Later Roman spear length

[Nicholas Gaukroger]

On the spear grip one of my issues with it is if it is so good why didn't hoplites and earlier spearmen use it? Ages ago I gave it ago and I found that compared with the overarm thrust it was much weaker in terms of the blow that can be delivered.

Can't tell you for sure, it's a theory and no-one actually describes an overarm or underarm grip. But my guess would be that hoplites fought hoplites, and the first time we hear of the complaints about too short spears it's against heavy cavalry. But Macedonian phalangists did not use their sarissas overarm, right?

At least for hoplites we have depictions of them in both overarm and underarm style, but never, to my (imperfect) knowledge, with a stance like that proposed for the Romans.

BTW whose complaints about too short spears against cavalry are you refering to? Greeks or Romans?

Regarding the sarissa - you try holding an 18' spear one handed and you'll probably find out why they used both hands :wink: and underarm works better for that on foot I would suggest. I'd also note in passing that the sarissa doesn't appear to have been adopted as a response to cavalry (well so conventional thinking says, there is a suggestion by sombody that the Makedonians only adopted it before Hydaspes IIRC but I'm not sure about that).