Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons^™

The Nature Of Command In The Macedonian Sarissa Phalanx, Graham Wrightson

School of American and Global Studies Faculty Publications with a Focus on History, Philosophy, Political Science, and Religion

In his essay, ―Hellenistic military leadership,‖ P. Beston reviews the successes of Hellenistic kings and generals who commanded their armies from the front, inspiring by example.1 In all but one of his examples the individual in question commanded a cavalry squadron. This is hardly surprising. Horses by nature follow each other and so to direct an attack to where it is required the commander would be better served by leading from the front. The relative lack of structure in a cavalry squadron compared with an infantry battalion requires that the commander fight in the front rank. The speed of a …