greek phalanz

A detailed Summary of greek phalanz

To say that the Ancient Greeks liked to fight may not be an untruth, in fact whole poleis were based on warring and the art of making war. War was a way of everyday life for the Greeks. If not for mere survival, war was a way for a city to demonstrate its place on the food chain in Ancient Greece. The type of warfare developed for the period, and the use of such, has absolute relevance in our understanding of military history and the military today. Concentrated masses of men formed into what is known as the phalanx. This system permeated though the years to as recent as the civil war, over 2200 years. With war playing such a large part in Ancient Greek lives and the amount of warring that went on, it is imperative to understand the form of Ancient Greek warfare and it's leadership. Doing so, Grecian life will be easier to understand. Correlating what dimensions of this leadership can be used today can make present leaders more effective also.

The logical place to start is what is being led. During the 8th century BCE, the free for all fighting seen in the Iliad was abandoned in favor of the phalanx. This was the first step toward putting order into battle. Defined as a line formation with a width considerably grea

ter than its depth. (Pritchett I, 134) The soldiers were lined up in rank and file (that is lines of soldiers across and deep, respectively), longer in file than in rank. Each file composed its own unit, and when the soldier in front fell, the next soldier took his place. Part of the problem in trying to understand the phalanx is that the first detailed knowledge present day historians have is almost entirely from the 4th century BCE, some 400 years after its introduction. According to a theory developed by Connolly, (Connolly, 37) the Spartan army of the 4th century contained units called pentekostyes, or 'fifties.' Two of these units made up the standard unit of the phalanx called lochos. These !

The army ca. 4th century, according to Xenophon, was organized into the aforementioned lochos, 144 men strong with four 36 man enomotiai. Each had the best man as the leader and the second best as the rear-rank commander. The lochos was the smallest tactical unit of the phalanx. The whole Spartan Army was composed of six divisions (or mora) with a polmarch in command. The army was commanded by one of Sparta's two kings in the field.

Supplying an army in the field was a matter of planning. All armies brought some supplies, but scavenging was also necessary. Water was the main concern and often limited the size the military could be. Combined operations of navy and army were common for resupply, but not reliable. The practice of the Spartans of preparing their young for scavenging seems more reasonable now, especially considering their lack of a strong navy.

What is today called drill and ceremony was the lifeblood of the lochos and the mora. Xenophon tells us their practice of march and deployment, where the right hand file would lead off the unit. Upon deployment, the files would assemble to the left. Method of control most often was by trumpet, however flutes were used, more often for morale than for control. (Connelly, 49) With the marching forward of two phalanxes, the battle was engaged with a terrific crash, each rank pushing into the rank before it, the front rank in fierce melee with the enemy. So long as the phalanx kept its formation casualties were kept to a minimal. If, however, the phalanx broke, or the hoplites turned and fled, the battle turned disastrous. The Spartan Army rarely pursued a routed enemy. Instead, they gathered weapons and equipment into a trophy and sent a runner to discuss terms for retrieval of the dead. Agreeing to terms of recovery was the signal for accepting defeat. The trophy was t!

To examine the best-recorded military in the Greek world, one would look toward Sparta. Xenophon among others took special note of Sparta's military endeavors. What is obviou

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Approximate Word count = 1847
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History