Pretty much identical, except the Macedonians used the sarissa, a much longer (5.5 meter or even longer) version of the commonly used spear (around 2.5 metres). It needed two hands to be wielded so the Macedonian soldiers hung a small "pelta" shield from their shoulders instead of carrying the much larger "hoplon" shield the Greek soldiers (Hoplites) normally used in their right hand. The advantages were obvious. Before the Greeks could reach the Macedonians they had cross at least 2 meters of spear points. The Roman general who defeated the Macedonians said that facing a Macedonian phalanx was the most terrifying thing he had ever seen and the Romans had quite some trouble conquering them. The rigid phalanx formations could not win against the more flexible Roman units however.