The third chap­ter of “The Cav­al­ry Gen­er­al” delves into the spe­cial­ized duties of a cav­al­ry gen­er­al, empha­siz­ing the impor­tance of acquir­ing divine favor through sac­ri­fices for the state cav­al­ry, enhanc­ing pub­lic fes­ti­vals and pro­ces­sions, and ensur­ing the grandeur of cav­al­ry dis­plays at var­i­ous loca­tions such as the Acad­e­my, Lyceum, and Phaleron. The text sug­gests that the pro­ces­sions be made splen­did by hav­ing rid­ers hon­or sacred sites and deities in a spe­cif­ic cer­e­mo­ni­al order, there­by link­ing mil­i­tary dis­play to reli­gious and civic tra­di­tion.

A detailed account is pro­vid­ed on how the cav­al­ry should maneu­ver dur­ing these pro­ces­sions and exhi­bi­tions to demon­strate their skill, dis­ci­pline, and the beau­ty of their for­ma­tions. This includes instruc­tions for lance posi­tion­ing to min­i­mize acci­dents and max­i­mize the impres­sion of order­ly ter­ror, a rapid gal­lop towards the Eleusin­ion, and a slow return to fur­ther hon­or the gods. These rec­om­men­da­tions not only aim to delight the gods and spec­ta­tors but also to instill pride and pre­ci­sion among the cav­al­ry­men.

The nar­ra­tive then tran­si­tions to dis­cussing the tac­ti­cal dis­plays dur­ing the march-past, par­tic­u­lar­ly before the javelin-throw­ing con­test in the Lyceum, empha­siz­ing the impor­tance of for­ma­tions that show­case the cav­al­ry’s readi­ness for bat­tle. Addi­tion­al­ly, it touch­es on train­ing for descend­ing steep inclines at a gal­lop, high­light­ing the neces­si­ty for troop­ers to trust in their skills and avoid learn­ing these crit­i­cal maneu­vers in the face of actu­al com­bat.

Last­ly, the chap­ter out­lines opti­mal per­for­mance dur­ing reviews and inspec­tions, sug­gest­ing that the com­mand­ing gen­er­al should uti­lize the out­er flank for con­tin­u­ous move­ment, there­by keep­ing the spec­ta­cle dynam­ic while allow­ing hors­es and rid­ers brief rest peri­ods. This strat­e­gy aims not only to demon­strate the pro­fi­cien­cy and sta­mi­na of the cav­al­ry but also to main­tain their readi­ness for extend­ed peri­ods with­out undue fatigue.

Over­all, this detailed nar­ra­tion of cav­al­ry duties under­scores the intri­cate bal­ance between cer­e­mo­ni­al pomp, rig­or­ous train­ing, and tac­ti­cal readi­ness, posi­tion­ing the cav­al­ry gen­er­al’s role as piv­otal to the state’s mil­i­tary and cer­e­mo­ni­al promi­nence.