Greek Warfare: From the Battle of Marathon to the Conquests of Alexander the Great

344 Pages·2012·5.09 MB·English

by  Lee L. Brice

GREEK WARFARE
From the Battle of Marathon to the Conquests of
Alexander the Great
Lee L. Brice
Copyright 2012 by ABC-CLIO, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
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publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Greek warfare : from the Battle of Marathon to the
conquests of Alexander the Great / Lee L. Brice, Editor.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61069-069-0 (hbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-61069070-6 (ebook) 1. Greece—History,
Military—To 146 B.C. 2. Military art and science—Greece—History—To 1500. 3. Military history,
Ancient. I. Brice, Lee L.
DF89.B75 2012
355.00938—dc23 2012024992
ISBN: 978-1-61069-069-0
EISBN: 978-1-61069070-6
16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5
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inspirational teachers and friends.
CONTENTS
Introduction
The Entries, A–X
Aegospotami, Battle of
Agesilaus II
Agis III
Alcibiades
Alexander the Great
Amphipolis
Anabasis
Antipater
Artemisium Battles of
Artillery
Athens
Bactria
Brasidas
Cavalry Greek
Cavalry Persian
Chaeronea Battle of
Cimon
Cleon
Conon of Athens
Corinth
Corinth League of
Corinthian War
Darius I
Darius III
Delian League
Delium Battle of
Dionysius I
Epameinondas
Eurymedon River Battle of
Gaugamela Battle of
Gaza Siege of
Granicus River Battle of
Greco-Persian Wars Causes of
Greco-Persian Wars Consequences of
Greco-Persian Wars Overview
Hellenic Alliance
Herodotus
Hydaspes Battle of the
Ionian Revolt
Iphicrates
Issus Battle of
Jason of Pherae
King’s Peace
Leuctra, Battle of
Long Walls
Lysander
Macedon
Mantinea Battles of
Marathon Battle of
Mardonius
Mercenaries
Miltiades the Younger
Mutiny
Mycale Battle of
Nicias
Pelopidas
Peloponnesian League
Peloponnesian War Causes of
Peloponnesian War Consequences of
Peloponnesian War Overview
Peltasts
Penteconter
Pericles
Persian Empire
Phalanx Hoplite
Phalanx Macedonian
Philip II of Macedon
Piraeus
Plataea Battle of
Sacred Wars
Salamis, Battle of
Second Athenian League
Sicily
Sicily Athenian Expedition Against
Sparta
Sphacteria
Strategos
Thebes
Themistocles
Thermopylae Battle of
Thucydides
Timoleon
Training Military
Trireme
Tyre Siege of
Wars of Alexander the Great, Causes of
Wars of Alexander the Great, Consequences of
Wars of Alexander the Great, Overview
Xenophon
Xerxes I
Documents
1. Herodotus, Account of the Battle of Marathon
2. Mardonius, the Persian General, on Greek Warfare
3. Herodotus, Account of the Battle of Thermopylae
4. Herodotus, Account of Cavalry and Light Infantry versus Hoplites at the
Battle of Plataea
5. Thucydides, Account of the Naval Battles of Patrae and Naupactus
6. Thucydides, Account of the Battle of Delium
7. Thucydides, Account of the First Battle of Mantinea
8. Thucydides, Account of a Naval Battle at Syracuse
9. Xenophon, Account of the Battle of Lechaion
10. Xenophon, Account of the Battle of Leuctra
11. Xenophon, Account of the Second Battle of Mantinea
12. Diodorus Siculus and Polyaenus, Accounts of the Battle of Chaeronea
13. Arrian, Account of the Battle of Granicus River
14. Arrian, Account of the Naval Action during the Siege of Tyre
15. Arrian, Account of the Battle of Issus
16. Arrian, Account of the Battle of Gaugamela
17. Arrian, Account of the Battle of the Hydaspes River
Chronology
Glossary
Bibliography
Editors and Contributors
Categorical Index
Index
Introduction
Lee L. Brice
Summer, 2012
Standing as we do in the shadow of the 2,500th anniversary of the Battle of
Marathon, it seems a good time to consider the continuing interest in classical
Greek warfare. More than two millennia ago, in 490 bce, a Greek army of
Athenians and Plataeans stood between a Persian expeditionary force and
Athens. The battle’s result was not a foregone conclusion; the Greeks could have
lost. They won, however, so we celebrate their victory, still. We also study the
battle and the military history of the period that followed. Indeed, despite all the
interest in Alexander the Great, it is not possible to understand his career without
considering the development of warfare after Marathon. Despite all the changes
that have occurred in warfare, ancient Greek military history continues to attract
attention of all sorts. Considering the variety of reasons for this interest can tell
us much about the topic I address in this volume.
One overarching reason for interest in Greek warfare is the vitality of the
field. Students often joke with me that ancient history should be easy because it
is ancient. Like many people, they think it does not change because it is ancient.
Given how much warfare has changed they are convinced that the military
history of Greek warfare is stuck in an unchanging past. In a way, they are
correct. The reasons for this are not hard to locate. Much of what has been
written about Greek warfare in the last two centuries has focused heavily on
battle narratives and consideration of famous personalities (Brice and Roberts,
2011). This type of military history has carried the label “drums and trumpets”
because of its traditional focus on battle narratives. Much of what we call
“drums and trumpets” style work is stuck in old methods and styles, which is
why students who think ancient military history does not change are correct to
an extent. Despite that, it remains immensely popular with general readers.
As a type of scholarly history “drums and trumpets” is often antiquated in its
methods. As a result, military history is no longer as popular with academic
historians as it was before the mid-20th century. This dismissive attitude by other
historians has been the trend for much of the last four decades. The opprobrium
is largely because scholars in other fields assume military history is still all
“drums and trumpets” and remain unaware of methodological advances in the
study of warfare. The reality is that military history, including the history of
ancient warfare, is changing all the time.
Just as historians in other specializations started drawing on new methods
and engaging in more social history, post-colonial history, and cultural history
after 1945, so did military historians even if they did so a bit later than everyone
else. This led to the emergence of a “War and Society” approach that became
increasingly popular. By 1970 historians could refer to a “New” military history
that drew heavily on the social sciences and other fields to consider warfare in
new ways. Even traditional or “drums and trumpets” history has changed thanks
to John Keegan’s Face of Battle (1976). His soldiers’ perspective approach to the
sharp end of battle has affected many discussions of battles and campaigns even
in ancient history (Brice and Roberts, 2011). More recently other specialized
fields of study have opened up military history. Conflict archaeology, crowd
psychology, game theory, and forensic anthropology are examples of fields
having an enormous impact on the way historians approach ancient warfare. In
these ways we have new topics of detailed study like mutiny, battlefield
physiology, and gender as well as new ways of looking at traditional topics like
logistics, economics, combat motivation, and death. The result is that military
history is more popular in the classroom than it used to be (Wheeler, 2011), but
more importantly, this new work has made some “drums and trumpets” histories
much better. It has also had an impact on ancient history.
The methodological changes are just as true of military historians of ancient
Greek warfare as of modern warfare. In addition to changes in the field of
military history, there have been similar developments in ancient history and
classical studies that have changed the way we look at Greek warfare.
Archaeologists, for example, uncover new artifacts, sites, and sources such as
new inscriptions that illustrate features of Athenian cavalry. Specialists in
various fields using new laboratory sciences reveal previously unavailable data
including the ways in which particular weapon-use can appear in the skeletal
remains of users and victims. Historians employ new ways of looking at old and
new evidence to reveal lost information, examine neglected topics, or elaborate
new interpretations. As a result, the field of ancient history, including military
history, is a far cry from my students’ misconceptions of it as static; it is an