Although often referred to as the goddess of wisdom, Athena's realm more accurately extended to technology, and the development of the sarissa qualifies as one of the greatest achievements in military technology. While Greek infantry used 8-10' long spears for centuries, Alexander the Great refined its use for the Greek phalanx, creating a 16-20' long, two-handed pike called a sarissa. Macedonian phalanxes armed with sarissas dominated Mediterranean warfare until the rise of Rome.