History of the hoplite phalanx

Men wear their helmets and their breastplates for their own needs, but they carry shields for the men of the entire line. --Plutarch, Moralia The hoplite phalanx was the perfect manifestation of classical Greek society on the battlefield. Made up of middle-class men who had day jobs, the phalanx was made to decide a war in a single bloody struggle. Hellenistic warfare.