The "Fred thread": the Argead Macedonian Army

[Paralus]

It is clear also that high-ranking Macedonians, led by Alexander in person on occasion, fought both as Companion cavalry and on foot in full panoply with shield etc on occasion.

Whilst that is most likely correct, it pays to be wary of the terminology. Almost always when Alexander is on foot he leads the agema of the hypaspists and others rather than the “cavalry companions”. Members of the hetairoi (Companion cavalry) noted in company with Alexander on foot do not readily come to mind - aside from the odd somatophylax (this is going to become confusing). Notices of royal hypaspists do though. More than once Arrian will call these royal hypaspists somatophylakes :

1.24.1: He placed them under the command of Ptolemy, son of Seleucus, one of the royal bodyguards (somatophylakes)…

3.17.2: He then took the royal body-guards (somatophylakes), the shield-bearing infantry, and 8,000 men

4.3.2: he took the body-guards (somatophylakes), the shield-bearing guards, the archers, and Agrianians…

The clincher is:

4.30.3: He remained quiet until they began their retreat; then taking 700 of the body-guards (somatophylakes) and shield-bearing infantry…

That this is a scribal error for “7” is most unlikely as a number would only be necessary were he to take, say, two of the seven. In any event, when this is the case, Arrian invariably names them (5.13.1 being a classic case).

Thus we come to a passage I can recall where the cavalry are with Alexander on foot (1.6.5):

As Alexander saw only a few of the enemy still occupying a ridge, along which lay his route, he ordered his bodyguards (somatophylakes) and personal companions (hetairoi) to take their shields, mount their horses, and ride to the hill…

It is argued that as the hypaspists (“shield-bearing” guards) are later ordered to cross the river, this must mean the seven and the Companion Cavalry. Hetairoi clearly means the cavalry here but, as the foregoing clearly demonstrates, somatophylakes hardly of necessity means “the seven”. It might as easily (and likely does) refer to the royal hypaspists.

Hetairoi, as I’ve mentioned before, need not mean the cavalry either. The most striking example is that of Tyre. Here, as Arrian notes, Alexander embarks on ship with the hypaspists to take the wall (2.23 - various edited):

The shield-bearing guards hypaspists occupied one of these vessels, which he had put under the command of Admetus; and the other was occupied by the regiment of Coenus, called the aesthetairoi. Alexander himself, with the shield-bearing guards intended to scale the wall […] the shield-bearing guards mounted valiantly along these upon the wall; for their captain, Admetus, proved himself brave on that occasion, and Alexander accompanied them…

Later Arrian states “Alexander with the Companions (hetairoi) got possession of the wall…”. As it is highly unlikely that Companion cavalry charged the wall from ship, Arrian plainly means those troops Alexander led: the royal hypaspists.

Interestingly whatever one argues as the armament of the hypaspists must also follow for the aesthetairoi. If it is argued that hypaspists must be hoplites to do this work, are we to suppose that the aesthetairoi were tasked with the same job armed with a two foot target and a javelin? (or worse, sarisa). A two foot target minus a porpax?

Hardly. More likely these phalangites were operating in something closely approximating a hoplite panoply - perhaps with those "Macedonian" shields. That the reverse might apply to hypaspists is not to be considered though.