Phalanx formation facts for kids

The phalanx was a famous battle formation used in Ancient Greece. It was like a big, solid block of infantry (foot soldiers).

Greek soldiers called hoplites formed the phalanx. They were heavy infantry, meaning they wore armor and carried weapons like spears and swords. These soldiers marched together as one strong unit against their enemies.

Many city-states in Greece used the phalanx. They often fought each other. Horses for cavalry (soldiers on horseback) were rare. Also, the narrow valleys in the Peloponnese region did not have much space for cavalry to move around.

Later, the Macedonian phalanx became very powerful. During the conquests of Alexander the Great, this phalanx always had cavalry support.

Battle Tactics of the Phalanx

Early battles using the phalanx often involved two similar formations pushing against each other. One side would eventually break apart.

The Battle of Marathon

The phalanx showed its true power at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. The Athenians faced a huge army led by Darius I. To avoid being surrounded, the Athenians made their phalanx thinner but longer.

Even a thinner phalanx was too strong for the lightly armed Persian infantry. The Athenian hoplites first defeated the Persian soldiers on the sides. Then, the Athenian soldiers on the wings turned inward. They attacked and destroyed the best Persian troops in the middle. This was a huge victory for Athens.

Throughout the Greco-Persian Wars, the hoplite phalanx kept defeating Persian infantry. Famous examples include the battles of Thermopylae and Plataea.

The Oblique Order

A great example of the phalanx's flexibility was the "oblique" (diagonal) attack. This happened at the Battle of Leuctra. The Theban general Epaminondas changed the usual phalanx setup. He made the right side and center of his phalanx thinner. But he made the left side incredibly deep, with 50 men in each row!

This was unusual because the right side of a phalanx was normally the strongest. Epaminondas's new plan allowed the Thebans to attack the strong Spartan troops on the enemy's right side with great force. Meanwhile, the weaker center and right side of the Theban line stayed back. This kept them from fighting until the strong left wing had done its job.

Once the Spartan right side was defeated by the powerful Theban left, the rest of the Spartan army also broke. By leading with his strongest wing, Epaminondas beat an enemy that people thought could not be defeated.

The Macedonian Phalanx

Philip II of Macedon spent several years in Thebes as a hostage. He learned a lot from Epaminondas's new ideas. When he returned home, Philip created a new kind of infantry army. This army would change the Greek world.

Philip's phalangites were the first professional soldiers in Ancient Greece (except for Sparta). They used much longer spears. They also trained harder in more complex battle plans and movements.

More importantly, Philip's phalanx was part of a combined army. This army included different types of skirmishers (light, fast soldiers) and cavalry. His famous Companion cavalry was especially important.

The Macedonian phalanx was used to hold the center of the enemy's line. While it did this, the cavalry and faster infantry attacked the enemy's sides. The Macedonian phalanx was much better than the older, less mobile armies of the Greek city-states. This was clear at the Battle of Chaeronea. There, Philip II's army easily defeated the combined Theban and Athenian phalanxes.

Images for kids

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  Sumerian phalanx-like formation c. 2400 BC, from detail of the victory stele of King Eannatum of Lagash over Umma, called the Stele of the Vultures

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  A modern illustration of the Greek hoplites marching in a phalanx formation

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  Phalanx in a frieze on the tomb of Pericles, Dynast of Lycia (380–360 BC)

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  Greek phalanx against Achaemenid troops

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  Victorian depiction of a Macedonian phalanx, 4th century BC

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  Victorian depiction of a Macedonian phalanx at the Battle of the Carts

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  Top: a simple drawing of how hoplites usually fought. Elite troops are in red. Bottom: the diagonal phalanx used by the Thebans at Leuctra.

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  How the armies were set up during the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC.

See also

In Spanish: Falange para niños