort of Chapter, or a Chapter that is something like the movie 300... well... that's pretty much *any* SM Chapter... or the Space Wolves, specifically. Fighting monsters and dragons, finding lost treasures, defeating tens of thousands with 3 guys, you know, that sort of thing...

Other than that... well, SM Power Armor is all fairly standardized, with some minor variation in helmet and power-pack design, their standard troop issues/types are likewise fairly standard and none of them practice democracy in any way, shape or form. I don't think any of them use grox-drawn chariots in battle, not even the White Scars, and only the GKs make standard use of a weapon resembling a spear. Most Marines will prefer the bolter, or the chainsword, depending on the tactical situation of the moment. Against these sorts of weapons or, well, any weapon capable of automatic fire or firing any kind of high-explosive, a phalanx-style infantry formation is a good way to get yourself killed.

Again, I think it comes down to knowing more about what you're specifically looking for so we can maybe figure out a more-suitable suggestion.

FuryTheBerserker wrote:So many uneducated posters... the fail is strong in this thread.

It is, but this is as good a place as any to learn.


The Iron Snakes chapter of Ithaka and presumably The Minotaurs chapter are the only official Greek 40K entities out there .
The muscle cuirass armour people are referring to was adopted by the Romans from the Greeks, as were the horse hair crescent shaped plumes on their helmets. The early Roman Army was based on the Greek Army. The Blood Angels have a vampirish theme to them and the names like Baal and Mephiston are associated with devils in christian writing while their company captains have names similar to Italians living in the late middle ages/renaissance period. The renaissance period was a return to the art and culture of the classical world (not religious obviously) so that is where any classical influence is likely to derive from.

If you look at the history, names, and successor chapters of the Imperial Fists, you'll see some very very strong Greek themes. I would put them ahead of any other chapter as the closest to the Hellenic League.

@psiensis well tbh, i first of all had an idea of something resembling the Hellenic Army, but seeing as that would only be matched by IG regiments in its function i kinda relaxed my views slightly.

The Iron snakes so far as pointed out so far, are pretty much all im gonna find that actually has near obvious references instead of subtle ones.

@Lobukia The Imperial Fists are based off of junkers / prussians in their naming style *not sure about exact practises*, and as for a reference to Alexander in the Sons of dorn description i cant find anything which springs out *sorry if im missing something infront of my eyes, its early morning here *

Grey Templar wrote:the BAs are more Roman in their style(Batnipple Sanguinary Guard armor plates anyone?)

Given their broadly Renaissance Italian names and style, I am inclined to assume that the Sanguinary Guard's armour is intended to evoke the statuary of that era (itself obviously faux-classical) rather than Hoplite armour.

Interesting pick up on the Greek names in the Imperial Fists successors, especially the Soul drinkers.
The Fists themselves are all over the place with German, Greek, French, Russian, Chinese and Indian names that I could recognize.
The Crimson Fists are heavily Spanish sounding.
The Iron Knights are from Bycantia (Byzantium) which was a Greek City but that's only a single name.
The Executioners sound like their names came via a shot of meth.
The Black Templars are strongly mediaeval German in name and culture.

The Iron Snakes by far are the most obviously Greek Chapter with their names and culture.
The Minotaurs as I mentioned in my previous post are also Greek flavoured due to their name and chapter icon and I'd say that the Soul Drinkers have a lot of Greek names too but nothing particularly greek in their culture.

Quite simply you won't find an exact match. GW borrows and mixes historical influences all over the place. You will have to determine what you think is close enough to what you are looking for.


Now, personally, if your goal is to create a Hellenistic Greece theme, another point to consider is in relation to what? If the Imperium and the Ecclesiarchy is akin to medieval Europe, then I think Eldar would fill the thematic role. Aside from having the high horsehair crests and Corinthian like helms, they also fit the role of being an older culture, viewed as flawed and decadent by the "current" medieval themed culture.

@cadbren Yeah i saw a few similarities, but i agree with the Iron snakes being the most Greek of 40k, also with a chapter master called Pedro im sure their Spanish based

@Icrandus The only issue i have with Eldar is that they have a heavy Chinese / Egyptian base to them, the Mythology is a Greeco-Egyptian mix, though i see your point, its hard to find solid ground to work of with them.

dakkawolf wrote:@cadbren Yeah i saw a few similarities, but i agree with the Iron snakes being the most Greek of 40k, also with a chapter master called Pedro im sure their Spanish based

@Icrandus The only issue i have with Eldar is that they have a heavy Chinese / Egyptian base to them, the Mythology is a Greeco-Egyptian mix, though i see your point, its hard to find solid ground to work of with them.

It will also depend on what type of "Greek" theme you are trying for. Are you trying for a Classical Greek or a Hellenistic Greek? The latter did have mixture with other cultures such as Egyptian and Persian.

I find the Ultramarines quite greeky. They have that horseshoe emblem. They have elites with spears. They are very egalitarian. They have lots of leaves on their heraldry.

@ChaosGalvatron As mentioned earlier, the Ultra's have some greek references, but are quite literally Romans in space (i.e. their battle tactics, the fact their main close combat weapon is a gladius, their general look based off of Roman Legionaries, and more).

Sorry, just to make a note here, the only references *atm* i can think of that the Ultramarines have is The Fortress of Hera on Macragge.

what aspect of I'm just going to say ancient greece is the OP looking for.
government style aka mob rule in athens or oligarchy everywhere else, going to be kind of hard to find.

if you're looking for style of warfare. The orks are going to be the closest in my opinion. Greek warfare before Rome was almost constant, involved everyone ages 18-41 was very brutal but short and didn't incure very many casulties.

It was a very effective means of deciding political disputes outside of politics. the loosing side typically only lost 15% at most. A very low attrition rate.

Ork society is known for its constant warfare, somehow still being highly successful and being led by strongman(which besides athens, often as not greece was run this way) the orks are almost always broken up into lots of small communities as well. sounds a lot like the mountains and valleys of greece. The orks also have a very straitforward simply style of warfare with very little "low cunning" It would fit into a very orkish culture to simply put all the big guys on the right wing to let them beat up on all the little guys. which is exactly what greece did.

Greeks also prefered shock warfare above all other types, straight and simple battle decides everything and everyone abides by that. Much how ork forces are formed and continue to snowball with no hardfeeling from the conquered. Orks seemed to have inherited the western idea of shock warfare from the greeks!

If there isn't a SM chapter that satisfies you, just make a DIY one. Problem solved.

I would say Ultramarines or Imperial Fists. They have an ornamental mane on top of their helmets, and a repeating theme of pylons in their structures and vehicles.

its a matter of what you're looking for, if you want fights like greeks, I think that orks are far closer. If you want looks like greeks, well then you'd probably have to stay away from xenos. The religious aspect of space marines really just turns me off to them as greeks compared to war as a continuation of politics which orks seem closer too. For them it just doesn't take much to exhaust their political means.

Orks are the most like ancient Greece, because Ork players love boyz.

I think the Sons of Sparta have this thread beat

dakkawolf wrote:Sorry, just to make a note here, the only references *atm* i can think of that the Ultramarines have is The Fortress of Hera on Macragge.

A large percentage of named marines have a Greek flavour such as Learchus, Pausanius, Chronus, Lysimachus, Antilochus and Ixion. I don't know if Agemmon is a real name but it seems to be based on Agamemnon.

Something about orks just seems alittle wrong to fit, though i see where your coming from with that ^_^

I have thought of DIY chapters, but i was wondering if any existing references could be found, the Iron snakes are very alike with Ancient greece. I just dont see where the Imperial fists *based off of Prussian references and likenesses* have any references personally =\

As for the modern Hellenic Army, im gonna leave that out of my searches, as IG seems to have that held down in general.

Names wise i agree with you on that Cadbren, but names alone for me dont seem to fit.

Definitely blood angels, because they have the latin names, like dante and corbulo.

Personally, I am appalled at the insensitivity directed at our friends the Greeks in this thread. They in no way resemble the Orks who, in turn, should also be appalled at the level of insensitivity in this thread at being compared to Greeks. *takes off PC hat*

Now, I think the 'Snakes' are a good bet.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/ancient_greeks/greeks_at_war/

Look at the photos of the vases. The snake was a very common theme amongst Greek Hoplites. There must be something to it that a Space Marine Chapter uses such iconography especially since it's displayed in much the same way.

Edit: I HATE trying to post pictures!!!

Uhlan wrote:Personally, I am appalled at the insensitivity directed at our friends the Greeks in this thread. They in no way resemble the Orks who, in turn, should also be appalled at the level of insensitivity in this thread at being compared to Greeks. *takes off PC hat*

Now, I think the 'Snakes' are a good bet.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/ancient_greeks/greeks_at_war/

Look at the photos of the vases. The snake was a very common theme amongst Greek Hoplites. There must be something to it that a Space Marine Chapter uses such iconography especially since it's displayed in much the same way.

Edit: I HATE trying to post pictures!!!

sir, i may not agree with what you say, i will respect it, since it is a valid viewpoint. but, i can see what you mean, i still say blood angels though.

so instead of just saying "NO!" to my ork hypothesis. (I'm looking at you uhlan) I would enjoy a slightly more thought provoking response. One I could possible respond too?

I also must say that as an ork player and able to represent my own waagh quite ably, I have asked my orks and they do not find being compared to greeks offensive at all after being informed of their former glory as heavy infantry.

I must admit I am not going with looks so I understand the OP, though I'm positive some creative modelling could give you some very greek looking orks. if you wanted to use fantasy bases and spears, that could be very effective. I have a few orks I've given spears and I really like the look.

Just to point out. Nids are very similar to the 'Alien' films, Crons are similar to the terminator, maybe it is a good idea to look towards films as well as history. Sentinels- Star Wars walkers anyone, what about Stormtroopers, hell what about Starship Troopers?

Orks are pretty much the opposite of Greeks in the 40K setting. Greeks are supposed to be the creators of western civilization. Orks are the destroyers of civilization. Orks represent the many Celtic and Germanic barbarians that beset Rome.

Problem is 'Greece' in ancient times wasn't Greece as we tend to think of it now.

It was several massively different nations, that all got lumped together by historians.

Sparta was as much a part of Greece (from that perpective) as Athens.

Athens was civilized and considered decadent. It was famous for its fleets and for its thinkers/philosphers.

Sparta was not too big on eggheads, turning out badasses instead who spent most of their lives in one war or another.

Boeitia (sp?) was farmlands mainly- peaceful and pretty dull..

There are a heap of others in the area with their own identity.

Orks have some aspects of the Spartan, but minus the iron discipline. They are bred for, and obsessed with war, low tech, prone to using slaves as bullet shields (helots=grots) don't really care much about money or diplomacy etc etc..

Eldar are more like Athenians. Very high tech, artistic, philosophical, with soem of the best ships around, living in massive fortified cities.

SM also have something of the Spartan ethos, mixed with a hefty dose of Knights Templar and medieval monasticism and a wodge of late period Rome.

The DE fit the ruling classes of Athens and surrounding area well, only hinked up and darker. The Hippeas class and above turned up to 11.


Visually the Dark Eldar ships resemble the Athenian Biremes and Triremes quite closely (for futuristic trop transports).

Basically it depends on what you consider 'Greece" and at what historical period you're looking.

woah there Ascalam Greece did have its own identity and consider itself to be of the same ethos They did this through games at Olympia and Delphi and other PAN-HELLENIC shrines. I believe that everyone pretty well agrees that there is no obvious fit. Most historians or at least half way decent ones, do tend to stack athens, sparta, and then the rest of greece in seperate piles. I believe that when looking at ancient greece outside of athens and sparta, several similarities can be drawn between ork Kulture. If one wishes to emphasize this in their army, it could work. But as you point out, many other races share some similarities and if a particular army wished to emphasize that, it could work as well

remilia_scarlet wrote:Definitely blood angels, because they have the latin names, like dante and corbulo.

Which would make them Romans, not Greeks. Or would if Dante were not a name from Renaissance Florence rather than Classical Rome.

vercingatorix wrote:woah there Ascalam Greece did have its own identity and consider itself to be of the same ethos They did this through games at Olympia and Delphi and other PAN-HELLENIC shrines. I believe that everyone pretty well agrees that there is no obvious fit. Most historians or at least half way decent ones, do tend to stack athens, sparta, and then the rest of greece in seperate piles. I believe that when looking at ancient greece outside of athens and sparta, several similarities can be drawn between ork Kulture. If one wishes to emphasize this in their army, it could work. But as you point out, many other races share some similarities and if a particular army wished to emphasize that, it could work as well

At which period?

They considered themselves to be from Hellas (not Greece yet). They weren't referred to as greeks, but as Hellenes, coming from Hellas (the area the various Greek city-states were in). It's much like referring to the various pre-columbian cultures in south america as being all one identity. They shared a common group of languages, similar mythology etc also.

The Hellenes usually referred to themselves by nationality, rather than by a group nationality, referring to themselves as Dorians, Spartans, Ionians etc etc.

They did hold multinational events such as the games at Olympia and Delphi (and most considered the Pytheia there holy), and they shared a common language and compatible (not completely congruent) mythology, but unless they were travelling outside the Aegean they would be far more likely to refer to themselves by the city-state they originated from.

At least until Aristotle came along, in mid-late period Athens.

'Greek (n.) O.E. Grecas, Crecas (pl.), early Germanic borrowing from L. Graeci "the Hellenes," from Gk. Grakoi. Aristotle, who was the first to use Graikhos as equivalent to Hellenes ("Meteorologica" I.xiv), wrote that it was the name originally used by Illyrians for the Dorians in Epirus, from Graii, native name of the people of Epirus.

But a modern theory (put forth by German classical historian Georg Busolt, 1850-1920), derives it from Graikhos "inhabitant of Graia" (lit. "gray"), a town on the coast of Boeotia, which was the name given by the Romans to all Greeks, originally to the Greek colonists from Graia who helped found Cumae (9c. B.C.E.), the important city in southern Italy where the Latins first encountered Greeks. Under this theory, it was reborrowed in this general sense by the Greeks.

The Germanic languages originally borrowed the word with an initial -k- sound (cf. O.H.G. Chrech, Goth. Kreks), which probably was their initial sound closest to the Latin -g- at the time; the word was later refashioned.
It was subtle of God to learn Greek when he wished to become an author -- and not to learn it better. [Nietzsche, "Beyond Good and Evil," 1886]
Meaning "the Greek language" is from late 14c.; meaning "unintelligible speech, gibberish" is from c.1600. Meaning "Greek letter fraternity member" is student slang, 1900. Greek (adj.) late 14c., from Greek (n.). Earlier Gregeis (c.1300), from O.Fr. Gregois; also Greekish (O.E. Grecisc). In venery, "anal," by 1970. Greek gift is from "Æneid," II.49: "timeo Danaos et dona ferentes." '

@Uhlan Yeah i agree, ive noticed the snake iconography used often (and totally agree with the snakes as ive mentioned earleir in this thread), only thing which bugs me is about the Hydra iconography of the alpha legion, which is a Greece reference, yet they hold no Greek similarities (Ancient, Classical, medieval or modern Hellenic army / peoples).

@Ascalam You could say the same about Italians though, if you were from Florence you were florentine, if you were from Venice you were Venetian, and yet they were Italians under one pile *im talking italy as a united country*

Iron Snakes. i think Ultras are more like romans

also cusodes have a bit of greek feel
constantin valdor, haedo emankon, amon tauromachian

Eldar are really the most Greek race.
Necrons are the most Egyptian.
Ultramarines are definitely Roman.

remilia_scarlet wrote:Definitely blood angels, because they have the latin names, like dante and corbulo.

Latin = Roman, NOT Greek.

The eldar or ultramarines.

The Eldar have it because of their paths system. They means of avoiding slaanesh are "Pursue excellence, avoid excess" which sounds similar to Aristotle ethical system. Although they do have egpytian and chinese influences for their mythology and aesthetics.

If you want another group of high minded, civilized warriors. Look no further than the ultramarines.

dakkawolf wrote:@Uhlan Yeah i agree, ive noticed the snake iconography used often (and totally agree with the snakes as ive mentioned earleir in this thread), only thing which bugs me is about the Hydra iconography of the alpha legion, which is a Greece reference, yet they hold no Greek similarities (Ancient, Classical, medieval or modern Hellenic army / peoples).

@Ascalam You could say the same about Italians though, if you were from Florence you were florentine, if you were from Venice you were Venetian, and yet they were Italians under one pile *im talking italy as a united country*

You could indeed. Italians didn't consider themselves Italian (as a nationality) until relatively recently. I've lived there (about 10 years back), and there are still regional tensions between areas of Italy then. The Italians i spent time around considered themselves Florentine first, italian second, or Neopolitan first, Italian second , especially amonst the older guys. The younger folk considered themselves Italian, from an particular area.

They considered themselves Italian in much the same way being British doesn't necessarily mean you come from England. These days the region definitions are pretty much the same as the nationality, but that's a fairly recent thing.

What i meant is, is that even though they considered themselves as their province stated, they were Italians even loosely considered. So as to state one being spartan or Conrinthian would still make a statement as one being Greek *sorry went round the houses there*


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@Cuthulisspy Ultra's are just too Roman to fit in with it

@Farseer Petriel I have considered it before that the Eldar fit in with the Greeks, however there are alot of chinese, celtic and Egyptian references which put me off. Though as i stated before, i can totally see the similarities.

dakkawolf wrote:@Uhlan Yeah i agree, ive noticed the snake iconography used often (and totally agree with the snakes as ive mentioned earleir in this thread), only thing which bugs me is about the Hydra iconography of the alpha legion, which is a Greece reference, yet they hold no Greek similarities (Ancient, Classical, medieval or modern Hellenic army / peoples).

Their primarchs were Alpharius and Omegon. Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.

@Cadbren And yet thats kinda the same reason why Ultramarines dont fit, they have Iconography and names included in their fluff, but have few other identifying traits.
Alpha legion ftw btw, always thought they were cool (alongside night lords).

Its dark eldar you can tell by their leaders, the archons, a name given to a type of ancient greek office
the 2nd closest is eldar due to their mythological stories.

Using your fourht post on Dakka to raise a long dead thread from the grave is not a good idea. This is called threadomancy.

 KamikazeCanuck wrote:
Orks are pretty much the opposite of Greeks in the 40K setting. Greeks are supposed to be the creators of western civilization. Orks are the destroyers of civilization. Orks represent the many Celtic and Germanic barbarians that beset Rome.

roman propagenda sir! the "barbarians" were more civilized then the romans or greeks in many aspects, they were talented craftsman understood trade like no other, even had their own roadsystem, women could run a business. the military was highly trained. they were not the mobs of ruthless and dumb killers as depicted by roman writings.

anyway back on topic, if you want a greek faction i think youd be best of by going with the eldar or spacemarines and just convert them a bit


edit: i got tricksed!

The Minotaurs have very strong Greek influences.
The Iron Hands also clearly have a lot of Greek influences.

And if nothing satisfies you, you could always create your own SM chapter/IG regiment/Craftworld/Whatever

Edit: Oh wow nevermind Threadomancy

atlervetok wrote:

 KamikazeCanuck wrote:
Orks are pretty much the opposite of Greeks in the 40K setting. Greeks are supposed to be the creators of western civilization. Orks are the destroyers of civilization. Orks represent the many Celtic and Germanic barbarians that beset Rome.

roman propagenda sir! the "barbarians" were more civilized then the romans or greeks in many aspects, they were talented craftsman understood trade like no other, even had their own roadsystem, women could run a business. the military was highly trained. they were not the mobs of ruthless and dumb killers as depicted by roman writings.

anyway back on topic, if you want a greek faction i think youd be best of by going with the eldar or spacemarines and just convert them a bit


edit: i got tricksed!

Holy thread necro. Anyway, 40k isn't necessarily based on history but rather popular conceptions of it.

Blood Angels are Greeks.

Ultramarines are Roman, though Space Marines in general borrow elements from both cultures.

I seem to recall the iron snakes reminding me of Greece. Here's the lexicanum link: http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Iron_Snakes#.Uu3XL3i9LTo

Yeah, they're based on greek culture very much.

Even down to their fighting style. The battle scene in Brothers of the Snake was very 300-esk(except they won)

Would the Minotaurs chapter fit in to this motif as Greek esque?


http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Minotaurs

 Alkasyn wrote:
Blood Angels are the Greeks here.

I'm calling bull turds on this.

The Phalanx was a static defensive line, that moved mostly off to the right rather than actually advancing. They never ran (save for marathon) and never needed to.

The blood angels are more like libyans, a fast army that covers distance quickly.

No army truly conforms to being greek in terms of millitary strategy, but DE comes close in terms of life philosophy. (Hedonism mixed in with the fickleness of existence, etc.)

Maybe the Minotaurs?


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 KamikazeCanuck wrote:
Orks are pretty much the opposite of Greeks in the 40K setting. Greeks are supposed to be the creators of western civilization. Orks are the destroyers of civilization. Orks represent the many Celtic and Germanic barbarians that beset Rome.

Actually, very few celtic tribes threatened rome after the punic wars. The last Germanic tribes to truly threaten Rome were just before the Marian Reforms; the next time Rome itself was threatened, it was no longer the heart of the empire.

My understanding of Greek fighting style; Greeks utilized a ritualized pike phalanx type of warfare for the most part. A bunch of dudes stood in a big square and stabbed at the opposing square until one side gave way, then they killed a bunch of the losing dudes as they ran away. Afterwards the losing side submitted to the will of the winning side. Lots of discipline involved, not as much strategy. Got a bit different when they went balls out full on warfare but I believe it was really the same thing + skirmishers and scorched earth policies, my memory is fuzzy there though.

My understanding of Greek culture; highly intellectual and scientific. Debates and aristotle and democracy so on and so forth. Alternatively spartan style discipline and focus on war and martial prowess. Obviously more to it than that but this is fantasy in space not a study in anthropology

So who matches that? I'd say the Eldar are pretty good matchups for the cultural side, but miles from the combat style. Ultramarines honestly seem to fit the combat style - heavily armoured, highly disciplined, and ritualized... and their culture fits the Spartan greek ethos (though it could be said to be the antithesis of Athenian due to the heavy influence of the imperial cult (in the good ones at least, not the herp derp lets use alien artefacts and ally with Tau marines))

The Ork Goff klan is pretty damn spartan too. They ded 'ard and ded serious, focused on war and who is the biggest. God I wish they'd get some klan specific rules to represent this.

FROM OP;

"Soviet / Third Reich style Hyper-Religious view of things"

You realize these guys were like the exact opposite of this, right?

The Ad Mech.

They fight in massive phalanxes of thousands of skitarii and march themselves at the enemy like a well oiled machine.


Don't they even call it a phalanx?

In any case, they sound like a classic greek army to me. (In reality, a Greek army was vastly different to the one we see in the media, but they did like to march masses of men at each other.)

 Zakiriel wrote:
Would the Minotaurs chapter fit in to this motif as Greek esque?

Spoiler:

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Minotaurs

Yeah Minotaurs = Greeks. One of their Contemptor Dreadnoughts is called Hekatos which is a Greek name that roughly translates to shooter from afar.

Minotaurs. They were designed as the "greek" army. You want greek you go with them.


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Did I just necro this thread?

Not fluffwise but game wise. Vanguard seige assault list: tacticals with seige mantlets, charcaradoons chapter tactics, chainswords modeled as 'spears'. Slow moving phlanx that could actually work in a game due to the reroll on the saves.

IN that case, maybe some converted death wing? give them shields and thunder spears (converted counts as hammers), and have some pskyers providing buffs and you might have something there. Love this idea btw.

About Greeks, it depends on how you think about them . I see that most of people here think of the greeks as the 300 from this f#£×*-¥ movie. It was not only Spartans who were known for their battle skills. Athenians were also masters of naval warfare and they also had a more well organised military system than Sparta's. I think more of the ultramarines but on the other hand, they all look more Roman than Greek to me. But i prefer ultramarines cause of the blue colours. But anyway, its interesting to see how other people see your country.

What about the Minotaurs? They look pretty Greek.

Pre-Heresy Thousand Sons. It gets as Greek (Macedonian, mostly) as you can.

What's Greek about PH TS? They're pretty overtly Egyptian styled.

Better question

Which Warhammer 40K race resembles Grease the most?

 BlaxicanX wrote:
Better question

Which Warhammer 40K race resembles Grease the most?

Well, the Iron Hands do have to keep those joints moving.

ImAGeek wrote:
What's Greek about PH TS? They're pretty overtly Egyptian styled.

A Thousand Sons (book) shows how they operated in Prospero. It looks quite greek-ish - learning centers, master and apprentices, some kind of democracy (low level staff) and freedom to the people. Thousand Sons weren't tyrants.

Their cloths/armour looks are more middle eastern, though.

Ultramarines are the most obviously Greek SM legion-chapter.

Some people have pointed out that they are Roman-like, but seeing as how Rome and Greece form the Greco-Roman culture - because of Greece's tremendous influence on Rome - exclusively Roman elements must be those that deviate from the classical ideals; bureaucracy, grandiosity and sensationalism.

As such, the most Roman legion are the Emperor's Children, not the Ultramarines.

UM' symbol is the inverted Omega while EC - and only EC - have the aquila.
UM' most holy place the temple of Hera.
UM' color is ultramarine (blue), the color of Greece, symbolizing the sea, the Greek's true home and moneymaker. EC on the other hand favor the imperial purple.
UM' great library was built by their first librarian, Ptolemy, a reference to the library of Alexandria.
UM wear chitons whereas EC favor the Roman toga.
UM' character names are almost exclusively Greek (or made up obviously), whereas EC names cover almost all Roman Emperor names.
- Note though that Greek (and Roman) names are in every faction of the Imperium.
UM also have a ton of subtle Greek references that someone can easily miss; e.g. the protagonist of the Ultramarines Omnibus, Ventris, is named after the archaeologist who decrypted linear B.

In any case, if Greco-Roman fits into your Greek notion, then most loyalist SM and the Imperium itself are the Greco-Romans.

Locked due to severe thread necromancy.