| The city states of ancient Greece gave a lot to the | | | | Peloponnesian War. |
| world. We all learn from the ancient rulers, philosophers | | | | The ancient Greek army consisted primarily of infantry. |
| and poets. On the other hand, the ancient Greek | | | | The Hoplite soldiers were armed with a long spear and |
| warfare is not as notable for most historians. | | | | a large shield. This armament allowed the men to form |
| However, there is still a lot to learn from it. | | | | an organized phalanx - a dense rectangular formation. |
| The Greeks used armies, but they were not formed | | | | In this way the soldiers were protected by the |
| by professional soldiers. Instead they were formed of | | | | interlocking shields and they could fight the enemy |
| citizen farmers that fought for the state. Usually the | | | | using their long spears. The battles were usually in the |
| battles were short for two main reasons. Firstly, even | | | | form of quick shock clashes with one phalanx fighting |
| when a city state was well fortified it was enough for | | | | another. The main maneuver that was used in this |
| the enemy to destroy the crop field beyond the city | | | | type of combat was the forcing of the front lines to |
| walls in order to win the war without even fighting. | | | | the ones of the enemy. In case the phalanx was |
| Secondly, a prolonged war could not be lead simply | | | | broken the soldiers usually fled the battle field. |
| because the farmers had to go back to work the land | | | | Naval battles were not uncommon. They were fought |
| so that the life in the city could be sustained. The first | | | | on boards of light fast moving rowing ships called |
| occasion in which these traditions were changed was | | | | triremes. All Greek warfare naval tactics were based |
| the Spartan attack on Athens during the | | | | on ramming and boarding. |