The Makedonian phalanx -- why such depth?

[PMBardunias]

But why do you think that the Iphicrateans' spears could not be anything like a sarissa? The smallest a sarissa could be is 12 feet

I tend to believe in minimal "revolutions" and staged evolutionary progression. The 12' sarissa appears rather late if I recall, and a 12' spear can be held with one hand. What is the precedent for holding a spear with two hands and why do it with the bare minimum of spear length that requires a two handed grip? To me a shift like that requires a pressing need- like a shaft length beyond what could be weilded in one hand.

So we have Iphicrates who wants to turn peltasts into hoplite equivalents. It seems to me that the most simple transition is that he takes the simple, non-tapered longche used by many barbarians and simply makes it long enough to reach the same distance as a doru. We often forget that the doru was a very long spear in its own right, moreso if as many believe it was tapered and rear-balanced. The light shields that they are using are not sufficient to fight in othismos (of whatever form), so there is no need to use the Laconian short sword which I think was designed for this and was en vogue at the time. Thus he reverts to the longer sword- double the short sword's length. He ends up with men who are capable of spear-fencing with a hoplite and light enough to get out of the way if they push to closer quarters. If I asked you what he did prior to any knowledge of the Macedonian sarissa, you would probably assume something like this and not a radical switch to a two handed grip.

The Macedonians on the other hand appear to introduce the sarissa along with a novel close order if we trust that reference to him being inspired by the defense of the ships in the Illiad. A dense formation would maximize the benefits of a sarissa. Perhaps it was the 1.5' spacing, for hoplites are in a state of synaspismos at anything under about 3'. The longer sarissa requires a two handed grip and makes better use of the length than a spear that could be gripped in one hand. Why lose the mobility of the shield arm for the minimum gain in length when adding a few more feet does not make a 2 handed spear any more unwieldy?

Of course if Iphicrates doubled the length of the doru, which is possible, then I would not agree with me :wink: