Armed with an Attic helmet, a linothorax, greaves, and the round Makedonian pelte, these soldiers have been trained to fight as their cousins in the Diadochoi armies fight.

Can Form Phalanx

Stratege, while the Hellenes pride themselves in their hoplite tradition, and while much in warfare is still the same, much has also changed. The great pike formations of the Diadochoi, thousands of men armed in the Makedonian manner, with their rows of sarissa, offer a different sort of approach to battle than that which we have long embraced. It is one we have seen work, as at times we ourselves, and many times more our common enemies, have wasted our energies in a futile attempt to break through rank after rank of spear points. Having seen the success of soldiers armed in the Makedonian manner, some Hellenic poleis and leagues have begun to drill some of their soldiery in this formation, reasoning that such a development was a necessary precondition to competing with and defeating the Makedonian armies. Armed with an Attic helmet, a linothorax, greaves, and the round Makedonian pelte, these soldiers have been trained to fight as their cousins in the Diadochoi armies fight. They are not so fierce in the charge as our Hoplitai, and are even more unwieldy in maneuvers on the field, but their phalanx, if kept safe on the flanks, is nearly impenetrable.

Historically, a number of Hellenic states began experimenting with the Makedonian pike phalanx over the course of the third century. The third century was a time of development in many respects among the Hellenic leagues and poleis: the advent of Thureophoroi and Thorakitai came not long before the Phalangitai appeared on the Hellenic side on battlefields. Even states with long and fierce hoplite traditions, like the Spartans, eventually developed elements in their armies who fought in the Makedonian manner. In most cases, these soldiers came from the middle classes of the polis, or in the case of the Spartans, from the perioikoi and were trained by ex-mercenaries, many of whom had formerly served in the phalanxes of the Successor armies, or had at least observed their drill.