Editing Hoplite (section)

== Theories on the transition to fighting in the phalanx ==
{{further|Phalanx}}
[[File:Grave_relief_of_Dexileos,_son_of_Lysanias,_of_Thorikos_(Ca._390_BC)_(4454389225).jpg|thumb|Athenian cavalryman Dexileos fighting a naked [[Peloponnesia]]n hoplite in the [[Corinthian War]].<ref name="GH">{{cite book |last1=Hutchinson |first1=Godfrey |title=Sparta: Unfit for Empire |date=2014 |publisher=Frontline Books |isbn=9781848322226 |page=43 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hPm4BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA43 |language=en}}</ref> Dexileos was killed in action near [[Corinth]] in the summer of 394 BC, probably in the [[Battle of Nemea]],<ref name="GH"/> or in a proximate engagement.<ref>{{cite web |title=IGII2 6217 Epitaph of Dexileos, cavalryman killed in Corinthian war (394 BC) |url=https://www.atticinscriptions.com/inscription/IGII2/6217 |website=www.atticinscriptions.com |language=en}}</ref> [[Grave Stele of Dexileos]], 394–393 BC.]]
Dark Age warfare transitioned into hoplite warfare in the 8th century BC. Historians and researchers have debated the reason and speed of the transition for centuries. So far, 3 popular theories exist:

=== Gradualist theory ===
Developed by [[Anthony Snodgrass]], the Gradualist Theory states that the hoplite style of battle developed in a series of steps as a result of innovations in armour and weaponry.<ref name=TheoriesOnDevelopment>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.psu.edu/hoplitebattleexperience/theories-on-development/|title=Theories on Development {{!}} Hoplite Battles|website=sites.psu.edu|access-date=30 November 2016}}</ref> Chronologically dating the archeological findings of hoplite armour and using the findings to approximate the development of the phalanx formation, Snodgrass claims that the transition took approximately 100 years to complete from 750 to 650 BC.<ref name=Gradualism>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.psu.edu/cams180hoplite/phalanx-theories-2/gradualism/|title=Gradualism {{!}} The Hoplite Battle Experience|website=sites.psu.edu|access-date=30 November 2016}}</ref> The progression of the phalanx took time because as the phalanx matured it required denser formations that made the elite warriors recruit Greek citizens.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Men of Bronze: Hoplite Warfare in Ancient Greece|last=Kagan|first=Donald|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2013|page=8}}</ref> The large amounts of hoplite armour needed to then be distributed to the populations of Greek citizens only increased the time for the phalanx to be implemented. Snodgrass believes, only once the armour was in place that the phalanx formation became popular.<ref name=Gradualism/>

=== Rapid adoption theory ===
The rapid adaptation model was developed by historians [[Paul Cartledge]] and [[Victor Davis Hanson|Victor Hanson]].<ref name=RapidAdoption>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.psu.edu/cams180hoplite/phalanx-theories-2/rapid-adoption/|title=Rapid Adoption {{!}} The Hoplite Battle Experience|website=sites.psu.edu|access-date=30 November 2016}}</ref> They believed that the phalanx was created independently by military forces, but was so effective that others had to immediately adapt their way of war to combat the formation.<ref name=RapidAdoption/> Rapid adoptionists propose that the double grip shield that was required for the phalanx formation was so constricting in mobility that once it was introduced, Dark Age, free-flowing warfare was inadequate to fight against the hoplites, only escalating the speed of the transition.<ref name=TheoriesOnDevelopment/> Quickly, the phalanx formation and hoplite armour became widely used throughout Ancient Greece. Cartledge and Hanson estimate the transition took place from 725 to 675 BC.<ref name=RapidAdoption/>

=== Extended gradualist theory ===
[[File: Detail from the Chigi-vase.jpg|thumb|Chigi Vase with Hoplites holding javelins and spears]]
Developed by [[Hans Van Wees]], the Extended Gradualist theory is the most lengthy of the three popular transition theories. Van Wees depicts iconography found on pots of the Dark Ages believing that the foundation of the phalanx formation was birthed during this time.<ref name=TheoriesOnDevelopment/> Specifically, he uses an example of the Chigi Vase to point out that hoplite soldiers were carrying normal spears as well as javelins on their backs. Matured hoplites did not carry long-range weapons including javelins.<ref name=Gradualism/>  The [[Chigi vase]] is important for our knowledge of the hoplite soldier because it is one if not the only representation of the hoplite formation, known as the phalanx, in Greek art.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Greek art and archaeology. : a new history, c. 2500-c. 150 BCE|last=T.|first=Neer, Richard|isbn=9780500288771|location=New York|oclc=745332893|year = 2012}}</ref> This led Van Wees to believe that there was a transitional period from long-range warfare of the Dark Ages to the close combat of hoplite warfare. Some other evidence of a transitional period lies within the text of Spartan poet [[Tyrtaios]], who wrote, "…will they draw back for the pounding [of the missiles, no,] despite the battery of great hurl-stones, the helmets shall abide the rattle [of war unbowed]".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Tyrtaios|location=Fragment 1}}</ref> At no point in other texts does Tyrtaios discuss missiles or rocks, making another case for a transitional period in which hoplite warriors had some ranged capabilities. Extended Gradualists argue that hoplite warriors did not fight in a true phalanx until the 5th century BC.<ref name=TheoriesOnDevelopment/>  Making estimations of the speed of the transition reached as long as 300 years, from 750 to 450 BC.