The Spartan Phalanx was built by aggregating small units into larger ones --the smallest unit being the Enomotia with a maximum of 40 men. Each Enomotia consisted of two Syssitia, the basic unit of the mess. The twenty men who dined every day together were considered a “band of brothers” who ate together, trained together, and went to war together. Each Enomotia was represented by all age classes required to be present in a specific deployment. For example, when the call up was to age forty-five, each Enomotia consisted of five hoplites between the age of 20 and 25, five between the age of 25 and 30, five between the ages of 30 and 35, five between the ages of 35 and 40, and five between the ages of 40 and 45, making a total of 25. In a call up to age 60, there would be 40 men for each Enomotia.
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