Sarissophoroi

The Sarissophoroi ( _gr. Σαρισσοφόροι meaning "the Sarissa bearers") were the heavy infantry of the army of Macedon and various Hellenistic states.Sarissophoroi fought in the traditional Greek phalanx formation. Each phalangite carried as his primary weapon a sarissa, a double-pointed pike over 6 m (18 ft) in length. It is the belief of some that these pikes were so large and heavy that they had to be wielded with two hands in battle, but this would contradict statues and reports contemporary to phalangist troops that showed these soldiers wearing large and heavy shields over one arm; regardless, it is likely that phalangite training was sufficient to permit proper use of the shield and sarissa. Before a battle the sarissa were carried in two pieces and then slid together when they were being used. At close range such large weapons were of little use, but an intact phalanx could easily keep its enemies at a distance; the weapons of the first five rows of men all projected beyond the front of the formation, so that there were more spearpoints than available targets at any given time. A phalangite also carried a secondary weapon, a short sword for close quarter fighting.