![]() Pezhetairoi: The Creation and Evolution of the Macedonian Phalanx Karl Randall (Kyungsung University) Of the military reforms of Phillip II, perhaps the greatest is the creation of the Macedonian phalanx, or pezhetairoi, and its main weapon, the sarissa, a five and a half meter long thrusting spear. The following is a description of the dory, its construction and development, and how modern-day experiments indicate how impressive the ankyle was at helping the ancient Greeks to achieve victory that was "won by the spear". The dory, and its athletic kin, the javelin, or akon or akonition, were fixtures in ancient Greece, and often Greek soldiers would carry two spears into battle for an edge over their adversaries. The Greeks incorporated a throwing loop, called an ankyle, that was used to maximize the distance that a spear could be thrown, enhancing the ancient Greeks' military dominance on the battlefield. Other specialized throwing-spears were commonplace among the ancient Greeks' arsenal of weapons. The ancient Greek warrior, especially the hoplite, was known for his prowess in using the dory as a thrusting weapon in hand-to-hand combat and as part of the formidable Greek phalanx, but the dory, too, could be used as a missile weapon, when necessary. The spear, or dory, was the major weapon of the ancient Greeks. The evolution of ancient close-combat armaments shows both continuity and change, depending on the given set of military conditions. The circular or pendular way a particular type or style of weapon gained popularity in antiquity, was superseded by a new innovation, and then returned centuries or millennia later in a slightly modified form indicates that the evolution of ancient weaponry was sometimes an evolution of circumstances surrounding its use as much as the physical substance of the weapon. 200 BC were roughly the same size and had the same use. 2500 BC and the dory used by the phalanx armies of Classical Greece at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC served a similar purpose. The thrusting spears used by Eanatum of Lagash in Mesopotamia c. Despite the changes and improvements that spanned the ages from Hammurabi to Hadrian, the basic implements of warfare remained somewhat consistent. The technology and materiel of warfare changed from prehistoric times to the fall of the Roman Empire due to improvements in metallurgy and compounding ingenuity over the millennia. Finally, 4) the early styrax (butt-spike) may even owe its pointy design to the possibility of single combat - as a deterrent to attacks from behind. Finally, after verifying that my results conform to our ancient sources, I propose that: 1) the aspis and spear work together well in single combat 2) the double-grip aspis design does allow for a gradual transition between single- and phalanx- combat styles thus, 3) early phalanxes, at least, may have been loosely arranged. In particular, I factor the spear's complementary role into the aspis's defensive posture and suggest a new understanding of their use and design. (Though proficient in "Eastern" styles, I am conversant with "Western" traditions, and my approach uses principles basic to both). Starting from (researched reconstructions of) the aspis and spear, I investigate their use with an eye to combat practicality, drawing upon my training with ancient weapons. This presentation attempts to address these problems. Thirdly, scholars often reverse engineer the aspis's use from ancient sources that can be interpreted different ways (again, understandably). Second, the scholars debating what is feasible for hoplite combat have little practical experience with ancient weapons (understandably enough). Certainly, the evidence supports treating them as a unit. But this debate suffers from three critical problems: First, it invariably discusses the aspis independently from the spear, when they likely worked together (which changes the aspis's handling). Scholars debate whether the aspis's weight and breadth restricted movement, thereby making it suitable only for compact phalanx tactics, or whether it was lighter than many have estimated, thereby allowing enough mobility for single combat and a looser phalanx. Unfortunately, however, we remain unsure how they were used. Though much of a hoplite's gear changed over time, his spear and round double-grip aspis remained a constant that defined him.
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