While the Spartan phalanx used a shorter more versatile spear, the Macedonian phalanx that Alexander the Great and Phillip II commanded used a "sarissa" which was a much longer and heavier spear which required the use of two hands. Many spear-armed troops historically fought in what might be termed phalanx-like formations. The word has come into use in common English to describe "a group of people standing, or moving forward closely together"; c.f. "a phalanx of police".