When we talk about ancient military formations, its hard not to very quickly mention the Greek Spartans, which of course quickly leads to the discussion of the battle of Thermopylae. The almost pathological dedication, supreme strength, and war-centered culture of the Spartans made them the supreme infantry force on the southern European continent during their zenith.
When people today ask about what the primary weapon was for their hoplite formation, there is usually a raised eyebrow when a historian or textbook says 'a spear'. The fact of the matter is that the Spartans understood that the reach, punch, and cost of a one-handed spear was the most effective way to equip their infantry on the field of battle.
But that does not mean that the Spartan's placed all of their trust in one weapons. strapped to the side of each soldier's body was the xiphos, Typically, in other Greek cultures the weapon was a 18"-24" iron blade, but the Spartans took it to its close-quarters extreme, fielding weapons between 12" and 18" long, perfectly crafted lengths for the face-to-face, close quarters fighting expected after two large formations collided on the field.
The Spartan preparation for war started in early childhood, with both skill and strength training as a central part of a child's life before they turned ten. By the time a boy was 12 or 13, he was expected to be highly proficient in both the spear and the sword. When he reach maturity and formally joined the spartan army, he was considered by most Greeks to be part of one of the most highly trained, disciplined military formations of the ancient world.
By that point in his life, things like the xiphos, spear, and their large shields were not the ungainly, heavy attributes we think of today, but were an extension of the man himself, part of the killing tool that was a spartan solider.
His Lordship Ivo Blackhawk
Kingdom of Ansteorra
"Long Live the King!"
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