Classical Greek Tactics

A Cultural History
Erscheinungsjahr 2017
ISBN: 978-90-04-35536-1
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Greek, Ancient (to 1453), Band 409, 264 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 242 mm, Gewicht: 516 g

Reihe: Mnemosyne, Supplements / Mnemosyne, Supplements, History and Archaeology of Classical Antiquity

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.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Konijnendijk, Roel

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Antike Kriegsführung
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Geschichte der klassischen Antike Griechische Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements
Notes on Style

Introduction

1 The Prussian Model of Hoplite Battle
The Traditional View of Tactics
The Case of Leuktra

2 ‘Improvisers in Soldiering’: Training for War
The Question
Good Order
Skill at Arms

3 ‘The Finest, Flattest Piece of Land’: Where to Fight
Traditions
Practice
Theory

4 ‘Deployed to Fit the Need’: Forming Up for Battle
Worthless Hoplites
Ways to Deploy
Positions of Honour
The Depth of the Line

5 ‘Utterly Outmatched in Skill’: Battle Tactics
Controlling Battle
The Tools of the Tactician
How to Win
Theory

6 ‘No Shortage of People to Kill’: The Rout and Its Aftermath
Fight or Flight
A Divine Gift
Last Rites

Conclusion
The Context of Tactical Thought
A New Model of Hoplite Battle
The Greek Way of War

Works Cited
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Roel Konijnendijk obtained his Ph.D. in Ancient History at University College London in 2015. He has published articles and book chapters on the history and historiography of Greek warfare, and on the encounter between the Greek and Persian tactical systems.