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6 - War

from Part I - Archaic and Classical Greece

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2008

Peter Krentz
Affiliation:
W. R. Grey Professor of Classics and History, Davidson College, North Carolina
Philip Sabin
Affiliation:
King's College London
Hans van Wees
Affiliation:
University College London
Michael Whitby
Affiliation:
University of Warwick
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Summary

introduction

Herodotus has the Persian commander Mardonius describe Greek warfare as follows:

Besides, from all I hear, the Greeks usually wage war in an extremely stupid fashion, because they are ignorant and incompetent. When they declare war on one another they seek out the best, most level piece of land, and that is where they go to fight. The upshot is that the victors leave the battlefield with massive losses, not to mention the losers, who are completely wiped out.

On this foundation, scholars have constructed an agonal model of Greek warfare, describing it as an annual competition among farmers, fierce and bloody but also limited and ritualized, aimed more at status than at the conquest of territory. As Mardonius learned, however, he was mostly wrong. This chapter will set out a more nuanced view by following a campaign from start to finish, emphasizing the decisions made along the way by both sides.

Greeks normally invaded by land or by sea, but not both. Because ships moved large numbers of troops, however, the two kinds of campaign had much in common. Men who arrived on ships ravaged crops, looted property, fought battles and besieged cities, just as did soldiers who came on foot. Almost one-third of known archaic wars involved troops transported by ships. Ships could blockade ports, intercept enemy ships at sea and show the flag, but then as now, land troops had to go in to win territory. The introduction of a purpose-built warship, the trireme, made little difference, for trireme fleets could also carry troops.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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  • War
    • By Peter Krentz, W. R. Grey Professor of Classics and History, Davidson College, North Carolina
  • Edited by Philip Sabin, King's College London, Hans van Wees, University College London, Michael Whitby, University of Warwick
  • Book: The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare
  • Online publication: 28 March 2008
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521782739.007
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  • War
    • By Peter Krentz, W. R. Grey Professor of Classics and History, Davidson College, North Carolina
  • Edited by Philip Sabin, King's College London, Hans van Wees, University College London, Michael Whitby, University of Warwick
  • Book: The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare
  • Online publication: 28 March 2008
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521782739.007
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • War
    • By Peter Krentz, W. R. Grey Professor of Classics and History, Davidson College, North Carolina
  • Edited by Philip Sabin, King's College London, Hans van Wees, University College London, Michael Whitby, University of Warwick
  • Book: The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare
  • Online publication: 28 March 2008
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521782739.007
Available formats
×