Page:History of Greece Vol XI.djvu/527

BATTLE OF CHAERONEIA. 50j The Macedonian phalanx, as armed and oi-ganized by Philip, was sixteen deep ; less deep than that of the Thebans either at Delium or at Leuktra. It had veteran soldiers of great strength and complete training, in its front ranks ; yet probably soldiers hardly superior to the Sacred Band, who formed the Theban front rank. But its great superiority was in the length of the Macedonian pike or sarissa in the number of these weapons which projected in front of the foremost soldiers and the long practice of the men to manage this impenetrable array of pikes in an efficient manner. The value of Philip's improved phalanx was attested by his victory at Chasroneia. But the victory was not gained by the phalanx alone. The military organization of Philip comprised an aggregate of many sorts of troops besides the phalanx ; the body-guards, horse as well as foot the hypaspistas, or light hoplites the light caval- ry, bowmen, slingers,'etc. When we read the military opera- tions of Alexander, three years afterwards, in the very first year of his reign, before he could have made any addition of his own to the force inherited from Philip ; and when we see with what efficiency all these various descriptions of troops are employed in the field ;' we may feel assured that Philip both had them near iim and employed them at the battle of Chaeroneia. One thousand Athenian citizens perished in this disastrous field two thousand more fell into the hands of Philip as prisoners. 2 The Theban loss i?, said also to have been terrible, as well as the Achaean. 3 But we do not know the numbers ; nor have we any statement of the Macedonian loss. Demosthenes, himself pre- sent in the ranks of the hoplites, shared in the flight of his de- feated countrymen. He is accused by his political enemies of having behaved with extreme and disgraceful cowardice ; but we see plainly from the continued confidence and respect shown to him by the general body of his countrymen, that they cannot 1 Arrian, Exp. Alex. i. 2, 3, 10. 2 This is the statement of the contemporary orators (Demades, Frag. p. 179) Lykurgus (ap. Diodor. xvi. 85 ; adv. Leokratem, p. 236. c. 36) and Demosthenes (De Corona, p. 314). The latter does not specify the number of prisoners, though he states the slain at one thousand. Compare Pau*a uias. vii. 10, 2. 9 Pausanias. vii. 6, J.