Land Battles in 5th Century BC Greece: A History and Analysis of 173 EngagementsIn the 5th century B.C., Greece was a patchwork country of small, independent city-states whose tendency to fight each other was offset only by strong ties to common cultural elements such as language and a unique style of warfare. While surviving myths emphasize heroics and honor, the reality of ancient Greek warfare was that of regular men dealing with everyday problems. Relying heavily on primary sources such as Herodotus, Thucydides and Plutarch, this volume provides the first-ever tactical level survey of all 173 Greek land engagements which occurred during the 5th century B.C., a seminal period in the history of western warfare.
Using carefully researched logical probabilities to extend surviving records, the author places each battle within its historical context and analyzes it with a view to documenting significant overall patterns of action. The result is not only a detailed study of each battle complete with maps and battlefield diagrams, but also an overview of general trends in 5th century Greek warfare. |
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Land Battles in 5th Century B.C. Greece: A History and Analysis of 173 ... Fred Eugene Ray No preview available - 2009 |
Common terms and phrases
5th century Acragas action Agis allies Anapus archers Argives Argos armor army array assault Athenians Athens Athens’s attack battle battlefield Boeotians bowmen Brasidas camp campaign cavalry city’s command confidence contingent Corinth Corinthian counter wall defeat defense Demosthenes deployed Diodorus eight shields deep enemy enemy’s engagement Epipolae field fight fighters files final finally find fire first five flank fleet force formation Greece Greeks Gylippus hamippoi Heavy infantry helots Himera hoplites horsemen Ionian island javelins land light foot troops light infantry light-armed lochos losses manpower Mantinea Marathon marched Megarans mercenaries missile Motya mounted moved Nicias numbers opponents othismos Peloponnese Peloponnesian peltasts percent perioeci Persian phalanx Plataea Potidaea psiloi ranks rear rebels retreat riders right wing River Selinous ships shock combat Sicily Sicyon side siege significant skirmishers slingers sparabara Spartan spartiates spear spearmen strength Syracusans Syracuse tactics Tegeans terrain Thermopylae Thrasybulus took triremes victory Xerxes