Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity

481 Pages·2005·6.02 MB·English

by  J. E. Lendon

SOLDIERS AND GHOSTS

SOLDIERS
& GHOSTS
A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity
J . E . L E N D O N
Yale University Press New Haven and London
Published with assistance from the income of
the Frederick John Kingsbury Memorial Fund
and from the Louis Stern Memorial Fund.
Copyright © 2005 by Yale University.
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part,
including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying
permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law
and except by reviewers for the public press),
without written permission from the publishers.
Designed by Sonia Shannon
Set in ITC Galliard and Trajan type by
Duke &Company, Devon, Pennsylvania
Printed in the United States of America by
Vail-Ballou Press, Binghamton, New York
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lendon, J. E.
Soldiers and ghosts : a history of battle in
classical antiquity / J. E. Lendon.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN0-300-10663-7 (alk. paper)
1. Military history, Ancient. 2. Military art and science—
History. I. Title.
U29.L46 2005
355′.00937—dc22
2004021273
Acatalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for
permanence and durability of the Committee on
Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the
Council on Library Resources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Elizabeth

CONTENTS
List of Maps ix
List of Figures x
Prologue 1
Introduction 5
THE GREEKS
15
I. Fighting in the Iliad 20
II. The Last Hoplite 39
III. Two Stubborn Spartans in the Persian War 58
IV. The Guile of Delium 78
V. The Arts of War in the Early Fourth Century bc 91
VI. Alexander the Great at the Battle of Issus 115
VII. Hellenistic Warfare (323–31 bc) 140
The Greeks, Conclusion 156
THE ROMANS
163
VIII. Early Roman Warfare 172
IX. The Wrath of Pydna 193
X. Caesar’s Centurions and the Legion of Cohorts 212
XI. Scenes from the Jewish War, ad 67–70 233
XII. Shield Wall and Mask 261
XIII. Julian in Persia, ad 363 290
The Romans, Conclusion 310
vii
viii CONTENTS
Author’s Note and Acknowledgments 317
Chronology of Greek and Roman Warfare 321
List of Abbreviations 331
Notes 335
Glossary 389
Bibliographical Notes 393
Index 441
MAPS
Greece and the Aegean 16
Central Greece 59
bc
Campaign of Alexander the Great (334–323 ) 116–17
The Roman World 164–65
bc
Northern Greece in the Third Macedonian War (171–167 ) 195
bc
Italy in the Second Punic War (218–201 ) 201
bc
Gaul and Spain in the Time of Julius Caesar (58–45 ) 213
ad
The Levant in the Jewish War ( 66–70) 234
ad
Jerusalem during the Roman Siege ( 70) 239
ad
Julian’s Campaign Against the Persians, 363 291
ix