The regular equipment of the Greek infantry soldier consisted, besides
his helmet and body-armour, of shield and lance, and in advancing to
battle he had always a tendency to diverge towards the right, from a
natural wish to keep his shielded side towards the enemy. This
divergence from the forward direction was begun by the man posted on
the extreme right; his comrade on the left followed his example, and
the deflection was continued along the whole line. The consequence was
that when two armies came into action, the left wing on either side
was greatly outflanked by the opponents' right; and the battle of
Mantinea affords no exception to this rule, for not even Spartan
discipline was able to counteract the overpowering instinct of self-
preservation. Seeing that his left wing was on the point of being
outflanked by the Mantineans, Agis signalled to the Sciritae and
Brasideans to draw off in a lateral direction towards the left, in
order to present an equal line to the right wing of the enemy. The
order was executed, and to fill up the gap thus produced on the left
of his own centre, Agis ordered the Spartan officers commanding on his
right wing to bring up their men and occupy the vacant space. They,
however, flatly refused to obey the order, and consequently the
Sciritae and Brasideans were assailed in front and on both flanks by
overwhelming numbers, and driven back with great loss to their camp.
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