They would be sent to occupy imposing terrain around and within the battlefield, as well as to disrupt the enemy in any way during his march, deployment or encampment. Just before the charge of the line, the psiloi would be recalled through the phalanx and deployed behind it or on its wings. They would avoid close combat with more heavily armed opponents unless they had the advantage of especially favorable terrain. "Psiloi" could be used tactically, to constantly harass an enemy, unable to engage them. A famous engagement of "psiloi" against "hoplitai" was in the Battle of Sphacteria, in which the Athenian "psiloi" helped defeat a force of Spartan "hoplitai", with powerful ramifications for the military reputation of the Spartans. "Grosphomachoi" is the Greek term used by Polybius to describe the Roman Republic's youngest and lowest class of citizen soldiers in the Roman army, the "velites". The "grosphomachos" - the Roman "veles" - was equipped with javelins Polybius calls "grosphoi" and which in Latin were termed "veruta". These were short, light weapons whose long metal points were designed to bend to prevent re-use by the enemy once thrown. They were deployed as skirmishers in front of the heavier infantry of the legion. "Velites" were used against the Carthaginians' war elephants in the Punic Wars. Polybius describes the typical "veles" as having a helmet and "parma", a small round shield. Greek language military treatises of Late Antique and later Byzantine periods of the Roman Empire call all light troops "psiloi", regardless of their defensive equipment. They were used as skirmishers, but they were often deployed in regular lines behind or among the heavy infantry ranks, usually equipped with bows.