Land Battles in 5th Century BC Greece

A History and Analysis of 173 Engagements

Fred Eugene Ray (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

323 Seiten

2011
McFarland & Co Inc (Verlag)
978-0-7864-6773-0 (ISBN)

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In 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.

Fred Eugene Ray, Jr., is the author of both books and articles on the subject of ancient Greek warfare. A retired geologist and oil industry executive, he lives in Bakersfield, California.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

I. The Spearmen: Greek Hoplite Warfare (500–401 B.C.)

II. Arguing with Socrates: Territorial Disputes, the Ionian Revolt, and the Rise of Sparta and Gela (500–481 B.C.)

III. The Strength of Lions: Marathon, Himera, and the Invasion of Greece

IV. Prelude to Collision: The Pentacontaetia (478–432 B.C.)

V. Danger and Glory: The Archidamian War (431–422 B.C.)

VI. Daring and Destruction: The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Invasion (421–413 B.C.)

VII. A World at Spear’s Length: The Decelean/Ionian War to the End of the 5th Century (413–401 B.C.)

Conclusion

Table 1: Combat Factors in Greek Pitched Battles (500–401 B.C.)

Table 2: Decisive Factors in Greek Pitched Battles (500–401 B.C.)

Table 3: Pitched Battle Record of Major Combatants (500–401 B.C.)

Table 4: Hoplite Losses and Point/Cause of Formation Failure for Greek Pitched Battles (500–401 B.C.)

Bibliography

Index

Erscheint lt. Verlag	30.8.2011
Zusatzinfo	maps, diagrams, tables, bibliography, index
Verlagsort	Jefferson, NC
Sprache	englisch
Maße	178 x 254 mm
Gewicht	562 g
Themenwelt	Schulbuch / Wörterbuch ► Lexikon / Chroniken
	Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Vor- und Frühgeschichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Militärgeschichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Anglistik / Amerikanistik
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Literaturwissenschaft
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung
ISBN-10	0-7864-6773-8 / 0786467738
ISBN-13	978-0-7864-6773-0 / 9780786467730
Zustand	Neuware