previous next
φάλαγξ [φα^], αγγος, ἡ, (v. sub fin.)
A.line of battle, battle-array, Hom. only in Il., once in sg., “Τρώων ῥῆξε φάλαγγα” Il.6.6: elsewh. pl.the ranks of an army in battle, “Δαναοὶ ῥήξαντο φάλαγγας” 11.90; “φάλαγγες ἀνδρῶν” 19.158, Hes. Th.935; “τῶν κάτω Διὸς φαλάγγων” S.Ichn. (lyr.) in PTeb. 692 iii 10.
2. heavy infantry (ὁπλῖται) in battle-order, X.An.1.8.17, al.; ἡ φ. τῶν ὁπλιτῶν ib.6.5.27, cf. D.9.49; opp. πελτασταί, X.An.6.5.25; opp. ἱππεῖς, Id.Cyr.6.3.2, Ages.2.9; “τοὺς ἱππεῖς πρὸ τῆς φ. ἔστησαν” D.S.20.10, cf. Plu.Crass.23; but “οἱ Ἕλληνες ἱππεῖς ὥσπερ φ. ἐπὶ τεττάρων παρατεταγμένοι” X.HG3.4.13: esp. line of battle, opp. κέρας (column in marching order), ἐπὶ φάλαγγος ἄγειν, opp. κατὰ κέρας or ἐπὶ κέρως ἄγειν, Id.Cyr.1.6.43; of ships, Id.HG6.2.30; ἐκ κέρατος εἰς φ. καταστῆσαι to form from column into line, Id.Cyr.8.5.15; “παρ᾽ ἀσπίδα παραγαγόντας τὴν ἐνωμοτίαν ἐπὶ φάλαγγος” Id.An.4.3.26; “ἐπὶ φάλαγγος καθίστασθαι” Id.Cyr.6.3.21, cf. An.6.5.7,25.
b. main body, centre, opp. the wings (κέρατα), Id.Cyr.7.1.6, al.
c. camp, εἴσω, ἔξω φάλαγγος, Id.Ages.2.15. Lac.12.3, cf. Eq.8.12.
3. esp. of the Macedonian phalanx, Plb.18.29sqq., etc.
4. in writers on Tactics:
a. corps of 16384 ὁπλῖται, Ascl.Tact.2.7, Ael.Tact.8.3.
b. corps of 8192 ψιλοί ( = ἐπίταγμα, q.v.) Ascl.Tact.2.7, Arr. Tact.14.2.
c. contingent of 64 chariots ( = two κέρατα), Ascl. Tact.8, Ael.Tact.22.2.
d. contingent of 64 elephants, ib.23.
5. metaph., “λοπάδων παρατεταγμένη φ.” Diph.44.3; of a band of pupils, Lib.Ep.145.1; of a governor's staff (Lat. officium), Id.Or.46.11.
II. round piece of wood, trunk, log, “φάλαγγες ἐβένου” Hdt.3.97; “ἐκ κοτίνοιο φ.” A.R.2.843; “φ. πύξιναι” IG11(2).287 B145 (Delos, iii B. C.).
2. pl., rollers for moving heavy loads, A.R.1.3755q., Orph. A.270: sg., Phryn.PSp.124B.
3. arm of a balance, Arist.Mech. 849b36; arm of the Danish steelyard, ib.853b25.
III. = φάραγξ, BGU 282.18 (ii A. D.).
IV. bone between two joints of the fingers and toes, Arist.HA493b29; pl., Ruf.Onom.84 (but metacarpals, [Ruf.] Oss. 22).
2. row of eyelashes, Paul.Aeg.6.8.
V. = φαλάγγιον 1, Ar. V.1509, Ra.1314 (lyr.), Pl.Com.22, X.Mem.3.11.6: masc. in Arist. HA609a5. (The orig. sense was prob. log, cf. OHG balcho 'beam', Lat. sufflamen (for sub-flag-men) 'brake'.)
Henry George Liddell. Robert Scott. A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by. Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1940.

The National Endowment for the Humanities provided support for entering this text.

hide Dictionary Entry Lookup
Use this tool to search for dictionary entries in all lexica.
Search for in
How to enter text in Greek:
hide References (30 total)
  • Cross-references in general dictionaries from this page (30):
    • Aristophanes, Frogs, 1314
    • Aristophanes, Wasps, 1509
    • Demosthenes, Philippic 3, 49
    • Herodotus, Histories, 3.97
    • Hesiod, Theogony, 935
    • Xenophon, Anabasis, 1.8.17
    • Xenophon, Anabasis, 4.3.26
    • Xenophon, Anabasis, 6.5.27
    • Xenophon, Anabasis, 6.5.7
    • Xenophon, Anabasis, 6.5.25
    • Xenophon, Cyropaedia, 1.6.43
    • Xenophon, Cyropaedia, 6.3.2
    • Xenophon, Cyropaedia, 7.1.6
    • Xenophon, Cyropaedia, 8.5.15
    • Xenophon, Cyropaedia, 6.3.21
    • Xenophon, Hellenica, 3.4.13
    • Xenophon, Hellenica, 6.2.30
    • Xenophon, Memorabilia, 3.11.6
    • Xenophon, Agesilaus, 2.15
    • Xenophon, Constitution of the Lacedaimonians, 12.3
    • Xenophon, On the Art of Horsemanship, 8.12
    • Xenophon, Agesilaus, 2.9
    • Homer, Iliad, 11.90
    • Homer, Iliad, 19.158
    • Homer, Iliad, 6.6
    • Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, 1.3755
    • Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, 2.843
    • Plutarch, Crassus, 23
    • Arrian, Tactica, 14.2
    • Diodorus, Historical Library, 20.10
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: