had a go at an edit, but i dont know if i improved anything
(http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/5199/greekft7.gif)(http://www.grapes.schlet.net/roman/new.gif)
im not sure what kind of game you want him to be used in, so its difficult to really know what to do (looks like it would be good for some sort of advance wars gameplay meets rome: total war thing)
Firstly, the second sprite doesn't like this background color. The outline on the first brings it out, but some of the colors in your palette are so close in value to the bg of your post that the second sprite is very indistinct. The first doesn't suffer from this because it has an outline.
First sprite:
-words left out-
Second Sprite:
The arms are way too long. The way its shaded right now, his right arm would reach below the floor and his left arm would reach his ankle. Again you've got block hands, which someone else can help with. His right foot looks too wide, and his left foot looks to short. He looks much more muscular in this one than in the first sprite, largely due to the very defined pectoral muscles.
Overall, this is quite a good start. You've got some things to tweak, but the sprites are started well. Welcome to the world of posting on Pixelation!
Adarias posted while I was typing and provided an edit. Pay attention to it! I think, however, that the use of skintone for highlihgts on the tunic makes it looks like it has holes in it. Other than that, it's a very nice edit.