Ancient Greeks at War

Ancient Greeks at War
Author: Simon Elliott
Publisher: Casemate
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2021-11-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 1612009999

“A detailed, insightful survey of Greek warfare” with illustrations and “many well-informed and highly perceptive observations” (Choice). In this book, historian and archaeologist Simon Elliott considers the different fighting styles of Greek armies and discusses how Greek battles unfolded. Covering every aspect of warfare in the Ancient Greek world from the beginnings of Greek civilization to its assimilation into the ever-expanding world of Rome, it begins with the onset of Minoan culture on Crete around 2000 BC, then covers the arrival of the Mycenaean civilization and the ensuing Late Bronze Age Collapse before moving on to Dark Age and Archaic Greece. This sets the scene for the flowering of Classical Greek civilization, as told through detailed narratives of the Greek and Persian Wars, the Peloponnesian Wars, and the rise of Thebes as a major power. The book then moves on to Macedonian domination under Philip II, before focusing on the exploits of his son Alexander the Great, the all-conquering hero of the ancient world. His legacy was the Hellenistic world with its multiple, never-ending series of conflicts that took place over a huge territory, ranging from Italy in the west all the way to India in the east. Topics covered include the various Wars of the Successors, the rise of the Bactrian-Greek and Indo-Greek kingdoms, the wars between the Antigonid Macedonian, Seleucid, and Ptolemaic kingdoms, and later the clash of cultures between the rising power of Rome in the west and the Hellenistic kingdoms. In the long run the latter proved unable to match Rome’s insatiable desire for conquest in the eastern Mediterranean, and this together with the rise of Parthia in the east ensured that one by one the Hellenistic kingdoms and states fell. The book ends with the destruction of Corinth in 146 BC after the defeat by Rome of the Achaean League—and concludes by considering the legacy of the Ancient Greeks in the Roman world, and subsequently. “A comprehensive survey, smoothly written by an expert popularizer of ancient history. A tour de force.” —NYMAS Review

Wars of the Ancient Greeks (Smithsonian History of Warfare)

Wars of the Ancient Greeks (Smithsonian History of Warfare)
Author: Victor Davis Hanson
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2006-12-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 0061142085

This brilliant account covers a millennium of Greek warfare. With specially commissioned battle maps and vivid illustrations, Victor Davis Hanson takes the reader into the heart of Greek warfare, classical beliefs, and heroic battles. This colorful portrait of ancient Greek culture explains why their approach to fighting was so ruthless and so successful. Development of the Greek city-state and the rivalries of Athens and Sparta. Rise of Alexander the Great and the Hellenization of the Western world. Famous thinkers—Sophocles, Socrates, Demosthenes—who each faced his opponent in battle, armed with spear and shield. Unsurpassed military theories that still influence the structure of armies and the military today.

Warfare in Ancient Greece

Warfare in Ancient Greece
Author: Tim Everson
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 190
Release: 2004-11-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 0752495062

Discussing the background, weapons and tactics of the ancient Greeks, this title describes the weapons, armour, chariots and other military equipment used from 1550 to 150 BC. It traces how and when various pieces of equipment came into use; where they were introduced from; the effectiveness of the equipment; and when and why things changed.

Warfare in Ancient Greece

Warfare in Ancient Greece
Author: Michael Sage
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2002-06-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 113476331X

Warfare in Ancient Greece assembles a wide range of source material and introduces the latest scholarship on the Greek experience of war. The author has carefully selected key texts, many of them not previously available in English, and provided them with comprehensive commentaries. For the Greek polis, warfare was a more usual state of affairs than peace. The documents assembled here recreate the social and historical framework in which ancient Greek warfare took place - over a period of more than a thousand years from the Homeric Age to Alexander the Great. Special attention is paid to the attitudes and feelings of the Greeks towards defeated people and captured cities. Complete with notes, index and bibliography, Warfare in Ancient Greece will provide students of Ancient and Military History with an unprecedented survey of relevant materials

War and Violence in Ancient Greece

War and Violence in Ancient Greece
Author: Hans van Wees
Publisher: Classical Press of Wales
Total Pages: 394
Release: 2009-12-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1910589292

The study of Greek warfare should involve much more than reconstructing the experience of combat or revisiting the great wars of the classical period. Here, a distinguished cast of international scholars explores beyond the usual thematic and chronological boundaries. Ranging from the heroes of Homer to the kings and cities of the hellenistic age, the contributors set war in the context of other forms of Greek violence, private and public. At every turn they challenge received ideas about the causes and conduct of war, its development and its place in Greek society and culture.

Land Battles in 5th Century BC Greece

Land Battles in 5th Century BC Greece
Author: Fred Eugene Ray, Jr.
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 325
Release: 2011-08-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 0786452609

"Relying heavily on primary sources such as Herodotus, Thucydides and Plutarch, this volume provides the first-ever tactical level survey of all Greek land engagements which occurred during the 5th century BC, a seminal period in the history of western warfare"--Provided by publisher.

The Oxford Handbook of Warfare in the Classical World

The Oxford Handbook of Warfare in the Classical World
Author: Brian Campbell
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 822
Release: 2017-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 0190499133

"Offers six exemplary case studies of Greeks and Romans at war, thoroughly illustrated with detailed battle maps and photographs"--Provided by publisher.

Classical Greek Tactics

Classical Greek Tactics
Author: Roel Konijnendijk
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2017-10-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 900435557X

What determined the choices of the Greeks on the battlefield? Were their tactics defined by unwritten moral rules, or was all considered fair in war? In Classical Greek Tactics: A Cultural History, Roel Konijnendijk re-examines the literary evidence for the battle tactics and tactical thought of the Greeks during the 5th and 4th centuries BC. Rejecting the traditional image of limited, ritualised battle, Konijnendijk sketches a world of brutally destructive engagements, restricted only by the stubborn amateurism of the men who fought. The resulting model of hoplite battle does away with most received wisdom about the nature of Greek battle tactics, and redefines the way they reflected the values of Greek culture as a whole.

Greek Warfare beyond the Polis

Greek Warfare beyond the Polis
Author: David A. Blome
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 112
Release: 2020-04-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1501747614

Greek Warfare beyond the Polis assesses the nature and broader significance of warfare in the mountains of classical Greece. Based on detailed reconstructions of four unconventional military encounters, David A. Blome argues that the upland Greeks of the classical mainland developed defensive strategies to guard against external aggression. These strategies enabled wide-scale, sophisticated actions in response to invasions, but they did not require the direction of a central, federal government. Blome brings these strategies to the forefront by driving ancient Greek military history and ancient Greek scholarship "beyond the polis" into dialogue with each other. As he contends, beyond-the-polis scholarship has done much to expand and refine our understanding of the ancient Greek world, but it has overemphasized the importance of political institutions in emergent federal states and has yet to treat warfare involving upland Greeks systematically or in depth. In contrast, Greek Warfare beyond the Polis scrutinizes the sociopolitical roots of warfare from beyond the polis, which are often neglected in military histories of the Greek city-state. By focusing on the significance of warfare vis-à-vis the sociopolitical development of upland polities, Blome shows that although the more powerful states of the classical Greek world were dismissive or ignorant of the military capabilities of upland Greeks, the reverse was not the case. The Phocians, Aetolians, Acarnanians, and Arcadians in circa 490–362 BCE were well aware of the arrogant attitudes of their aggressive neighbors, and as highly efficient political entities, they exploited these attitudes to great effect.