Book Recommendation: Greek Warfare: Myths and Realities

[hoplite14gr]

There are Historians and Archaologists who argue that at the Geometrik era the shield had a boss and was used pretty much like the viking shield.
If the vikings could form a shield wall then the greeks could form it too!
I am inclined to agree with Antonius Lucretius on the other things though.

I want also to offer some thought on formations.
Based on my experience on Army I can tell you that you can create drilled troops who manauver en mass in 15 days. Imagine the this when you talk about people that formation was their battle tactic!

The falanx was known in Greece from the bronze age.
Yes it is dificult to do othismos with the "sakkos" or "pyrgos"(tower) shield.
but if you stand with the long "eghos" you stop the chariots and the archers behind you can drive them off!
The heavy skeleton of the "8" shield seems to imply that you could try it.
Seems to me that this was the key to Mycenean-Pylian power.

Initally the phalanx was reformed to in the archaic era to counter the Geometric cavalry. Again you do not need othismos-all you got ot do is stand your ground.
But if you enemy adapts and has a phalanx you must breake their ranks somehow.
In most classical city states existed the Epilektoi or Logadae the better armed hoplites who were expected to make the difference.
They were nearly allways positioned in the right where you might overlap the enemy and it seems that they did close and pushed.
The Spartans more or less made their whole army Epilektoi and that is why the others were reluctant to face them.
War is mostly psychology. In a pitted fight the most aggresive will drive the other away! That is why Spartans seemed to focus on this!

The adoption of the pike was an attempt to increase the number of men engaged. Polyvios wrote that the pikemen were dangerous.
In Pydna they drove the maniples back and only on broken ground the Romans got the better of them. This means that the advanced en mass aggressively and drove the legionaries back. The distance from flat plain to Olympos is considerable. Only aggressive tactics would push the maniples back.