History of the Peloponnesian War

Such was the order and the composition of the two sides. The army of the Lacedaemonians appeared the larger;

but the number, either of the separate contingents or of the total on either side, I could not possibly state accurately. For on account of the secrecy of their polity the number of the Lacedaemonians was unknown; and that claimed for the others, on account of men's tendency to boast with regard to their own numbers, was discredited.

However, from the following mode of computation it is allowable to estimate the number of the Lacedaemonians that were then present. There were engaged in the battle seven battalions, without the Sciritae, who numbered six hundred, and in each battalion were four companies of fifty, in each company four platoons. In the first rank of each company fought four men; in depth, however, they were not all drawn up alike, but as each battalioncommander preferred—on the average eight deep. Along the whole line, then, exclusive of the Sciritae, the first rank consisted of four hundred and forty-eight men.[*](The sum-total of the whole army was 4,184 men (7×4×4×4=448×8=3,584+600=4,184).)