The Order of Battle

When to two opposing hoplite armies would meet in the field, they would use very similar tactics. Many of them would sing a religious battle chant known as the “paean”, which had several different uses. One of its roles was to create solidarity amongst the men as a single unit. It would also act to refresh them or pump them up after a long march. It was up to the commander as to when it was the right moment to begin the paean. If begun too soon, then the men may lose their edge; too late and the less courageous men would lose heart and flee (Kagan and Viggiano, 141). By the end of the paean the men would have confidently walked across the field and would be ready to charge the final gap to meet the enemy.

Once they were within a few hundred yards, the advancing army would shout a battle cry and run towards the enemy. It is common knowledge that during a charge the phalanx would lose formation, the Spartans being the exception as they advanced to the sound of pipes. There would have be obstacles to break the formation of the charging hoplites before they reached the opposing line (Kagan and Viggiano, 142).

The collision between the two armies is an area that is now hotly debated as some say that the two armies literally collided creating an awful thud. The purpose of this would be to create a shock and hopefully push opposing troops over and allow friendly troops to poor into the enemy’s formation. This is push is called “othismos” and is seen as a very literal verb in this context.

Ancient sources such as Herodotus described the battle of Thermopylae as “a great shoving” and credited the victory at the battle of Marathon to the Greek force and its mass. This suggests that the entire phalanx, even the rear, would be pushing forward into the enemy (Luginbill, 51). The other view takes othismos in a more metaphorical way and argues that the two armies would stop before colliding with each other and begin the fight in a more organized manner. It is said in the ancient sources that armies would typically come to “spears” or to “hands” suggesting that two charging opposing armies did not simply smash into each other, but rather rely on their weaponry (Kagan and Viggiano, 142). This view appears to have more merit as it would allow the Greeks to maintain their formation while allowing them to fight in the phalanx formation.

The two sides would battle each other in othismos, slashing and stabbing at what exposed body parts they could find behind the giant hoplon shield of their enemies. After enough time had passed, one army’s formation would tire and break. This would allow the enemy phalanx to push into their formation. If they didn’t regroup, they would sustain heavy losses and eventually flee. The side that held their formation wouldn’t pursue, but would be named the victors.