Greek Military Tactics
The Greeks used a unique battle tactic, first described in the Epic Poems of Homer as the "Phalanx" or battle line (Homer, unknown)
The Premise of the Phalanx is similar to that of a modern rugby scrum, with the soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder in parallel lines. In Phalanx position, they would charge forward in synchronisation, protected by their shields and armed with their spears.
The soldiers that formed the phalanxes were also known for their extreme bravery. Greek Playwright Euripides compared the bravery of a soldier in the phalanx to that of the demigod Hercules, saying that “a man who has won a reputation for valour in his contests with beasts, in all else a weakling; who never buckled neither shield to arm nor faced the spear. A man is one who keeps his post in the ranks and steadily faces the swift wound the spear may plough.” (Euripides, 425BCE)
The use of the Phalanx manoeuvre was effective at cutting down the ranks of the Persian army, and one of the main reasons for Greece's success
The Premise of the Phalanx is similar to that of a modern rugby scrum, with the soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder in parallel lines. In Phalanx position, they would charge forward in synchronisation, protected by their shields and armed with their spears.
The soldiers that formed the phalanxes were also known for their extreme bravery. Greek Playwright Euripides compared the bravery of a soldier in the phalanx to that of the demigod Hercules, saying that “a man who has won a reputation for valour in his contests with beasts, in all else a weakling; who never buckled neither shield to arm nor faced the spear. A man is one who keeps his post in the ranks and steadily faces the swift wound the spear may plough.” (Euripides, 425BCE)
The use of the Phalanx manoeuvre was effective at cutting down the ranks of the Persian army, and one of the main reasons for Greece's success