Greek Warfare Myths and Realities

by Wees, Hans van

• ISBN13: 9781474275903
• ISBN10: 1474275907
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2017-11-02
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

From the soldier's-eye view of combat to the broad social and economic structures that 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 idealised 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.

In this new edition the evidence from recent research is interwoven throughout the existing text along with new images to supplement the original illustrative material, which is now fully integrated. A new map and annotated timeline will support students, while a much-expanded final chapter on naval warfare will bring this important subdiscipline fully up to date.

Author Biography

Hans van Wees is Grote Professor of Ancient History at University College London, UK. He is the author of Ships and Silver, Taxes and Tribute (2013) and has edited or co-edited numerous volumes including The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare (2007).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Conventions and Abbreviations

Introduction

Part I. War and Peace
1. Kinsmen, Friends and Allies: the society of states
2. Justice, Honour and Profit: causes and goals of war
3. Pleonexia: structural causes of war

Part II. Citizens and Soldiers
4. Men of Bronze: the myth of the middle-class militia
5. The Other Warriors: light infantry, cavalry, body-servants and mercenaries
6. Politics and the Battlefield: ideology in Greek warfare

Part III. Amateur Armies
7. Bodies of Men: training and organisation of the militia
8. The Bare Necessities: mobilisation and maintenance of armies

Part IV. Agonal and Total Warfare
9. Ritual, Rules and Strategies: the structure of campaigns
10. Ambush, Battle and Siege: changing forms of combat

Part V. The Experience of Combat
11. The Deeds of Heroes: battle in the Iliad
12. The Archaic Phalanx: infantry combat down to the Persian Wars
13. The Classical Phalanx: infantry combat transformed

Part VI. Ruling the Waves
14. The Wall of Wood: ships, men and money
15. War at Sea: classical naval campaigns

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

Appendices
1. Athenian manpower in 480 and 431 BC
2. Changes in Spartan military organisation from 480 to 371 BC
3. The historicity and date of Homeric warfare

Maps
Glossary and Who's Who
Annotated timeline

Notes
Bibliography
List of Illustrations and Sources
Select Index of Passages
General Index