Battle Formation

This weekend I watched the Greek battle movie 300 on dvd (more insight from this weekend to come). The premise of the movie is this: The great Spartan warriors with their valiant king take on the whole of the Persian army that numbers well into the tens of thousands with an "army" of 300 of the king's personal bodyguards because he's been told that he can't wage war using the Spartan army. This group of 300 are able to fight off the legions of Persian warriors for quite some time before being defeated.

They indeed fought a losing battle but, it was the manner in which they were able to be as successful as they were that intrigued me and sent me to Wikipedia to learn more about these people and their battles. They fought in a phalanx formation. In a phalanx, the emphasis is on the unit acting as one rather than one person fighting within a unit. Each man carries his shield on his left to protect the man on his left while using his weaponry with his right hand. This allows them to move in such a way as to be an impenetrable force. It's a formation still in use today.


The effectiveness of a phalanx is based on how well they are able to maintain their formation in battle. Members of a phalanx have to trust and be willing to protect their neighbors. In the Greek army, warriors were placed next to and required to protect their family and friends as an incentive to stick to the formation as well as a means to discourage a warrior from retreating for risk of shame. This created a more disciplined and courageous army that could win in battle.

Even though this wasn't the first time I'd heard of this formation, I guess it resonated with me during the movie because of recent ruminations about my own life and the times in which we live. Knowing that a cord of 3 strands is not easily broken, I wonder why is it that so many amongst us seem to think otherwise? How much more effective in life would we be if we implemented the phalanx mentality? Everyone's motto seems to be to "get mine."

The fact that these men could protect their fellow man with one arm and protect themselves with the other proves to me that it's possible to help the advancement of another while you also advance. On blogs, people are cutting down one another and wishing misfortune on those who are striving towards their dreams or trying to make an impact in society; teens are being cyber bullies; in professional environments, team members are actively engaged in sabotage so they can appear to be the lone shining star; the rich often see charity as welfare or a P.R. opportunity; and in relationships, many feel to compromise for the good of the whole is somehow short changing the individual. For these and countless other reasons, I wonder how long can a society survive like this?

If a family says to each other "No matter what, this is our focus" and lets no outside force interfere with their pursuit of the goal as a collective unit, how much faster will they get there? Is it impossible to think that two people on a job with different areas of expertise and strengths could team up and present an innovative idea that allows both of them an opportunity for promotion? Could the problem of poor education in our schools and the societal issues that result from it be solved if parents, teachers, and administrators banded together for the good of the common purpose which is to educate the minds of our brightest hopes: our kids?

I'm about to ingrain the phalanx in my life. My family, my friends, my co-workers, my spirit and soul, everything and everyone need to be lined up for a purpose of common good.