traditionally, historians date the origin of the hoplite phalanx of ancient greece to the 8th century bc in sparta, but this is under revision. it is perhaps more likely that the formation was devised in the 7th century bc after the introduction of the aspis by the city of argos, which would have made the formation possible. this is further evidenced by the chigi vase, dated to 650 bc, identifying hoplites armed with aspis, spear and panoply.