What was the good thing about having an army consisting of hoplites?

Answer 1

In ancient Greece, the hoplite provided a solid military unit and organization of Greek citizens. Any male old enough and strong enough to wield a spear and a shield could be trained to be a member of a hoplite. In war time, males would be trained as militia hoplites that could defend their home town or city if under external invasion. As a military unit, hoplites were the backbone of ancient Greek armies. A hoplite provided provided an organized unit that was capable of taking on armies much larger than the hoplite. The standard weapon of the hoplite was a long spear that could extend over the shields of the men in the first two rows of the hoplite, although each man was equipped with a sword as a secondary weapon. Hoplite soldiers were also heavily armored (for the time), and had large shields that could be used as protection. The theory behind the hoplite was that a physical wall would be presented to the enemy with long spears for attack. The first row of men would be used to hold the enemy back, while the second and third rows could stab over the first row and attack the enemy. Because there were multiple rows in a hoplite, the strength of each man was multiplied because of the support that those behind them could lend. Also, in such close quarters, men were able to work in more cohesive actions, thus saving men's lives and providing a more efficient unit. Hoplites won battles through sheer attrition.