To date there has been no hoplite reenactment groups with enough men and the will to go at it full speed to properly recreate phalanx on phalanx combat. There are reenactors of other periods who have "discovered" the same crowd mechanics that I elucidated below. The following is a video that my friend Giannis Kadoglou found thst shows how large groups of armed and armored men collide. At about 20 seconds into the video you will see a close approximation a clash of shallow phalanxes. Note that as I described, they stand facing their opponents, not side-on as had been widely proposed and now seems generally accepted.
Hello, I have bookmarked your blog, it is really interesting and your pieces are well argued. Good work!
ReplyDeleteIt never really made sense to me that the phalanx would have the men standing sideways. I have heard of the phalanx running towards their enemy while in formation, which would be impossible if they had to stand sideways.
ReplyDeleteEven if I am wrong in my assumption, I love this blog. It helps me understand how to play a character in a tabletop RPG based on the Spartan phalanx solider.
Taylor, Thanks for your comments. I'm curious to know what you are playing. I've yet to see a hoplite class done right, but would love to.
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