Hypothekai (Aug 2020)
“How the steel was tempered”: the system of training the Macedonian phalangites in the epoch of Philip II and Alexander the Great
Abstract
The article discusses the organization, content and effectiveness of the training process for the soldiers of the Macedonian phalanx during the time of Philip II and Alexander III. The basis for the study is a comparison of direct instructions of the ancient written tradition dating back to Ephorus with other data on the socio-political and military development of Macedonia in the 4th century BC. It is revealed that the Macedonian heavy footmen were mainly recruited from people from the countryside who were physically fit. The possibility to select candidates for the army was provided by the country's high demographic potential. The Macedonians were motivated to join the royal army by the possibility to increase their social status and improve their financial situation through a salary and land allotment. The features of the Macedonian phalanx as a type of forming-up determined the content of training for new recruits. It included combat training, during which the skill to embattle in various types of battle order and to move seamlessly according to orders was formed. An important component of the training was practicing the techniques for handling a long sarissa spear. To ensure the mobility of the army and endurance in fighters, training marches with full military equipment and a supply of provisions were practiced. A whole range of measures was aimed at the formation of strict military discipline, not characteristic of the Macedonian infantry in the previous periods. All this made it possible to quickly create and consistently increase the phalanx of sarissophores. The existing shortcomings in individual training were compensated by the accumulated combat experience, which was facilitated by the professional character of the Macedonian army. Organizationally, the phalangite corps was divided into taxes, which had a permanent personnel and consisted of the people, born in the same region, both veterans and youth. In the battle order of the phalanx, the most dangerous and responsible positions were occupied by experienced warriors. This ensured the combat effectiveness of each taxis and survival of inexperienced phalangites, who had the opportunity to adopt skills from veterans.
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