One of the social issues around 356 BC- 400 BC was warfare in Ancient Greece. For the Greeks war was more than tactics, strategy and blood; it was linked to almost every aspect other social organization. Greeks warfare displayed the honesty of two armies facing each other head on in broad daylight. The soldiers were called hoplites. The heavily armed hoplite of the fighting unit wore bronze armor on his shins and chest and a bronze helmet slit with a narrow opening for eyes and mouth. He carried a heavy wooden shield in his left hand. His weapon a pike; a heavy wooden, iron tipped thrusting spear at least 9 feet long; and a short, iron stabbing sword. A hoplite's panoply weight range from fifty to seventy pounds. The solid bronze helmet that the average hoplite wore weighed approximately five pounds and covered the head and parts of the face and neck. The solid headpieces also provided no ventilation, often times leading to dehydration.
             The men in the phalanx were lined up in rows; usually four to eight rows deep. The phalanx was positioned usually near a mountain. If there were no mountain they would usually be lined up between two rivers. The phalanx formation called for each man to trust his neighboring infantryman often times a friend or a relative. With a shield in his left hand and a spear in his right, each man dependent on his fellow hoplites shield for full body coverage. Battles were won and lost depending on the phalanx's ability to hold its formation. Every hoplite helped, they all worked together. There was no individual hero. If a hoplite went individually he would die very quick. It was very important to keep the chain together. It was also very dangerous to trip and fall, because your fellows would walk over you. One weak link in the chain of infantryman could create a gap that was potentially fatal if exploited. For this reason, the younger hoplites with some experience were placed in the fron...