MYTHBUSTING THE MACEDONIAN PHALANX PHALANX FOLKLORE

The Macedonian phalanx was devised by Philip II of Macedon in the fourth century BC - traditionally said to have been inspired by the works of Homer - and used to great effect by his son, Alexander the Great, in his conquest of the Persian Empire. The armament, drill and organisation of the phalanx were the subject of much admiration and emulation in the ancient world, and continue to be topics of interest to this day. However, as with many aspects of ancient history, and ancient warfare in particular, a lot of half-truths, assumptions and doubtful ’facts’ have become attached to the phalanx over the centuries.

By Richard Taylor

There now exists a sort of folk history of the phalanx, in which the scanty information we have has been supplemented by guesses and assumptions that are often stated with more certainty than they really deserve. The purpose of this article is to point out a few of these myths, though it will not be possible in these pages to provide complete refutations of every myth mentioned. In fact, it may also be that some of the myths are true, or are based on the truth, as myths often are. This article is intended rather to warn the reader that not everything we think we know about the phalanx is based on firm foundations. Long sarissa, short sarissa The sarissa was the great Macedonian two-handed spear or pike that gave the Macedonian…

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Ancient Warfare (Digital) - 1 Issue, AW XVII.3

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