Ancient Greek warfare and slingers ("sfendonitai") while archers ("toxotai") were rare, mainly from Crete, or mercenary non-Greek tribes (as at the crucial battle of Plataea 479 B.C.) Greek armies gradually downgraded the armor of the hoplites (to linen padded thorax and open helmets) to make the phalanx more flexible and upgraded the javelineers to lightly armored general purpose infantry ("thorakitai" and "thyreophoroi") with javelins and sometimes spears. Eventually, these types effectively complemented the Macedonian style phalanx which prevailed throughout Greece after Alexander the Great. Cavalry had always existed in Greek armies of the classical era but the cost of horses made it far
Heavy infantry Heavy infantry Heavy infantry refers to heavily armed and armoured infantrymen trained to mount frontal assaults and/or anchor the defensive center of a battle line. This differentiates them from light infantry which are relatively mobile and lightly armoured skirmisher troops intended for screening, scouting, and other roles unsuited to the heavier soldiers. Heavy infantry typically make use of dense battlefield formations, such as shield wall or phalanx, multiplying their effective weight of arms with weight of numbers. Heavy infantry were critical to many ancient armies, such as the Greek hoplites, Macedonian phalangites, and Roman legionaries. After the fall of Rome,