03-16-2010, 02:18 PM
I think that #2 cannot be answered. The site is one big sandy plain. People cannot see what happens during a battle on that plain. All sources written in Greek/Latin are ultimately derived from an official interpretation, written by a man who did not see anything, based on information from people who hadn't seen a thing either. This is why diametrically opposite interpretations of, for example, Darius' behavior can exist (he was the first to flee according to Arrian, or the last according to Diodorus). What applies to Darius, applies to the falanx: we cannot know what really happened.
