Academy

Hoplite
	Cost - 60F 40G First Available - Bronze Age Speed - Slow
Greek infantry soldiers of the Classical Age were called hoplites, from the name of their large shields, called hoplons. For battle they wore a cuirass (breastplate), helmet, and greaves. They were armed with a long spear or pike and sword. Hoplite armies fought each other hand-to-hand in the dense phalanx formation that faced the enemy with a bristling wall of spear points staggered at chest level. Fighting at close range in such a formation required a commitment to training and discipline that became a way of life. Hoplites were the best infantry soldiers in the world for many centuries until being supplanted by the more flexible and functional Roman legionnaires.

Phalanx
	Cost - 60F 40G First Available - Iron Age Speed - Slow
The phalanx was a Greek heavy infantry formation used from about 800 BC to the conquest of Greece by the Romans in the second century BC. The Greek infantry, called hoplites, formed a square that could quickly face in any of four directions. Each man carried a pike or spear up to 12 feet in length. As the formation advanced, it presented an imposing wall of spear points to its front. Hoplites carried a large shield and wore a bronze helmet, cuirass (breastplate), and greaves. All free men in the Greek city-states trained in the phalanx. The discipline and drill required to make the phalanx work permeated the entire Greek culture. Greek infantry fighting from the phalanx was the finest in the western world for several centuries. No other infantry faced it in hand-to-hand combat and won until the new tactics of combined arms made it obsolete. The last great success of the phalanx was in Alexander the Great's campaign against the Persians, although in that army it fought as part of a combined arms army.

Centurion
	Cost - 60F 40G First Available - Iron Age Speed - Slow Technology Required - Alchemy
The smallest tactical unit in the Roman army trusted with independent maneuver was the 120-man maniple. Each maniple was commanded by a centurion, a veteran promoted from the ranks after demonstrating bravery, skill, discipline, and leadership. The maniple was roughly equivalent to the modern infantry company, and the centurion was a combination of modern infantry captain and top sergeant. Centurions were the backbone of the legions that built and defended the Roman Empire.

Top