LE SYMPOSIUM INTERNATIONAL LE LIVRE. LA ROUMANIE. L ...

384 criStian eMilian GhiŢĂ
at the time: oval shield, high helmet of the thracian type (sometimes
referred to as phrygian helmet), possibly greaves, colourful tunic, a pair of
javelins and either a short, curved sword or the mighty rhomphaia as their
side weapon. 15
the large number of light infantry present at the Battle of Chaeronea in
the pontic ranks has a number of explanations. on the one hand, one may
invoke a certain preference for this segment of the infantry, a preference
inherited from the Achaemenids, as was the idea of fielding scythed chariots,
the awe-inspiring machines of war which nevertheless awed the romans
so little that they compared them sarcastically to the harmless chariots of
the hippodrome. one the other hand, given that a good proportion of the
troops had not, in fact, been recruited in Anatolia, one should also look
at the conditions present in Macedonia and thrace. here, the intersection
between the military traditions of the thracians, Dardanians, Illyrians and
Macedonians had produced excellent light infantry. not surprisingly, it
was this region that produced the Agrianoi, Alexander’s famous javelin
throwers. It is also worth remembering that it was in northern Greece that the
Athenian general and reformer Iphicrates first experimented with changes
in the equipment of the hoplite, making him lighter and consequently more
capable of responding to battlefield dynamics, paving the way for the later
peltastai, euzonoi and thyreophoroi.
4. Heavy Infantry
Great though the role of light infantry may have been, it never
completely overshadowed that of the heavy infantry. At the battle of
Chaeronea, the phalanx occupied the centre of the pontic line, and this
was no accident, as the phalanx represented indeed the most important
segment of the infantry. that this was so is demonstrated by the fact that
all narratives of battles delivered by pontic armies describe these events as
classical encounters, with heavy infantry placed in the centre and playing
a major part in the fight. Moreover, the senior rank of the heavy infantry
commander is attested epigraphically: Dorylaos, known to have been the
leader of the phalanx, 16 is named in ID 1572 ἐπὶ τῶν δυνάμεων, one of the
most important ranks in the pontic administration.
What type of equipment did the heavy infantry carry, then? Sources
invariably label them as phalangites. ‘Φάλαγξ’, however, is a deceiving
term. While it may be applied to the hoplitic formation or to the Macedonian
15 WeBBer, 2001, 19-34.
16 “ἦγον […] Δορύλαος ἐν φάλαγγι ταττομένους” (App., Mithr., 63).