11-12-2007, 04:50 PM
Quote:....in fact in an impossible way! The maker of this video has made a huge error...what is possible on a front of 10 ( having each man squeeze up a foot or so...so the furthest man moves 10 feet sideways, patently doesn't work for a phalanx on a front of a thousand ( where the endmost man would have to run a thousand feet sideways...hock: )
The way in which it works over larger groups is that the spacing between each group increses. Gaps form between sub-phalanxes that make up for this space rather than the men on the left running a hundred yards sideways to keep up.
Here's snippet from Cawkwell's paper that gives Hellenistic references for such action. While I do not agree with his doubt that hoplites could do this, it is easier to paste it than rewrite the sources.
Paul M. Bardunias
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A Spartan, being asked a question, answered "No." And when the questioner said, "You lie," the Spartan said, "You see, then, that it is stupid of you to ask questions to which you already know the answer!"
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A Spartan, being asked a question, answered "No." And when the questioner said, "You lie," the Spartan said, "You see, then, that it is stupid of you to ask questions to which you already know the answer!"
