The  depth  of  the  phalanx  seems  to  have  varied,  as  Thucy-
dides says  in  speaking  of  the  phalanxes  of  the  other  Boeotian
contingents  in  the  same  battle.     The  Athenian  hoplites  in
this   battle   were   eight   deep.      At    Mantinea    in   418   the
Lacedaemonian  divisions  were  drawn  up  according  to  the
discretion  of  the  general  commanding  them,  but  the  average,
Thucydides  says,^  was  eight  men  deep.     It  is  possible  that
a  depth  of  eight  men  was  the  most  common  formation  of
the  hoplite  phalanx  at  the  time  of  the  Peloponnesian  War.^
It  is  evident  that  there  was  a  quicker  step  recognised  in
Greek  army  drill — the  advance  '  Spofitp.'     Judging  from  the
emphasis    which   Herodotus   lays  upon  the    fact    that   the
Athenian  army  at  Marathon  used  this  mode  of  advance,  it
may  be  presumed  that  it  was  very  rarely  used  when  the
advance  was  made  over  any  considerable  space  of  ground.
The  expression  does  not  appear  to  mean  '  at  a  run,'  for  it
is  applied  by  Thucydides*  to  Brasidas'  rapid  march  from
south  to  north  of  Thessaly  in  the  course  of  his  expedition
to  Chalkidike.^     The  close  formation  was  so  important  for
the  effectiveness  of  the  phalanx  that  a  considerable  amount
of  drill  must  have  been  necessary  in  order  to  ensure  that
the  line  was  accurately  maintained  during  an  advance.     In

1  Thuc.  iv.  94.  2  Thuc.  v.  68.
^  In  the  first  engagement  at  Syracuse  (Thuc.  vi.  67)  there  are  two
bodies  of  Athenian  troops,  each  eight  deep.  The  Syracusans  are
drawn  up  sixteen  deep.
■■  Thuc.  iv.  78.
