I've often heard that Rome adopted the maniple legion fighting style as opposed to the phalanx because it more flexible for fighting in hilly terrain. But Greece seems as rugged and hilly as Italy. So does this really explain why the different fighting tactics developed?

by blackflag415

It's always bugged me when I listen to podcasts or read about history this explanation is given. I've never been to Italy or Greece, but they both seem to have plenty of hills and rugged terrain when looking at maps.

Iphikrates

Hello! /u/marce_camitlans and I answered this question a while ago in this thread. We later reworked our answers into an article for Ancient World Magazine, which you can read here.