The Ancient Greeks at War

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In the battles was not a Greek State, but a large army of Greek mercenaries that helped the Cyrus the Younger. Important rituals had to be performed following victory which included the recovering of the dead and the setting up of a victory trophy (from tropaion, meaning turning point in the conflict) at the exact place on the battlefield where victory became assured. The trophy could be in the form of captured weapons and armour or an image of Zeus; on occasion memorials to the fallen were also set up. Speeches, festivals, sacrifices and even games could also be held following a victory in the field. Conclusion Pritchard, David M. (2010). War, Democracy, and Culture in Classical Athens. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Best, Jan G. P., Thracian Peltasts and their Influence on the Greek Warfare, Groningen: Wolters-Noordhoff, 1969. Rawlings, Louis (2007). The Ancient Greeks at War. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978 0 7190 56574.

Strassler, Robert B. ed (1996). The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War. London: Free Press. Hanson, Victor Davis (2000). The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-21911-2. Many states such as Athens, Argos, Thebes, and Syracuse began to maintain a small professional force ( logades or epilektoi) which could be augmented by the main citizen body if necessary. Armies became more cosmopolitan with the inclusion of resident foreigners, slaves, mercenaries, and neighbouring allies (either voluntary or through compulsion in the case of Sparta's perioikoi). Warfare moved away from one-off battles fought in a few hours to long-drawn-out conflicts which could last for years, the most important being the Persian Wars (first half of the 5th century BCE), the Peloponnesian Wars (459-446 & 431-404 BCE), and the Corinthian Wars (394-386 BCE). The Hoplite Phalanx This did not go unnoticed by the Persian Empire, which sponsored a rebellion by the combined powers of Athens, Thebes, Corinth and Argos, resulting in the Corinthian War (395–387 BC). This was the first major challenge Sparta faced. Medieval Greece [ edit ] Byzantine Period, Byzantine Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire ( Empire of Trebizond, Despotate of Epirus, Despotate of the Morea, Empire of Nicaea, Empire of Thessalonica, Principality of Theodoro) and Frankokratia [ edit ]Anderson, J. K., Military Theory and Practice in the Age of Xenophon, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1970. However, a united Greek army of c. 40,000 hoplites decisively defeated Mardonius at the Battle of Plataea, effectively ending the invasion. Almost simultaneously, the allied fleet defeated the remnants of the Persian navy at Mycale, thus destroying the Persian hold on the islands of the Aegean. Campaigns were often timed with the agricultural season to impact the enemies or enemies' crops and harvest. The timing had to be very carefully arranged so that the invaders' enemy's harvest would be disrupted but the invaders' harvest would not be affected. Late invasions were also possible in the hopes that the sowing season would be affected but this at best would have minimal effects on the harvest.

In 330 the Emperor Constantine the Great changed the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople. Greek population was part of the Empire and the Eastern part of the Roman Empire was already heavily Hellenized and Emperor Heraclius completed the Hellenization (replaced Latin with Greek as the official language, etc.) of the Byzantine Empire. Kagan, Donald (1981). The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian expedition. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Syllabus Assessment Assessment Summative When exactly the phalanx was developed is uncertain, but it is thought to have been developed by the Argives in their early clashes with the Spartans. The chigi vase, dated to around 650 BC, is the earliest depiction of a hoplite in full battle array. The hoplite was a well-armed and armored citizen-soldier primarily drawn from the middle classes. Every man had to serve at least two years in the army. Fighting in the tight phalanx formation maximised the effectiveness of his armor, large shield and long spear, presenting a wall of armor and spear points to the enemy. They were a force to be for. Weekly lectures which provide knowledge and understanding of chronology, sources, and key concepts.Reitsema, Laurie (2022). "The diverse greek origins of a Classical period Greek army". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 119 (41): e2205272119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2205272119. PMC 9564095. PMID 36191217. The phalanx was an army tactic the Greeks performed with shields. Each soldier carried a shield in his left arm, which he used to protect both himself and the man on his left. [28] The depth of the phalanx differed depending on the battle and commander, but the width of the formation was considerably greater than its depth. [29] For example, during the battle of Syracuse, the depth of the Athenian army's phalanx was 8 men, while its opponent, the Syracusan army, had a depth of 16 men. [30] Melee [ edit ] Although by the end of the Theban hegemony the cities of southern Greece were severely weakened, they might have risen again had it not been for the ascent to power of the Macedonian kingdom in northern Greece. Unlike the fiercely independent (and small) city-states, Macedon was a tribal kingdom, ruled by an autocratic king, and importantly, covering a larger area. Once firmly unified, and then expanded, by Philip II, Macedon possessed the resources that enabled it to dominate the weakened and divided states in southern Greece. Between 356 and 342 BC Phillip conquered all city states in the vicinity of Macedon, then Thessaly and then Thrace. Melee, or hand-to-hand combat, occurred most often after the tight formation of the phalanx dispersed. This fighting was also often referred to as dorarismos, meaning "spear-fighting" because the hoplites would use small swords in the fighting. [31] One example of melee combat is described by Herodotus during a battle at Thermopylae. Herodotus reports that after the Spartans had lost their spears and swords during the dorarismos, they continued fighting "with their hands and teeth." [31] Ambuscade [ edit ] Miller, Margaret C. (1997). Athens and Persia in the Fifth Century BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.