Hybrid Phalanx Theory

[PMBardunias]

Interesting, do you now mean the Spartan king Cleomenes the third at the battle of Sellasia? And how did they get past the other 4 ranks of Sarrisa's(when they grabbed the Sarissa of the front rank)?

You'll find Cleonymus' story in Plutarch's life of Pyrrhus. He was a Spartan who was in the line of succession in one of the royal lines. He served as a mercenary general in Italy, probably facing Romans at one point. He later attempted to carve out a kingdom for himself based on Corcyra before attaching himself to Pyrrhus. Pyrrhus would later make an unsuccessful attack on Sparta in an attempt to support Cleonymus's claim to the throne.

We don't know much about the tactic I described- one line in one of the tactical manuals (Frontinus perhaps). Cleonymus used the tactic when taking a breach in a wall so perhaps the phalanx was atypical in some way.