An
officer commanded each of these groups and transmitted to his men the
orders of his superior officer, so that the general in chief might
have the same movement executed throughout the whole army. This
organization which appears so simple to us was to the Greeks an
astonishing novelty.
=The Phalanx.=--Come into the presence of the enemy, the soldiers
arrange themselves in line, ordinarily eight ranks deep, each man
close to his neighbor, forming a compact mass which we call a Phalanx.
The king, who directs the army, sacrifices a goat to the gods; if the
entrails of the victim are propitious, he raises a chant which all the
army takes up in unison. Then they advance. With rapid and measured
step, to the sound of the flute, with lance couched and buckler before
the body, they meet the enemy in dense array, overwhelm him by their
mass and momentum, throw him into rout, and only check themselves to
avoid breaking the phalanx. So long as they remain together each is
protected by his neighbor and all form an impenetrable mass on which
the enemy could secure no hold. These were rude tactics, but
sufficient to overcome a disorderly troop.
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