An Invincible Beast: Understanding the Hellenistic Pike Phalanx in Action

The Hellenistic pike—phalanx was a true military innovation, transforming the face of warfare in the ancient world. For nearly 200 years, from the rise of the Macedonians as a military power in the mid—fourth century BC, to their defeat at the hands of the Romans at Pydna in 168BC, the pike—wielding heavy infantryman (the phalangite) formed the basis of nearly every Hellenistic army to deploy on battlefields stretching from Italy to India. And yet, despite this dominance, and the vast liter...