Warmatrix

Hoplites were the archetypical Greek warriors. The ancient Greeks had light troops and cavalry, but hoplites were dominant.
Hoplites were created approximately 700 BCE, when the Greek armies perfected their equipment and heavy infantry tactics. Hoplite warfare condensed fighting into a few decisive pitched battles in short campaigning seasons, which suited the Greeks well, as they could field neither large armies nor very long.
Hoplites were recruited from the middle and upper classes of the polis, the city-society. Only they were wealthy enough to pay for the heavy hoplite armor and weapons. Hoplites were militia troops, not professional warriors, but fighting between Greek cities was frequent, so they could gain considerable experience. They also trained in peacetime, both with arms and competing in classic athletics to keep fit.
The main weapon of the hoplites was a 2 - 3 meters long spear ("doru" in Greek), wielded single-handed, either overhand or underhand. They usually carried a short sword ("xiphos" in Greek) or dagger as a secondary weapon. Hoplites were protected by their shields ("aspis" in Greek) called hoplon, from which the name hoplite derives. These were round shields, about 1 meter in diameter, made of wood with bronze plating, weighing about 7 kilograms. Their bodies were protected by a cuirass, half-open helmet and shin-protectors. The richest hoplites wore bronze cuirasses weighing about 30 kilograms, though many used a cheaper linothorax instead. This was made of several layers of stitched linen, in some places reinforced with bronze studs. The arms and upper legs were generally unprotected, especially in later periods. Soldiers who were not that wealthy (the majority) equipped themselves only with spear, helmet and greaves.
For the time, hoplites were heavily armored and fought as heavy infantry in closed formation, the phalanx. The shield of each man covered his own left side and the right side of the warrior to his left. The formation was 4 - 8 rows deep, so if a man fell another could take his place. Also, the spears from the first three rows were pointing forward horizontally, so the phalanx presented a thick wall of spears and shields to the enemy that was dangerous to attack. But it was slow and sluggish, weak on the sides and especially the rear.
Hoplite phalanxes were stronger in defense than offense, so casualties were usually light. Discipline to hold the ranks was more important than skill with weapons. When one side broke, the battle was usually swiftly over. Some phalanx battles became pushing matches, especially when the Theban general Epaminondas in the 371 BCE deepened the formation to 50 rows.
Hoplites gained international fame when they defeated the Persian army in the Battle of Marathon and other battles in the Greek-Persian wars. For centuries, many Greek warriors served as mercenaries in other armies. Gradually other troop types like skirmishers and cavalry got a larger role and the hoplite phalanx was reduced to just one element of an army the use combined arms tactics. Eventually they were made obsolete by the more flexible Roman infantry, though the hoplites themselves had already started to adapt by wearing lighter armor and wielding shorter weapons.