How was the phalanx as a spear hedge? With the doru, however, only two ranks can form the spear hedge.Īt the battle of Marathon, the phalanx formed was 4 men deep.
![hoplite shield wall hoplite shield wall](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/99/68/9e/99689e7d90cfaa503972a9f3694a0a82.jpg)
Usually some light infantry or cavalry was placed on the right flank to protect against flanking actions. This proved to make the right flank particularly weak, since no one shielded them! The phalanx formation combines the concepts of a shield wall with a spear hedge.Īs a shield wall, it was peculiar in that the shield covered the man to the left. Homer first described the hoplite battle line using the word " phalanx" (Gk: φαλαγξ) contrasting it with individual duals between characters. The strength of hoplites came in numbers, specifically when it takes the form of a phalanx. Thus if the shaft broke, the hoplite still had a melee weapon. So, in other words, the doru was not just a spear: its handle was also a deadly weapon. The Academy of European Swordsmanship 3 (2): 1. This counterbalance function is essential, as the spear was handled with a single hand in the Greek phalanx formation. The spearhead was often leaf-shaped, and the iron cap on the other end, called the sauroter (literally "lizard-killer") was often square in cross section, and was a counterbalance and a second deadly point on the weapon. The primary weapon of the hoplite, the dory spear was 7 to 9 feet in length, weighing 2 to 4 pounds, having a two inch diameter wooden handle, and tipped with an iron spearhead on one end and another iron tip on the other.
![hoplite shield wall hoplite shield wall](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c6/0c/c4/c60cc43ba14a3918373ab267d37928be.jpg)
They carried a Doru (Gk: δόρυ), which is a spear roughly 9 feet long (2.1 meters). The word stems from hoplon (Gk: ὅπλον) which describes the circular shield they carried.Ī typical 4th century BC hoplite soldier is doodled on the right.
![hoplite shield wall hoplite shield wall](https://www.hobbybunker.com/userfiles/media/images/48143/large_spa026a.jpg)
The hoplites constituted the heavy infantry of ancient Greece.