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Hey all,
it's been a while since I've been here, kind of went a little crazy then bugged out to other forums for some Kickstarter games. Anyways while I wait for those games to arrive I'm going to need something to play. I tried PP, but I just couldn't get past the quality of their sculpts compared to GW. Say what you want about GWs business practices, their minis are very pretty. Anyways the army that I originally played my first 40K game with just got updated, so I figure I might as well get back into the game with a Tau army, but me being me I just can't leave them stock. So after hearing the Ethereal Caste compared to the philosopher kings in Plato's Republic I thought that maybe making a Greek themed Tau army might work.
So far the only ideas I've thought of were making some crests on their helmets and maybe some armored skirts like the old hoplite armor, but I'm wondering if anyone else has any other ideas as to how I can convert a Tau army to have a Greek theme?

Little boys instead of drones?

and kroot slaves!

I think saying they're like the Philosopher King's in The Republic is a wonderful comparison, one that I'm not sure whether I agree with or not. Either way, I say do it.

The colour scheme could look fantastic, though I am curious how you'll customise the Firewarriors or Kroot.

What Greek city are basing it off? I assume either Athens or Sparta as they're the most famous two of the Greek era, though Sparta would be more difficult to do.

Personally I think a Roman theme is easier for Tau (especially in terms of colour and customisataion) but I'm really curious of how this'll turn out :3

Well as far as what City State, Athens of course, but I really like the idea of a Roman theme, I'll have to think about this.
on one hand I was intending to include some Kroot in the army, and making them auxilia would make sense.
however on the other hand the drone's would be prefect to paint the tops like the old style shields.
who knows I may not be able to decide and have to make an hybrid of the two, decisions, decisions.

I think the shield idea is cool, and remmeber Romans had round shields too Also sorry about the size of the image, no idea how to change it down xD



Or you could do the traditional Roman shield design on a circle

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Greek_vase_with_different_sportsmen.jpg

I have an amazing idea. Make the tau dudes orange with black like in the link. This would make it look like the orange and black pottery they had and you could paint famous scenes like the judgement of Paris on the flat heads of the drones. Around the edges of your models you could have the designs that border the top of the vase. It would certainly be an army that stands out on the tabletop!

I'm just a novice and I don't actual play 40K, preferring the painting and lore side of it, but, not to sound too boastful, Ancient Greek History is a particular area of interest for me so I may be able to help.

I think your main difficulty will be with how your army is going to perform:

First off, not that I claim to know much about Tau armies, I gather they are notoriously 'shooty' - this is going to be in direct conflict with your Greek theme, as the Greeks were famed for being close-quarters phalanx fighters. It wasn't until the Pelopennesion War (Athens v Sparta), in which Iphcratid reforms of the Athenian General Iphicrates produced a distinct shift in Greek combat practice to include large numbers of peltasts within armies. This is going to be your main problem, but also the battle-suits and vehicles of the Tau are going to be effectively serving as modern cavalry - again, not something the Greeks had lots of. You may want to focus on one of 2 main areas of Ancient Greek History - Classical Greece (Greek City States, Greco-Persian Wars and Pelopennesian War) or Macedonian and Hellenistic Greece (Alexander the Great and the Diadochoi Wars - the wars of his generals after his death).

However, all is not lost!:

- I reckon by giving your Tau Firewarriors a combination of round shields (Possibly some sort of hand-held shield drone), and a pulse-rifle (maybe with bayonet) in the form of a long spear you'll get a distinct 'Hoplite' style to your Firewarriors.

- If you choose to include Kroot they're slightly barbaric look and tendency for light equipment will tie in perfectly as the peltasts of Ancient Greece.

- Your vehicles are less of a problem as obviously you want to retain a Tau army, so people will recognise your deviation from the Greek theme in that respect - Whilst Ancient Greek combat was not centered around Cavalry, they certainly did make use of it (Especially in the Macedonian Era), and there were city-states of Greece such as Corinth, Thessalonica and Apollonia that were famed for their cavalry.

-Obviously, if you go for the Classical Ancient Greece period as your theme, you can include all the horsehair crests you want on your warriors!

Hope this helps (Despite it's length), and if you have any more questions feel free to ask!

Hmm, I've also been thinking about an Ancient Chinese themed army after noticing how easy it would be to convert the current Tau to look like Ming Dynasty warriors. also the Ming Dynasty draws some parallels to Tau empire culture. also the Ming style of war is very similar to the Tau playstyle, so that's another possibility.

I've gotta say, if any army is suited to converting to Greeks - Tau has to be the hardest. Eldar are probably the best, then a Space Marine Chapter, but Tau are going to be difficult. Now you may have something with the Chinese theme as the Chinese are famed for being Technical Innovators as well as having some pretty iconic cultural aesthetics! I say that's your best bet IMHO!