What was the hoplite phalanx?
There were 2 common formations of the Phalanx. The most common was the “close-order” phalanx. In this formation, hoplites stood 45 cm apart (around 1.5 feet), with their shields overlapping. This created an interlocked shield wall that made the phalanx nearly impenetrable.
What made the Macedonian phalanx different?
Usually measuring eight rows across and 16 ranks deep, the Macedonian phalanx was virtually unstoppable from the front. The extreme length of the sarissa meant that up to five layers of pikes protruded ahead of the front man – allowing the phalanx to steamroll any opponent.
What defeated the phalanx?
the Romans
At the Battle of Cynocephalae in 197 BCE, the Romans defeated the Greek phalanx easily because the Greeks had failed to guard the flanks of their phalanx and, further, the Greek commanders could not turn the mass of men who comprised the phalanxes quickly enough to counter the strategies of the Roman army and, after …
Why are hoplites called hoplites?
The phalanx was also employed by the Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE and at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BCE during the Second Greco-Persian War. The word hoplite (Greek: ὁπλίτης hoplítēs; pl. ὁπλῖται hoplĩtai) derives from hoplon (ὅπλον : hóplon; plural hópla ὅπλα), referring to the hoplite’s equipment.
How many hoplites were in a phalanx?
The ancient Sumerian army fielded a standard six-man-deep phalanx; the first line went into battle carrying large, rectangular shields, and the troops bore heavy pikes and battle axes. During the 7th century bc the Greek city-states adopted a phalanx eight men deep.
What were some differences with the Macedonian phalanx compared to the traditional hoplite phalanx?
Hoplite phalanxes usually deployed in ranks of eight men or more deep; the Macedonian phalanxes were usually 16 men deep, sometimes reported to have been arrayed 32 men deep.
How were hoplites different from earlier Greek soldiers?
Hoplites (/ˈhɒplaɪts/ HOP-lytes) (Ancient Greek: ὁπλίτης : hoplítēs) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers.
What was better phalanx or legion?
The author’s main points in favor of the Roman legion was agility, flexibility and adaptability; whereas, the phalanx had only one-dimensional movement. [i] A one trick horse if you will. Further examination of these main points concerning ancient military unit tactical formations will clarify Cole’s argument.
Why was the Legion better than the phalanx?
Unlike the phalanx that fought in a single line, engaging the enemy simultaneously across the entire front, the legion deployed its maniples in a checkerboard pattern; leaving deliberate gaps between each maniple equal to its frontage.
Was Alexander the Great a hoplite?
Greek hoplites The army led by Alexander the Great into the Persian Empire included Greek heavy infantry in the form of allied contingents provided by the League of Corinth and hired mercenaries.
What does phalanx mean in ancient Greece?
phalanx, in military science, tactical formation consisting of a block of heavily armed infantry standing shoulder to shoulder in files several ranks deep. Fully developed by the ancient Greeks, it survived in modified form into the gunpowder era and is viewed today as the beginning of European military development.
Did Spartans use the phalanx?
The Spartans were different: they were professionals, trained in arms and in maneuver. Their phalanx was composed of regiments, and the regiments of companies, and so on, each commanded by an officer. This professionalism allowed their phalanx a degree of maneuverability which they put to good use at Mantinea.
Which of the following was a major difference between the Macedonian phalanx and the Greek phalanx?
The Macedonian phalanx unlike the traditional Greek Hoplite phalanx was not engineered to defeat its enemy all by itself. The Macedonian success was not due to their phalanx’s superiority (with the sarissa pike). The Macedonian phalanx advantage was protection, but it had disadvantages.
What was a Greek phalanx?
What was the strongest army in ancient Greece?
The Spartans were widely considered to have the strongest army and the best soldiers of any city-state in Ancient Greece. All Spartan men trained to become warriors from the day they were born.
Did Romans fight hoplites?
It is likely that the hoplite element was deployed in a Greek-style phalanx formation in large set-piece battles. However, these were relatively rare, with most fighting consisting of small-scale border-raids and skirmishing. In these, the Romans would fight in their basic tactical unit, the centuria of 100 men.
What would happen if a phalangite phalanx met a hoplite?
In fact there are numerous battles that shown when an unsopported phalangite phalanx meet a hoplite phalanx hoplite would chew their lines ranging from battles that Philip had with the Greeks, to the Persians employing Greek hoplite mercenaries, to the Romans having Greek hoplite allies.
How did the Macedonian phalanx differ from the Greek hoplite?
The Macedonian phalanx unlike the traditional Greek Hoplite phalanx was not engineered to defeat its enemy all by itself. The Macedonian success was not due to their phalanx’s superiority (with the sarissa pike ). The Macedonian phalanx advantage was protection, but it had disadvantages.
What were the weaknesses of the phalangite Army?
The phalangites were armed with longer pikes and as a result the phalanx itself became less mobile and adaptable than it had been in Alexander’s era. Because all the competing Hellenistic armies were employing the same tactics, these weaknesses were not immediately apparent.
What weapons did the hoplite phalanxes use?
The Greek Hoplite Phalanxes used Spears too, they used the doru, or dory (spear) as well as the Hoplite sword.