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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Hellenica by Xenophon: Boeotians, in the first place, abandoning the rule of sixteen deep,
chose to give their division the fullest possible depth, and,
moreover, kept veering more and more to their right, with the
intention of overlapping their opponent's flank. The consequence was
that the Athenians, to avoid being absolutely severed, were forced to
follow suit, and edged towards the right, though they recognised the
risk they ran of having their flank turned. For a while the
Lacedaemonians had no idea of the advance of the enemy, owing to the
rough nature of the ground,[15] but the notes of the paean at length
announced to them the fact, and without an instant's delay the
answering order "prepare for battle" ran along the different sections
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