Editing Hoplite (section)

=== 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/>