New Approaches to Greek and Roman Warfare

by Brice, Lee L.

• ISBN13: 9781118273333
• ISBN10: 1118273338
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2020-02-11
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Uses new methodologies, evidence, and topics to better understand ancient warfare and its place in culture and history 

New Approaches to Greek and Roman Warfare brings together essays from specialists in ancient history who employ contemporary tools and approaches to reveal new evidence and increase knowledge of ancient militaries and warfare. In-depth yet highly readable, this volume covers the most recent trends for understanding warfare, militaries, soldiers, non-combatants, and their roles in ancient cultures. Chronologically-organized chapters explore new methodologies, evidence, and topics while offering fresh and original perspectives on recent documentary and archaeological discoveries. 

Covering the time period from Archaic Greece to the Late Roman Empire, the text asks questions of both new and re-examined old evidence and discusses the everyday military life of soldiers and veterans. Chapters address unique topics such as neurophysiological explanations for why some soldiers panic and others do not in the same battle, Greek society’s handling of combat trauma in returning veterans, the moral aspects and human elements of ancient sieges, medical care in the late Roman Empire, and the personal experience of military servicemembers and their families. Each chapter is self-contained to allow readers to explore topics in any order they prefer. This book:

• Features case studies that examine psychological components of military service such as morale, panic, recovery, and trauma
• Offers discussions of the economics of paying for warfare in the Greek and Roman worlds and why Roman soldiers mutinied
• Covers examining human remains of ancient conflict, including interesting photos
• Discusses the role of women in families and as victims and addresses issues related to women and war
• Places discussions in the broader context of new wave military history and includes complete bibliographies and further reading suggestions

Providing new material and topical focus, New Approaches to Greek and Roman Warfare is an ideal text for Greek History or Roman History courses, particularly those focusing on ancient warfare, as well as scholars and general readers with interest in the ancient militaries.

Author Biography

LEE L. BRICE is Professor of History and Distinguished Lecturer at Western Illinois University. He is author of numerous books, including Warfare in the Roman Republic, Aspects of Ancient Institutions and Geography, and Insurgency and Terrorism in the Ancient Mediterranean World, series editor of Warfare in the Ancient Mediterranean World, and senior editor of the journal Research Perspectives in Ancient History.

Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors ix

Preface xiii

List of Abbreviations xv

List of Illustrations xvii

1 Ancient Warfare and Moving Beyond “New Military History” 1
Lee L. Brice

Part I Greece 13

2 Wealth and the Logistics of Greek Warfare: Food, Pay, and Plunder 17
Matthew Trundle

3 Early Greek Siege Warfare 29
Michael G. Seaman

4 Daily Life in Classical Greek Armies, c. 500–330 BCE 39
John W.I. Lee

5 Soldiers’ Home: Life After Battle 53
Lawrence A. Tritle

6 Greek Cavalry in the Hellenistic World: Review and Reappraisal 65
Glenn R. Bugh

7 Skeletal Evidence for the Impact of Battle on Soldiers and Non‐Combatants 81
Maria A. Liston

Part II Rome 95

8 Financing Imperialism in the Middle Roman Republic 99
Nathan Rosenstein

9 Indiscipline in the Roman Army of the Late Republic and Principate 113
Lee L. Brice

10 The Neurophysiology of Panic on the Ancient Battlefield 127
Susan M. Heidenreich and Jonathan P. Roth

11 Roman Siege Warfare: Moral and Morale 139
Josh Levithan

12 Roman Military Communities and the Families of Auxiliary Soldiers 149
Elizabeth M. Greene

13 Approaching “Ethnic” Communities in the Roman Auxilia 161
Alexander Meyer

14 Health, Wounds, and Medicine in the Late Roman Army (250–600 CE) 173
Philip Rance

Index 187