CHAP. XCII.]

MACEDONIAN PHALANX.

81

country: Orestæ, Lynkestæ, Elimiotæ, Tymphæi, &c. The writers on tactics give us a systematic scale of distribution (ascending from the lowest unit, the Lochus of sixteen men, by successive multiples of two, up to the quadruple phalanx of 16,384 men) as pervading the Macedonian army. Among these divisions, that which stands out as most fundamental and constant, is the Syntagma, which contained sixteen Lochi. Forming thus a square of sixteen men in front and depth, or 256 men, it was at the same time a distinct aggregate or permanent battalion, having attached to it five supernumeraries, an ensign, a rear-man, a trumpeter, a herald, and an attendant or orderly. Two of these Syntagmas composed a body of 512 men, called a Pentakosiarchy, which in Philip's time is said to have been the ordinary regiment, acting together under a separate command; but several of these were doubled by Alexander when he reorganized his army at Susa3, so as to form regiments of 1024 men, each under its Chiliarch, and each comprising four Syntagmas. All this systematic distribution of the Macedonian military force when at home, appears to have been arranged by the genius of Philip. On

1

1 Arrian, i. 14, 3. iii. 16, 19; Diodor. xvii. 57. Compare the note of Schmieder on the above passage of Arrian; also Droysen, Geschichte Alexanders des Grossen, p. 95, 96, and the elaborate note of Mützel on Curtius, v. 2, 3. p. 400.

The passage of Arrian (his description of Alexander's army arrayed at the Granikus) is confused, and seems erroneous in some words of the text; yet it may be held to justify the supposition of six taxeis of pezetari in Alexander's phalanx on that day. There seem also to be six Taxeis at Arbêla (iii. 11, 16).

2 Arrian, Tactic. c. 10; Elian, Tactic. c. 9.

3 Curtius, v. 2, 3.

VOL. XII.

G

Light in

fantry of

Hypas

pistæ, or Guards.

actual foreign service, no numerical precision could be observed; a regiment or a division could not always contain the same fixed number of men. But as to the array, a depth of sixteen, for the files of the phalangites, appears to have been regarded as important and characteristic', perhaps essential to impart a feeling of confidence to the troops. It was a depth much greater than was common with Grecian hoplites, and never surpassed by any Greeks except the Thebans.

But the phalanx, though an essential item, was the line yet only one among many, in the varied military organization introduced by Philip. It was neither intended, nor fit, to act alone; being clumsy in changing front to protect itself either in flank or rear, and unable to adapt itself to uneven ground. There was another description of infantry organized by Philip called the Hypaspists-shield-bearers or Guards; originally few in number, and employed for personal defence of the prince-but afterwards enlarged into several distinct corps d'armée. These Hypaspists or Guards were light infantry of the line; they were hoplites, keeping regular array and intended for close combat, but more lightly armed,

1 This is to be seen in the arrangements made by Alexander a short time before his death, when he incorporated Macedonian and Persian soldiers in the same lochus; the normal depth of sixteen was retained; all the front ranks or privileged men being Macedonians. The Macedonians were much hurt at seeing their native regimental array shared with Asiatics (Arrian, vii. 11, 5; vii. 23, 4–8).

2 The proper meaning of vaσTIOтai, as guards or personal attendants on the prince, appears in Arrian, i. 5, 3; vii. 8, 6.

Neoptolemus, as ȧрxiñασñiστηs to Alexander, carried the shield and lance of the latter, on formal occasions (Plutarch, Eumenes, 1).

3 Arrian, ii. 4, 3, 4; ii. 20, 5.

CHAP XCII.]

HYPASPISTS-IRREGULAR TROOPS.

83

and more fit for diversities of circumstance and position, than the phalanx. They seem to have fought with the one-handed pike and shield, like the Greeks; and not to have carried the two-handed phalangite pike or sarissa. They occupied a sort of intermediate place between the heavy infantry of the phalanx properly so called-and the peltasts and light troops generally. Alexander in his later campaigns had them distributed into Chiliarchies (how the distribution stood earlier, we have no distinct information), at least three in number, and probably more'. We find them employed by him in forward and aggressive movements; first his light troops and cavalry begin the attack; next the hypaspists come to follow it up; lastly, the phalanx is brought up to support them. The hypaspists are used also for assault of walled places, and for rapid night marches'. What was the total number of them, we do not know3.

troops

mostly

foreigners.

Besides the phalanx, and the hypaspists or Light Guards, the Macedonian army as employed by generallyPhilip and Alexander included a numerous assemblage of desultory or irregular troops, partly native Macedonians, partly foreigners, Thracians, Pæonians, &c. They were of different descriptions; peltasts, darters, and bowmen. The best of them appear to have been the Agriânes, a Pæonian tribe

1 Arrian, iv. 30, 11; v. 23, 11.

'Arrian, ii. 20, 5; ii. 23, 6; iii. 18, 8.

Droysen and Schmieder give the number of hypaspists in Alexander's army at Issus, as 6000. That this opinion rests on no sufficient evidence, has been shown by Mützel (ad Curtium, v. 2, 3. p. 399). But that the number of hypaspists left by Philip at his death was 6000 seems not improbable.

Macedonian cavalry

lence-how

expert in the use of the javelin. All of them were kept in vigorous movement by Alexander, on the flanks and in front of his heavy infantry, or intermingled with his cavalry,—as well as for pursuit after the enemy was defeated.

Lastly, the cavalry in Alexander's army was also its excel admirable-at least equal, and seemingly even regimented. Superior in efficiency, to his best infantry'. I have already mentioned that cavalry was the choice native force of Macedonia, long before the reign of Philip; by whom it had been extended and improved. The heavy cavalry, wholly or chiefly composed of native Macedonians, was known by the denomination of the Companions. There was besides a new and lighter variety of cavalry, apparently introduced by Philip, and called the Sarissophori, or Lancers, used like Cossacks for advanced posts or scouring the country. The sarissa which they carried was probably much shorter than that of the phalanx; but it was long, if compared with the xyston or thrusting pike used by the heavy cavalry for the shock of close combat. Arrian, in describing the army of Alexander at Arbêla, enumerates eight distinct squadrons of this heavy cavalry-or cavalry of the Companions; but the total number included in the Macedonian army at Alexander's accession, is not

1 See Arrian, v. 14, ; v. 16, 4; Curtius, vi. 9, 22. " Equitatui, optimæ exercitus parti," &c.

2 We are told that Philip, after his expedition against the Scythians about three years before his death, exacted and sent into Macedonia 20,000 chosen mares, in order to improve the breed of Macedonian horses. The regal haras were in the neighbourhood of Pella (Justin, ix. 2; Strabo, xvi. p. 752, in which passage of Strabo, the details apply to the haras of Seleukus Nikator at Apameia, not to that of Philip at Pella).

CHAP. XCII.]

COMPANION CAVALRY.

85

known. Among the squadrons, several at least (if not all) were named after particular towns or districts of the country-Bottiæa, Amphipolis, Apollonia, Anthemus, &c.'; there was one or more, distinguished as the Royal Squadron-the Agêma or leading body of cavalry-at the head of which Alexander generally charged, himself among the foremost of the actual combatants2.

The distribution of the cavalry into squadrons was that which Alexander found at his accession; but he altered it, when he remodelled the arrangements of his army (in 330 B.C.) at Susa, so as to subdivide the squadron into two Lochi, and to establish the Lochus for the elementary division of cavalry, as it had always been of infantry. reforms went thus to cut down the primary body of cavalry from the squadron to the half-squadron or Lochus, while they tended to bring the infantry together into larger bodies-from cohorts of 500 each to cohorts of 1000 men each.

His

Among the Hypaspists or Guards, also, we find

1 Arrian, i. 2, 8, 9 (where we also find mentioned Toùs ek tŷs ävwbev Μακεδονίας ἱππέας), i. 12, 12; ii. 9, 6 ; iii. 11, 12.

About the ἱππεῖς σαριστόφοροι, see i. 13, 1.

It is possible that there may have been sixteen squadrons of heavy cavalry, and eight squadrons of the Sarissophori,—each squadron from 180 to 250 men -as Rüstow and Köchly conceive (p. 243). But there is no sufficient evidence to prove it; nor can I think it safe to assume, as they do, that Alexander carried over with him to Asia just half of the Macedonian entire force.

2 Arrian, iii. 11, 11; iii. 13, 1; iii. 18, 8. In the first of these passages, we have iλai Baσiλikaì in the plural (iii. 11, 12). It seems too that the different ai alternated with each other in the foremost position, or yeμovía, for particular days (Arrian, i. 14, 9).

3 Arrian, iii. 16, 19.