 Psiloi

In Ancient Greek armies, the psiloi (Ancient Greek , singular ψιλός, "psilos", literally "bare, stripped") were the light infantry who usually acted as skirmishers and missile troops, and who were distinguished from the armored "hoplitai" (heavy infantry) by their light weapons and lack of armor.In Classical Antiquity and Late Antiquity and throughout the existence of the Byzantine empire, the lightest-armed troops, typically equipped with ranged weapons, and which fought irregularly in a loose formation, were deemed 'the "psiloi"'.