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An Invincible Beast

Understanding the Hellenistic Pike Phalanx in Action

By: CHRISTOPHER MATTHEW

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Paperback | 28 February 2022

At a Glance

Paperback
544 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.4 x 15.6 x 4.7

Paperback

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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 literature dedicated to detailing the history of the Hellenistic world, there remains fierce debate among modern scholars about how infantry combat in this age was actually conducted.

Christopher Matthews critically examines phalanx combat by using techniques such as physical re-creation, experimental archaeology, and ballistics testing, and then comparing the findings of this testing to the ancient literary, artistic and archaeological evidence, as well as modern theories. The result is the most comprehensive and up-to-date study of what heavy infantry combat was like in the age of Alexander the Great and his Successors.

About the Author

Dr Christopher Matthew teaches at Australian Catholic University, New South Wales, Australia. He wrote 'A Storm of Spears' (2012), made a new translation of 'Aelian's Tactics' (2012) and co-edited Beyond the Gates of Fire (2013) (all published by Pen & Sword).

50 illustrations

Industry Reviews

"The exceptional analysis goes point by counterpoint by counter-counterpoint... You won't look at a block of Macedonian pikemen on the tabletop the same way."-- "Historical Miniatures Gaming Society"

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