Part I

The heavy infantry of the phalanx would have been at a very great disadvantage without their complement of cavalry and light troops. They were sent ahead of the phalanx to open the battle, to occupy points of advantage, drive off the enemy's light troops, to reconnoitre suspicious-looking ground, and to lay ambushes. In the battle itself, they protected the flanks of the phalanx and lent fire support to the heavy troops. They were also invaluable for moving and fighting on broken ground - a thing the phalanx never did well. Finally, they were the best forces for pursuit. In short, light troops were invaluable to open, support and conclude a battle.

There were two major types of cavalry--heavy and light. Heavy cavalry wore cuirasses, helmets and sometimes thigh-pieces. At times, their horses were protected by armor covering the head and chest. The riders also carried a shield and were armed, according to Polybius, with a good stout spear with a sharp point on the butt in addition to the head.

The second class of cavalry fought from a distance. They were either horse archers (called Scythian cavalry) or javelin men (called Tarentine cavalry). Now that we have touched an the equipment of the cavalry, let us consider organization and formation.

The square, the rectangle, the wedge and the diamond were all known. In general, the cavalry was employed in fairly deep order. For example, in one formation, the front consisted of sixteen files; and there were eight ranks. This gave the appearance of a square since the intervals between ranks were greater than those between files. Another theory held that the length of a line should be three times its depth. Although the Persians and Greeks liked the square or rectangular order, the Thessalians, Thracians, Scythians and Macedonians preferred wedge or diamond shaped formations. In the diamond, the troop commander (ilarches) rode at the point, flank-guards (plagiophylakes) on either side and the troop file-closer (uragos) in the rear. The best men formed the edges.

The cavalry was organized in the following way:

Troop (eile) = 64 men
2 troops = epilarchia
2 epilarchia = Tarantinarchia
2 Tarantinarchia = hipparchia
2 hipparchia = ephipparchia
2 ephipparchia = a complement (telos)

Cavalry skirmished before the infantry and guarded its flanks. Rarely did it venture to challenge an unbroken phalanx. A frontal attack was out of the question and the flanks were usually well guarded -- unless they rested on some natural obstacle such as a river bank. Xenophon has left us a good picture of the handicaps of pre-stirrup cavalry:

If any of you is downhearted because we have no cavalry but the enemy have many remember that their ten thousand cavalry are only ten thousand men. No one ever died in battle from the kick or bite of a horse, the men make them do what they do in battle. In fact we have a safer carrier than cavalry; there they hang on their horses fearing a fall as well as a foe, but we stand on the ground, and we can hit harder if anyone attacks, and aim better. The cavalry has indeed one advantage; they can cut and run more safely.

There were three major classes of light infantry, bowmen* and slingers, capable of fire only, peltasts or targeteers, and hypaspists. The latter were really a kind of medium infantry armed with a shorter spear than the hoplites.

Light infantry fought from four different positions. in the van position, they skirmished before the phalanx and then retired through intervals. This allowed effective direct fire. The flank position had similar advantages. The rear position, when the troops fired over the heads of the hoplites, was less useful since the missiles were less accurate and "the arrows (of bowmen) have impetus only for their upward flight, and afterwards, even if they fall on the heads of the enemy, they will have spent their force and cause little distress to the foe." Similar objections were raised to the interjection of light troops among the soldiers of a phalanx in open order. Besides, the javelin throwers would not be able to step back to throw, and the whirling slings of the slingers would cause confusion in the ranks by forcing the hoplites to duck and dodge them.

Light troops were organized into files of eight men, four files formIng a systasis. Two of these made a pentekontarchia, which was itself doubled to make a hekatontarchia. This unit had a staff similar to that of the taxis or syntagma. The higher units were formed:

2 hikantontarchia = psilagia
2 psilagia = xenagia
2 xenagia = systremma
2 systremma = epixenagia
2 epixenagia = stiphos
2 stiphos = a supporting force

Using about a one to twenty representation, I would recommend using a three or a four figure base to represent a troop, depending on whether you prefer to represent your troops in rectangular or square order or in the diamond formation, you will find it harder to combine your units for larger battles.

On a similar basis, the light infantry systasis of 32 men may be represented by two figures on a small base. This will allow a great variety of formations to suit the tactical requirements of the individual situation, and it will be suitably much more flexible than the phalanx organization.

* The Cretan bowmen hired by Greeks and the early Romans were equipped with a bow inferior to the oriental one, which had superior range and hitting power.

More Macedonian Phalanx

Part I
Part II
Part III