The Two Methods of Hoplite Advance

Hoplites in formation, possibly Etruscan

Dear Reader,



In this post, I want to examine the two methods by which Greek Hoplites moved into battle. Herodotus noted that the Greek army at Marathon were the first Hoplites ever to charge into battle at a running pace, and both textual evidence (from later Spartan armies who still advanced slowly) and pictoral evidence, (from the Chigi Vase dating to the 640s B.C.E.,) supports his statement.


First, let us examine the evidence which comes down about the slow and orderly advance in a phalanx. Describing the peculiar method of the Spartan advance, Thucydides indicated that this was done, "without breaking order, as large armies are apt to do in the moment of engaging." (Thuc. 5.70, as translated in Strassler, Landmark Thucydides, 343.) In these early Hoplite engagements, perhaps fought between 650 and 500, we should imagine skirmishers and cavalry playing a role, as indeed, they seem to do against Kleomenes in 511-510. (Hdt. 5.62-64.) As two opposing phalanxes approached each other, still at an even pace,  they would come within what Xenophon might call "spear-reach" (εἰς δόρυ ἀφικόμενοι). Here, as depicted on the Chigi vase, while standing close together, as Thucydides tells us they did, and Tyrtaeus exhorts them to, they would fight with spears, and hoping to force the other side to break. This type of fighting would have been very hard on the spears, leading to much breakage, as dory heads became embedded in enemy bodies, shields, and armor, and disarmed opposing men desperately would have tried to defend themselves by seizing or disabling enemy spears.  It is somewhat telling, at least in my mind, that Herodotus describes Greek spears breaking twice- at Thermopylae, and at Platea. In both of these circumstances, there is no mention of a run at the enemy, only that they advanced (χωρέω). In this type of battle, Hoplites engage slowly with spears before the breakage of spears forces an engagement at much closer quarters. Herodotus' description of Platea makes this clear: the Greeks began an othismos when the Persians had disabled their spears. In a battle where Hoplites marched into battle, the, as Bardunias puts it, the storm of spears preceded the press of shields.With the exception of the Athenians at Marathon, this would be way which the Greeks engaged the Persians, and would been representative of some of the intra-Hoplite clashes before Marathon.  

This would have been a terrifying experience for the enemies of the Spartans. Many Hoplites were understandably wary of engaging the Spartans, even when they advanced slowly and so we see reports of armies fleeing before contact is even made. Both Thucydides (at Mantinea in 418) and Xenophon (at the "tearless battle" in 368) recorded that only a few of enemy forces waited to face them in a battle of spears. At Mantinea, it looks as though only one side advanced, as Thucydides describes the Spartan and Argive contingents advancing at different rates of speed, but says nothing about their enemies movements. At the "tearless battle",  Xenophon informs us that the Spartan army was ready to charge the enemy, but had to be prevented from doing so by their officers. Once again, the Spartan's enemies at the "tearless battle" appear to have awaited the Spartan advance. (Thuc. 5.69-5.72, Xen Hellenica 7.1.31)

When two armies advanced at the run towards each other at the run, there cannot be, in my mind, any notion of them slowing before impact, as suggested by Paul Bardunias. If a large mass of men truly advanced at a run, as ancient sources suggest, they cannot have stopped to engage in spear fighting before coming into close physical contact with one another. With such a large number of men running, apparently at their top speed, men in front would be unable to slow down without impeding and even being trampled by those behind. Once masses of men commit to moving forward, they generally do not stop when small numbers at the front begin to have second thoughts. In this type of engagement, the hoplites would have slammed together, mixing the two armies. We can see worries about this mixing in the Spartan hesitation to advance to the attack at the run. Thucydides informs us that Spartans wished to avoid (μὴ διασπασθείη αὐτοῖς ἡ τάξις), "ripping apart their order," in the moment of engaging with the enemy.

 An excellent example of this type of clash is at Delium in 424. Here, Thucydides indicates that both the Athenians and Boeotians came on at a run, and at the first impact, spears are not mentioned, only shields. The Landmark Thucydides translates the passage, "the rest engaged with the utmost obstinacy, shield against shield." (Strassler, pg. 275) However, Thucydides is language is interesting- he states that upon coming together, the armies, "pushed shields." (ὠθισμῷ ἀσπίδων). (Thuc. 4.96.2) This should not necessarily be surprising, as charging at the run over significant distances with spears in the overarm (in my opinion, the more likely) or underarm thrusting positions would have been difficult, to say the least. This is further supported by Xenophon's statements regarding the running charge at Cunaxa in 401, when he states that the Greeks clashed their spears against their shields while on the charge- something that would not make much sense if the Hoplites charged with spears presented.(Xen. Anabasis 1.8.18.)  With the spears in an upright position during advance, as the Chigi vase shows the back ranks, the first thing to crash together my well have been the shields of opposing men. This idea is supported by the word order in Xenophon's description of Coronea, when the opposing phalanxes, "crashing their shields together, they shoved, fought, killed, and were killed."  (Xen Hellenica 4.3.18-19) In Xenophon's text, it is no clearer whether the men are engaging in mass scrumming, or physically pushing individual enemies away in an effort to use their weapons.  The word order, however, is clear- crashing of shields, followed by shoving, and then fighting. In a battle when Hoplites engaged one another at the run, then, it is possible that the press of shields preceded the storm of spears. 

We can see all of these aspects of Hoplite warfare in one of the most well document Hoplite clashes, the Battle of Coronea in 394, which we will examine in the next post.

Thanks for reading,



Alex Burns