Hoplite phalanx and hoplon shield
Falange hoplítica y escudo hoplon
- Date
- c. 700 BCE · confidence low
- Place
- Argos, Peloponnese, Greece
- Credited to
- Greek city-states (Argos, Sparta, Corinth)
- Field
- Conflict
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A close formation of heavy infantry in which each hoplite protects his neighbour's flank with a round shield (hoplon or aspis), armed with spear and short sword. It was the military basis of the poleis until Alexander the Great.
The finds of the Argos tomb (c. 720-700 BC) date the equipment, but it is debated whether the compact phalanx appeared suddenly (Hanson) or gradually until c. 500 BC (van Wees).
What it led to
- the citizen-soldier and the origins of the polis assemblies
- the Macedonian phalanx with the sarissa
- Roman manipular legions after facing Hellenistic phalanxes