Back to the future: emergency departments and ancient Greek warfare

doi:10.1136/bmj.a2761

From trainee to consultant, BMJ Group offers doctors around the world tailored information, special events, learning resources and recruitment services at every step along their career path.

... by doctors, for doctors, for patients
We are open for entries!

Online learning

BMJ Learning

High-quality CME / CPD for doctors and other healthcare professionals. BMJ Learning features hundreds of accredited, peer-reviewed learning modules in text, video, and audio formats. Find out more

Courses and Qualifications

BMJ Masterclasses

BMJ Masterclasses, led by experts, help clinicians to use the latest evidence and recent guidelines in practice and meet their CPD/CME requirements. Find out more

Exam Preparation

The leading provider of online exam preparation, helping over 167,000 healthcare professionals to pass their exams. Find out more

onExamination

Search all BMJ comment articles:

From

Limit by

Our online table of contents is updated at least twice each day. Read all articles published in the last 7 days.
Keep up to date with cardiology: Access the latest cardiovascular medicine resources from across BMJ Group.
The BMJ iPad app brings you the best of print and online, including live links to the latest news, blogs, video, and podcasts. Get the BMJ iPad app.
OPEN ACCESS: All research articles are freely available online, with no word limit. Find out more about the BMJ's open access policy. Submit your paper.
Countdown to London 2012: BMJ Group's Olympics portal highlights latest Olympics and sports medicine-themed research, comment and learning

Access to the full text of this article requires a subscription or payment. Please log in or subscribe below.

Bernard A Foëx, consultant in emergency medicine and critical care

¹Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester M13 9WL

Bernard.foex{at}cmmc.nhs.uk

Warfare in ancient Greece and modern emergency departments have much in common, says Bernard A Foëx

Ancient Greek warfare, as depicted in the Iliad, focuses on the exploits of individual heroes such as Achilles and Ajax. The ordinary soldiers take second place in the narrative.

In the 6th and 5th centuries BC the armies fielded by the Greek city states against each other and against the invading Persians were characterised by the phalanx of hoplites: citizen soldiers, who paid for their own equipment. They were briefly drilled before a campaign but were in no way a professional army: the exception being Sparta. These armies were commanded by a “king” or a general. A small number of light infantry and cavalry also existed, usually stationed on the wings. The battle itself was generally decided by the discipline and the bravery of the hoplites and their general.

The end of the hoplites

The 4th century BC saw the emergence of other battle formations. Iphicrates defeated a Spartan hoplite phalanx using peltasts, light infantry armed with javelins, at the battle of Lechaeum in 390 BC. Their ability to out manoeuvre the heavily armed hoplites proved decisive. At the same time the northern Greeks developed a much more effective cavalry force than their southern rivals. At the battle of Leuctra (371 BC) the Theban commander Epaminondas used his Thessalian cavalry to great effect, routing the Spartan cavalry, which then hindered the formation of the Spartan phalanx. As Macedonia came to dominate the classical world under Philip and then Alexander, so cavalry increasingly proved decisive. The Macedonian phalanx still had to hold the line …