From the soldier's-eye view of combat to the broad social and economic structures which shaped campaigns and wars, ancient Greek warfare in all its aspects has been studied more intensively in the last few decades than ever before. This book ranges from the concrete details of conducting raids, battles and sieges to more theoretical questions about the causes, costs and consequences of warfare in archaic and classical Greece. It argues that the Greek sources present a highly selective and idealized picture, too easily accepted by most modern scholars, and that a more critical study of the evidence leads to radically different conclusions about the Greek way of war.

Hans van Wees is Reader in Ancient History at University College London.

List of Illustrations and Sources

ix

Acknowledgements

xiii

Conventions and Abbreviations

xiv

Introduction

1

(2)

PART I. WAR AND PEACE

3

(42)

Kinsmen, Friends and Allies: the society of states

6

(13)

Greeks against the world

6

(2)

`The same blood and common shrines'

8

(2)

Friendship and reciprocity

10

(2)

Military aid and alliances

12

(4)

Keeping the peace

16

(3)

Justice, Honour and Profit: causes and goals of wars

19

(15)

Crusades: piety, justice and freedom

20

(2)

Honour: rivalry and revenge

22

(4)

Spoils of war

26

(2)

Border land and other territories

28

(2)

Tribute: archaic and classical imperialism

30

(4)

Pleonexia: structural causes of war

34

(11)

A culture of leisure and greed

35

(2)

The warrior ideal

37

(3)

An army of wanderers: mercenaries, exiles, adventurers

40

(5)

PART II. CITIZENS AND SOLDIERS

45

(42)

Men of Bronze: the myth of the middle-class militia

47

(14)

The development of hoplite arms and armour

47

(5)

Dress to impress: display and protection

52

(3)

Leisure-class and working-class hoplites

55

(2)

Hoplite elites: mounted infantry and crack battalions5

57

(4)

The Other Warriors: light infantry, cavalry, body-servants and mercenaries

61

(16)

The role and status of light infantry

62

(3)

The role and status of cavalry

65

(3)

Shield-bearers and other servants

68

(3)

Epikouroi: mercenaries and other outsiders

71

(6)

Politics and the Battlefield: ideology in Greek warfare

77

(10)

Aristotle and the citizen-soldier

78

(1)

War and politics in Greek history

79

(4)

The citizens and soldiers of Sparta

83

(4)

PART III. AMATEUR ARMIES

87

(28)

Bodies of Men: training and organisation of the militia

89

(13)

Gymnasium and battlefield

89

(4)

Becoming a soldier

93

(2)

War bands and the early state

95

(2)

The armies of classical Sparta and Athens

97

(5)

The Bare Necessities: mobilisation and maintenance of armies

102

(13)

Calling out the troops

102

(2)

`Unless someone carries a spare': Greek logistics

104

(4)

Keeping order: discipline among citizens

108

(7)

PART IV. AGONAL AND TOTAL WARFARE

115

(36)

Rituals, Rules and Strategies: the structure of campaigns

118

(13)

The constraints of religion

119

(2)

Devastation of town and country

121

(5)

Defence of town and country

126

(5)

Ambush, Battle and Siege: changing forms of combat

131

(20)

`Thefts of war': the element of surprise

132

(1)

Champion and restricted combat

133

(1)

Protocols of battle

134

(2)

Cities under fire

136

(9)

Aftermath: war heroes, prisoners and refugees

145

(6)

PART V. THE EXPERIENCE OF COMBAT

151

(48)

The Deeds of Heroes: battle in the Iliad

153

(13)

The shape of battle

154

(4)

Chariots in combat

158

(2)

Battlefield etiquette: the myth of the heroic code

160

(2)

Fields of glory? The psychology of combat

162

(4)

The Archaic Phalanx: infantry combat down to the Persian Wars

166

(18)

Dark Age combat and the first hoplites, c. 720-640 BC

166

(6)

Tyrtaeus' phalanx, c. 640-600 BC: close combat, missiles and mobility

172

(2)

Images of combat in the sixth century

174

(3)

Herodotus' phalanx: the Persian Wars

177

(7)

The Classical Phalanx: infantry combat transformed

184

(15)

Rank and file: the classical formation

185

(3)

Fighting and pushing: the mechanics of combat

188

(4)

Andreia: the mentality of the classical hoplite

192

(3)

The transformation of the phalanx

195

(4)

PART VI. RULING THE WAVES

199

(33)

The Wall of Wood: ships, men and money

202

(13)

Sea-raiders and navies in early Greece

203

(3)

The rise of the trireme

206

(3)

The navy in classical Athens

209

(6)

War at Sea: classical naval campaigns

215

(17)

In the navy: mobilisation, logistics and discipline

215

(6)

From sacrifice to salvage: agonal and total warfare at sea

221

(5)

Ramming and rowing: the experience of naval combat

226

(6)

Conclusion. The Development of Greek warfare: war and the state

232

(21)

`Their master is the Law': the power of the state

233

(2)

`Greece grew up with poverty': the resources of the state

235

(6)

Appendices

1. Athenian manpower in 480 and 431 BC

241

(2)

2. Changes in Spartan military organisation from 480 to 371 BC

243

(6)

3. The historicity and date of Homeric warfare

249

(4)

Notes

253

(64)

Bibliography

317

(16)

Select Index of Passages

333

(6)

General Index

339

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