The Greek army
The Greek army mostly depended on their phalanx. They were the inventors of it, and it had never failed during the Persian wars. The phalanx had proved itself to be a superior tactic in their eyes, and for long they did not see the need to expand the army with lighter troops, archers, or cavalry. The trireme had also proved itself to be a superior weapon, and the Greek navy practically only consisted of these fast vessels. The Greek armies were not so versatile as those of Macedon and Persia, but their training and equipment was more than excellent.

The Persian army
The Persians were capable of raising a huge amount of soldiers, mostly because of the enormous size of their empire. This implied that the Persian army was immense, but it was by far not as well trained as the Greek forces. The equipment of the Persian troops was also inferior to those of the opposing Greek forces. Nevertheless was the Persian army very powerful, and especially the elite Immortals were feared. Traditionally it depended heavily on archers and cavalry, but later on a phalanx of Greek mercenaries became an important part of the army too when the armies became more versatile.

Mercenaries
Mercenaries were very important in the ancient history. The Greek armies did not need them at first, but later on they were even used in Hellas. Mercenaries were normally used because they were capable of doing something which the army could not do. That is why the Greeks hired Scythic archers, why the Persians used Greek hoplites during the wars against Macedon, and why the Thracian peltast was the beginning of a new type of forces.

The Persian wars
Suddenly the Greeks had to face an enormous problem: the Ionian revolt had created an anti-Greek atmosphere in the Persian empire. The Persians seemed determined to conquer Hellas, and the Greeks asked themselves how they could ever stop such a mighty enemy. Luckily they had three benefits: the phalanx, the trireme, and the fact that they were fighting for the independence of their loved country. Goliath was about to attack David.

The Struggle for hegemony
During the Peloponessian war no really significant battles took place. This was completly different during the period after this war: Sparta was the leader of Hellas, Athens wanted to restore her leadership, and the aspirations of Thebes did not end any longer in Boeotia. Needless to say that this resulted in several conflicts. Thebes was superior on the battlefield, but its hegemony did not last for long. Philip of Macedon ended the conflicts.

Rise of Macedon
Philip had changed Macedon from an insignificant nation into a nation with great military power, and even more potential power. Under Philip Macedon was transformed from a half-Greek culture into the leader of all Greeks. His son Alexander the Great continued this policy and he finally realised the dreams of many Greeks: a combined attack on the archenemy Persia.

The era of the diadochs
After the death of Alexander his empire was split up into three major kingdoms. This was the start of a relatively long period of peace and stability, but everything ends and soon wars erupted between the kingdoms. Slowly the kingdoms fell apart, and finally it was Rome who ended the Hellenistic world.