War

doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521782739.007

6 - War

from Part I - Archaic and Classical Greece

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2008

Edited by

Hans van Wees and

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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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.

Keywords

camping supplies circumvallation sieges fleet's departure Greek soldiers Peloponnesian War naval battles military camps

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare , pp. 147 - 185

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521782739.007 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2007

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6 - War

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