Alexander : a history of the origin and growth of the art of war from ...

72 CEREMONIES PRECEDING BATTLE.as in the case of Athens after Marathon, or of Plataea afterthe battle of that name. But after the Peloponnesianwar, the better instincts of theGreeks appear to have been lost, and theirmilitary spirit slackened. Disorder and mutinieswere not infrequent. Leaders werecompelled to purchase the ^ood conduct ofthe troops by largesses ; awful punishmentsfor base or scandalous actions grew in frequency.This showed a slackening in the soldierlybearing. Civil war not infrequentlyresults thus.The herald was an universally known andTrophy. respected official among all the ancients. Warwas declared by a formal accusation of and demand for reparationfor certain acts, by a herald. On refusal, a bloodylance and a firebrand were cast by him upon the enemy's soilas a declaration of war and a threat of revenge by fire andsword. Before war or battle many and tedious ceremonialsand vows to the gods were universal. The priests and augursdivined from the sacrificial entrails. The practical applicationof these proceedings lay in the hold it gave the leader on thesuperstitious feelings of his army. If the victims were pronouncedfavorable, enthusiasm rose, the warriors took a lightmeal, and then, to the singing of the paean and the playing offlutes, marched to battle. A battle-cry, as the phalanx closedwith the enemy, was common. At certain 23eriods the phalanxmarched to battle in silence, so as the more distinctly tohear the orders, and chanted the paean when near the enemy,clashing their lances upon their shields and raising the battlecrywhen they closed in upon him. The Greeks were a talkative,almost a garrulous people; but under discipline theycould be singularly quiet. As fighters they were quiet anddetermined.