Traditionally historians date the origin of the hoplite phalanx of ancient Greece to the 8th century BC in Sparta, but this is under revision. The principles of shield wall and spear hedge were almost universally known among the armies of major civilizations throughout history, and so the similarities may be related to convergent evolution instead of diffusion. Historians have not arrived at a consensus about the relationship between the Greek formation and these predecessors.
Homer used the term to differentiate the formation-based combat from the individual duels so often found in his poems. The first usage of the term phalanx comes from Homer's "(φαλαγξ)", used to describe hoplites fighting in an organized battle line. Ancient Egyptian infantry were known to have employed similar formations. Here the troops seem to have been equipped with spears, helmets, and large shields covering the whole body. The earliest known depiction of a phalanx-like formation occurs in a Sumerian stele from the 25th century BC. Detail of a fragment of the victory stele of the king Eannatum of Lagash over Umma, called Stele of the Vultures This article, however, focuses on the use of the military phalanx formation in Ancient Greece, the Hellenistic world, and other ancient states heavily influenced by Greek civilization. The word has come into use in common English to describe "a group of people standing, or moving forward closely together" c.f. Many spear-armed troops historically fought in what might be termed phalanx-like formations. Thus a phalanx does not have a standard combat strength or composition but includes the total number of infantry, which is or will be deployed in action in a single phalanx formation. The term itself, as used today, does not refer to a distinctive military unit or division (e.g., the Roman legion or the contemporary Western-type battalion) but to the general formation of an army's troops. While the Spartan phalanx used a shorter more versatile spear, the Macedonian phalanx that Alexander commanded used a "sarissa" which was a much longer and heavier spear which required the use of two hands. The word phalanx is derived from the Greek word phalanx, meaning the finger. They marched forward as one entity, crushing opponents. They used shields to block others from getting in. In Greek texts, the phalanx may be deployed for battle, on the march, even camped, thus describing the mass of infantry or cavalry that would deploy in line during battle. The term is particularly (and originally) used to describe the use of this formation in Ancient Greek warfare, although the ancient Greek writers used it to also describe any massed infantry formation, regardless of its equipment, as does Arrian in his Array against the Allans when he refers to his legions. The phalanx (Ancient Greek: φάλαγξ, Modern Greek: φάλαγγα, phālanga plural phalanxes or phalanges Ancient and Modern Greek: φάλαγγες, phālanges) is a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons.
For other uses, see Phalanx (disambiguation).
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