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It鈥檚 one thing to study Alexander the Great and the rise of Macedonia. It鈥檚 another to re-enact the battle tactics of his day. University of Colorado students of classics experienced the latter as they marched around the Norlin quad with PVC spears recently.

鈥淚t鈥檚 all very educational, but it鈥檚 also a bit of a spectacle,鈥� notes Peter Hunt, associate professor and chair of classics.

Students moved in formation as a hoplite phalanx, then tried out the Macedonian phalanx, a superior formation that facilitated Alexander鈥檚 defeat of the Persian Empire and his creation of one of the largest empires in ancient history.

Alexander鈥檚 soldiers generally wore much smaller shields strapped to their shoulders.

Before the exercise began, Hunt explained the pre-battle ritual of animal sacrifice.

鈥淲hen students read their literature or history, the ancient Greeks can seem familiar, almost kindred spirits,鈥� Hunt notes. 鈥淎 few things remind us that they were not. Slavery is one, and blood sacrifice was another.鈥�

A special sacrifice,听sphagia, was conducted immediately before battle, when the lines were perhaps a few-hundred yards apart, Hunt notes.听This involved stabbing the victim in the throat and perhaps deciding from the way the blood spurted whether the gods favored going into battle.

鈥淭hey almost always decided that the gods approved,鈥� he notes adding that a stuffed buffalo seemed the appropriate听sphagia听at CU.

Hunt has conducted this exercise twice in another class, but he decided to add it to the Alexander course this time, 鈥済iven the necessarily military focus in any course about Alexander the Great.鈥�

鈥淭here are many aspects of ancient battle that students can understand much better after a more vivid and concrete experience than the classroom can provide,鈥� Hunt adds. 鈥淔or example, students can understand how difficult and crucial it is merely to stay in a formation and, thus, why the amateur armies of the early classical period rarely attempted to do anything more complicated tactically that lining up and advancing.鈥�

Additionally, Hunt adds, students can consider the range of an arrow and how it would feel to try to get through it quickly and in formation. 听鈥淥r they can look at the buildings around the quad鈥攎ost of which are about the same height as city walls鈥攁nd more vividly understand the dangers of siege warfare and why the Greeks developed it so late.鈥�

Hunt notes that he鈥檚 met former students years after they鈥檝e taken the class, and they 鈥渞emember vividly and smile about the spear and formation exercises.鈥澨鼵ourse evaluations very often mention it too鈥攁lways favorably.

This year, one student quipped, 鈥淚t was a very enjoyable experience, and I hope we instilled fear on campus today!鈥� One student immortalized the event on YouTube; see below: