08-27-2015, 03:09 AM
At the time of Perseus, the Macedonian soldiery would not have been nearly as capable as that of Philip II or Alexander. This was mainly so, because the troops of Alexander were already veterans of many wars when they even set their foot in Anatolia. Their level of experience was superb and thus their efficiency was multiplied. With time, new levies were sent to Alexander, but these arrived gradually and did not affect the overall quality of his army that much.
As regards the training of the troops at later times, we sadly have very little information as to how or how often it was done. What seems to be the case is that men were issued arms by the state and were responsible for their maintenance in times of peace even as common citizens. This indicates at some basic training in the arms of the phalanx was taking place but I cannot say whether this was regular or just some compulsory military service. I know there were fines for those who had problematic arms during inspections. A part of the army would have been professionals, but still, the overall quality of training would vary as not all Macedonian kings were capable rulers. The best argument in favor of rigorous training of levies during peacetime would, in my opinion, be the case of Philopoemen, who is praised for the reformation and training of the Achaean army and the esteem he was held to by the Macedonians for the reason that he continuously trained his men. This shows that rigorous training of citizens during peacetime was not something unheard of in late 3rd century Greece and I see no reason to doubt that Antigonos did not have similar policies. However, i know of no solid information on a specific recruitment or training system employed by the Macedonians after Alexander.
As for stratagems against the pike phalanx, we do have some, including trying to shove the pikes off with shields, grabbing them or even, as Bryan said, there is also a mention of horsemen riding by to break the spearpoints with the force of their motion, but in the end, it seems that nothing of the sort really worked. Both Polybius and Plutarch talk about the futility of such actions and Polybius explains that it was impossible for the Romans to do anything of the sort, as each first-ranker had to face 10 pikes. In your example, a very courageous individual runs towards the pikes at an angle trying to push them aside with his shield. How far into the serried wall of pikes would he come? One? Two? Even if we assume that he would be able to push aside three ranks of pikes, there would be more behind, stabbing at him as he would come to a halt. And if we are to take the words of the sources verbatim, the Roman thyreoi shields were not particularly effective against the thrust of the sarissa, which would make the effort even more futile.
As regards the training of the troops at later times, we sadly have very little information as to how or how often it was done. What seems to be the case is that men were issued arms by the state and were responsible for their maintenance in times of peace even as common citizens. This indicates at some basic training in the arms of the phalanx was taking place but I cannot say whether this was regular or just some compulsory military service. I know there were fines for those who had problematic arms during inspections. A part of the army would have been professionals, but still, the overall quality of training would vary as not all Macedonian kings were capable rulers. The best argument in favor of rigorous training of levies during peacetime would, in my opinion, be the case of Philopoemen, who is praised for the reformation and training of the Achaean army and the esteem he was held to by the Macedonians for the reason that he continuously trained his men. This shows that rigorous training of citizens during peacetime was not something unheard of in late 3rd century Greece and I see no reason to doubt that Antigonos did not have similar policies. However, i know of no solid information on a specific recruitment or training system employed by the Macedonians after Alexander.
As for stratagems against the pike phalanx, we do have some, including trying to shove the pikes off with shields, grabbing them or even, as Bryan said, there is also a mention of horsemen riding by to break the spearpoints with the force of their motion, but in the end, it seems that nothing of the sort really worked. Both Polybius and Plutarch talk about the futility of such actions and Polybius explains that it was impossible for the Romans to do anything of the sort, as each first-ranker had to face 10 pikes. In your example, a very courageous individual runs towards the pikes at an angle trying to push them aside with his shield. How far into the serried wall of pikes would he come? One? Two? Even if we assume that he would be able to push aside three ranks of pikes, there would be more behind, stabbing at him as he would come to a halt. And if we are to take the words of the sources verbatim, the Roman thyreoi shields were not particularly effective against the thrust of the sarissa, which would make the effort even more futile.
