I. In gen.
A. Lit., a band of soldiers, a host drawn up in close order (poet.): “Agamemnoniae phalanges,” Verg. A. 6, 489: “densae,” id. ib. 12, 662: “Tuscorum,” id. ib. 12, 551: “animosa (said of eight brothers fighting together),” id. ib. 12, 277: “junctae umbone phalanges,” Juv. 2, 46.—
B. Trop., a host, multitude (postclass.): “culparum,” Prud. Psych. 816.—
II. In partic.
A. Among the Athenians and Spartans, a division of an army drawn up in battle array, a battalion, phalanx, Nep. Chabr. 1, 2; id. Pelop. 4, 2.—
B. The Macedonian order of battle, a Macedonian phalanx (a compact parallelogram of fifty men abreast and sixteen deep), Nep. Eum. 7, 1; Curt. 3, 2, 13; Liv. 31, 39, 10; cf.: “quae (cohortes) cuneum Macedonum (phalangem ipsi vocant) perrumperent,” id. 32, 17, 11: “fecerat et falangem triginta milium hominum,” Lampr. Alex. Sev. 50, 5.—
2. An order of battle of the Gauls and Germans, forming a parallelogram: “Helvetii confertissimā acie, phalange factā, etc.,” Caes. B. G. 1, 24; 1, 52: “phalangem perfringere,” id. ib. 1, 25.
