Zeitschrift für Verteidigungsstudien und Ressourcenmanagement

The Phalanx and Its Historical Significance

Andy Patricia

The Phalanx formation was a rectangular mass of heavily armored infantry known as hoplites, typically armed with a large round shield (hoplon), a spear (dory), and a short sword (xiphos). These soldiers, often citizen-soldiers fighting in defense of their city-states, would stand shoulder to shoulder, forming a shield wall that covered the entire front line of the formation.