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

DEPTH OF PHALANX. 65The phalanx had proven so good a formation during thePersian wars that the Greeks sought to improve rather thanto change it. The Peloponnesianwar furnishedtheopportunity to do this,and the Greeks had by natureexceptional capacityas drill-masters and organizers.The unit wasno longer decimal, butfounded on the powers ofthe number two. TheAncient Weapons.depth of the phalanx was rarely lessthan eight or more thansixteen men, though it was on rare occasions made so light asfour or so heavy as twenty-four. Epaminondas made a columnforty-eight men deep at Leuctra and Mantingea, but thiswas not the phalanx proper.Generally the eight, twelve, orsixteen deep file was in use. Xenophon puts the average attwelve. By employing any given number of files under aAncient Helmets.leader, any convenient unit of organization could be made,or detachment formed. The leader stood in front, and therewere a number of file closers to keep order in the ranks. The