The tactics and strategies employed by the armies of greece. Considered one of the first if not the first military writers that separate the earthly doing with the godly one, as in this battle was lost due to insert human action not. Kagan also stresses the total absence of any operations of this type in the first year of the war. Accompanying every hoplite was a lightly armed attendant, either a poor citizen who could not afford a regular suit of armor panoplia, or possibly a trusted slave.
Apr 25, 2019 the attempted invasion of sicily was a complete disaster for athens. Yet, within the history of the peloponnesian war one can find. Its always the case in ancient sources that the figures are always very unreliable. Discover the best military strategy history in best sellers. The peloponnesian war fought between ancient athens and sparta who won and their respective allies came in two stages, the first from c. We would like to add 20 new subscribers this month each month we count on your subscriptions or contributions. Individual chapters treat athens postwar economic situations, the development of. Institutions, evolution, and challenges since 1789. Yes, there are a couple of variations of what military strategy is. Bred for battleunderstanding ancient spartas military machine. Dec 07, 2018 there is no way to judge the most revolutionary military strategy. How the peloponnesian war brought athens golden age to an end. Jan 01, 20 ive read a lot about military strategy in the last few years, even previous works by freedman which touch on the subject, albeit less comprehensively than strategy.
The catapult was invented in syracuse and had a lasting impact on military strategy. John adairs strategic leadership the washington post. Best books on ancient greek history and literature. The ancient world offers the student of strategy a rich field for inquiry. The long walls were a key element of athenian military strategy, since they provided the city with a constant link to the sea and thwarted sieges conducted by land alone. The best books on military strategy five books expert. As a result, contemporary readers get firsthand accounts of speeches, battles, and even the state of the athenian economy. Theorist of war us naval war college digital commons. Aug, 2014 the five greatest military strategists of all time. Sicilian expedition and athenian strategy history forum. By 395 bc the rebuilding of the fortifications had begun and according to the athenian admiral conon, the walls had reached their final stages by 391 bc. The athenian trireme was a superfast galley that was different from anything else at that time.
Athenian democracy at war throws a good deal of fresh light on the military aspects of athenian democracy, and reminds us that historically despite the claims of some pundits democracies very often have made war, even against each other, and can be imperialistic. We look at thucydides own opinions regarding strategy, the impact of the athenian democracy on the citys strategymaking, and how spartan strategy went so. Thucydides classic work, history of the peloponnesian war, provides us with the historical framework for 5th century greece, a golden age of intellectual achievement and creativity rarely equaled in human history. The battle of marathon in northeastern attica is one of historys earliest recorded battles. Military strategy and the transformation of southern landscapes during the american civil war. Military leaders athen s military was controlled by the strategos which basically meant generals. In contrast to the athenian grand strategy of exhaustion, based on athens s economic power, sparta followed a grand strategy of annihilation centered around spartan military might. Strategy strategia in greek originally referred solely to military leadership. Earlier this year, the strategy bridge asked university and professional military education students to participate in our first annual writing contest by sending us their thoughts on strategy. The five greatest military strategists of all time. Athenian and spartan grand strategies in the peloponesian war.
The strategy of exhaustion was the clear choice in this case as a strategy of annihilation was impossible due to the size of the. War and battle in the greek world, 800168 bc strauss major. Indeed, the budding strategist is probably best advised to begin with thucydides history of the peloponnesian war c. Strategies the strategos were also the tacticians for athens and came up with mos of their strategies. He wrote several books on military training, strategy, and. This volume covers the events that took place from the destruction of the athenian expedition to sicily, in midseptember 4, to the surrender of athens in spring 404. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. I picked up that strategos is the ancient greek word for general.
Athenian strategy in the peloponnesian war, in williamson murray, macgregor knox, and alvin bernstein eds. The spartan city state sparta produced what is probably the most iconic military in ancient history. Donald kagan is sterling professor of classics and history at yale university. In order to counter new offensive strategies and to protect vital local sources of revenue, the athenians instituted a system of territorial defense, based on massive frontier fortresses and a sophisticated signal network. The beginning of the end for the heyday of ancient athens. Ancient history encyclopedia foundation is a nonprofit organization. In this brilliant book, sir nigel bagnall sets out to analyze and clarify the war. Almost the entire contingency sent to invade the city was destroyed, and several of the main commanders of the athenian military died while trying to retreat, leaving athens in a rather weak position, one that the spartan would be all too keen to exploit. We can distinguish the land army into 3 main forces. Ancient greek warfare ancient history encyclopedia. John lewis gaddis explores history for answers to grand strategy. Apr 27, 2018 john lewis gaddis explores history for answers to grand strategy. History of the peloponnesian war book by thucydides. Sparta, a land power, nor athens, a naval power, had a clear strategy for victory.
Jan 09, 2018 the athenian general who some refer to as the father of history as we now know it took on the project of telling the history of this conflict in the most factual manner he could. For that reason, there were few ideas in his tracing the development of strategic thought in military operations i was unfamiliar with. Athenian military commander at the battle of marathon, the first battle of the persian wars. Mar 27, 2018 in the ancient greek world, warfare was seen as a necessary evil of the human condition. However, the athenians were not in the position to use the new long walls until alexander the greats death in 323 bc. Athens invented or perfected new forms of combat, strategy and military organisation and was directly responsible for raising the scale of greek warfare to a different order of magnitude. Young athenian boys were tutored at home until the age of six or seven, and then they were sent to neighborhood schools for primary education until they were 14. Already by the 450s the athenians had encircled the city center with a massive stone wall and fortified a broad corridor with a wall on both sides 1 leading all the way to the main harbor at piraeus 2 seven kilometers to the west. Athanassios platias teaches strategy at piraeus university and constantinos koliopoulos lectures at panteion university and the hellenic national defense college. Thucydides history of the peloponnesian war is a book that all who. Athenian navy was the largest and finest in the greek world.
Sparta made demands, which athens rejected, initiated the conflict and. It starts in ionia greek polis rebelling with the help of athens. Since peloponnesian league has not only a superior manpower,but also better in quality land army than athenians,theoretically,there. The persian war was the war of the greeks and the persians.
At the time, naval warfare had primarily consisted of attempting to either board an enemys ship, or set it on fire. Every thing about the ancient military history of the ancient greeks and their warriors. The hellenistic period is characterized by the spread of. The most successful strategy on the ancient battlefield was using hoplites in a tight formation called the phalanx. Major fighting in the peloponnesian war occurred from 431421 and ended in athenian victory. The greek phalanx formation and ancient greek warfare. The athenians kept pace with rising territorial commitments by greatly increasing the size of their military. These attendants carried the hoplites shield until the battle and most of the baggage.
Throughout, he highlights the grand strategy each city articulated on the basis of its material interests and the moral imperatives inherent in its regime. In the manner of neighboring citystates the backbone of the athenian military on land was the hoplite. Yale library of military history rahe, paul anthony on. The peloponnesian war between the citystates of athens and sparta and their respective allies lasted from 431404 bc. Athens army went from a late sixthcentury bc count of 3,600 armored spearmen to,000 citizen regulars on the rolls by 431 bc. He asserts that since pericles must have known about these limitations he probably planned for a much shorter war. He is the author of nine published books on topics such as. Oxford university press, new york, 2017, 224 pages. Ancient greek warriors, the hoplite warrior and warfare. Jul 05, 2019 accordingly, professors of antiquity, international relations, military history, and political philosophy continue to list it on their syllabi. An overview of classical greek history from mycenae to alexander this document hide display preferences greek display.
With the introduction of the trireme, however, a new tactic was added to naval combatramming opposing ships. Their dramatic victories over the boiotians and chalkidians in 506 b. The fall of the athenian empire is the fourth and last tome of donald kagans excellent history of the peloponnesian war between athens and sparta and its allies. He is also the author of many books on ancient and modern topics. The hoplites were the main decisive force in each and every battle that took plac. Athens is famous for its direct democracy and its innovative culture. Sun tzu and clausewitz are known as the fathers to eastern. The authors argue that, at the onset of the war the athenians had a coherent grand strategic vision, developed by pericles, which likely would have brought them. Macedonian leaders controlled cities on both sides of. Assyrian power waxed and waned, but at the height of their success in 671 b. Finn on platias and koliopoulos, thucydides on strategy. This story appears in the novemberdecember 2016 issue of national geographic history magazine. Conflicts between the two cites dated back further, however, with skirmishes from 460445 effectively ending in a draw. A senior athenian statesman and general of the peloponnesian war, pericles provided athens a central figure whose genius and understanding of the nature of strategy contributed greatly to the growth of the athenian empire.
Each man protected both himself and partially his neighbour with his large circular shield, carried on his left arm. Paul rahe examines the spartanathenian alliance forged during the persian wars, its dissolution, and the first stage in a conflict that would wreak havoc on greece for six decades. Every new and effective well highly effective strategy is revolutionary when used for the first time. Kagan estimates pericles expenditure on his military strategy in the peloponnesian war to be about 2,000 talents annually, and based on this figure concludes that he would only have enough money to keep the war going for three years. May 24, 2016 the athenians kept pace with rising territorial commitments by greatly increasing the size of their military. The athenian general laches had been unhorsed and were told socrates walked by his side, protecting him, so confidently, that none of the enemy dared attack. His western point of view is a slightly different, yet still interesting, perspective on military strategy. Athenian strategy in the archidamian war 401 failure to seize the methana peninsula, which was so obvious and tempting a site, right at the outset of the war. There is a later outbreak of plague just in a detachment of the athenian military forces which carries off about a third of their hoplite forces, so people have taken that and then extrapolated with the.
From the very beginning, the athenians were compelled to fight for their new democracy. This book analyzes the defense policy of athens in the period after the peloponnesian war. Fuller,a wonderfull and highly readable writer and military historian,has seen the grandstrategy of athens as far as sicilian expedition goes,like this. Its no surprise to find it among the best war strategy books ever conceived. Not widely known is its contemporaneous military revolution.
Thucydides and spartan strategy in the archidamian war. The greatest of all greek historians was the athenian general thucydides 455400 b. Grand strategies in the peloponnesian war and their. The attempted invasion of sicily was a complete disaster for athens. Martin, an overview of classical greek history from mycenae to alexander, 12.
The plague and the peloponnesian war war on the rocks. What was the most revolutionary military strategy in history. Now, we are pleased to present one of the essays selected for honorable mention, from ash graham of the australian defence college. In the manner of neighboring citystates the backbone of the athenian milita ry on land was the hoplite.
Martin, an overview of classical greek history from. Their duties included military expeditions and athens external affairs. Oct 29, 2017 thucydidess account of the peloponnesian war provides for a range of lessons about the nature of strategy applicable to a wide audience. Sep 22, 20 18 most accounts of pericles as a strategist focus on his minimum objective to hold on to the athenian empire, but offer a merely military conception of his strategy. At the initial phase of the war, athens was so much stronger that the spartan strategy could not work, resulting in a fairly easy initial victory for the athenians. Young athenian boys were tutored at home until the age of six or seven, and then they were sent to neighborhood schools for primary education until they were 14 years of age. The period demonstrates the inherent complexity in understanding the concept of strategy, a concept that remains devoid of a coherent, agreed, and universal defin. Accompanying every hoplite was a lightl y armed attenda nt, either a poor citizen who could not afford a regular suit of armor panoplia, or possibly a trusted slave. Five hundred years before christ, a strategos was an athenian army senior commander, the equivalent of a. The peace of nicias cleon, the most prominent and influential leader at athens after the athenian victory at pylos in 425, was dispatched to northern greece in 422 to try to stop brasidas. The military of ancient athens was composed by its own citizens. Their deadly heavy infantry armed with spears and swords.
Sep 30, 20 the naval diplomats top 10 books about the sea. A model of scholarly writing at its best, and a gem of a book. Victor davis hanson, a history fellow at hillsdale college, explains how the peloponnesian war brought athens golden age to an end. Athenian strategic culture was initially shaped by ideals and values. Praise the best account of the peloponnesian war now available. For the athenians, the most significant event of this war was the rebuilding of the long walls. Mar 23, 2020 its always the case in ancient sources that the figures are always very unreliable. Thucydides classic work, history of the peloponnesian war, provides us with the historical framework for 5th century greece, a golden age of intellectual achievement and. This leads us to consider the nature of the attack on epidaurus in 430 b. The athenian military power was a vital ingredient in the success of athens. Or rather, it is a family of habits that teaches a military commander or civilian official the art and science of harnessing national power to fulfill national purposes.
The five greatest military strategists of all time the. They stress how he employed the athenian army and navy once hostilities broke out and conclude that he meant to wage a strategy of exhaustion. Athenian strategy in the peloponnesian war athens fleet and fortifications made its urban center impregnable to direct attack. Accordingly, professors of antiquity, international relations, military history, and political philosophy continue to list it on their syllabi. The ancient spartan warriors are known for their bravery, professionalism and skill, a. The art of war is divided into a preface and seven books chapters. Antulio echevarria ii of the us army war college talks us through key books, both old and new, on military strategy. Whether it be small frontier skirmishes between neighbouring citystates, lengthy citysieges, civil wars, or.
Mar 28, 2017 the grand strategy of classical sparta tells the old stories in a new light, from the spartan point of view. Likewise, the athenian fleet grew from 60 to 300 ships over the same period. In 394 bc, a persian fleet under satrap pharnabazus ii. By this time athens navy had been crushed in the lamian war and they became subordinate to the macedonians and the use of the long walls in a naval strategy was ruled out. Nor does the athenian chronicler spell out his ideas with the clarity of a wylie. We single out works that have had enduring impact on strategic thought and policy. Themistocles, an athenian military leader, urges athens to create a navy after their win at marathon.
Read the two books sidebyside for some interesting discussion topics. Thucydides on policy, strategy, and war termination. His fourvolume history of the peloponnesian war is the leading scholarly work on the subject. Joseph bottum, books and culture rahe sets the story in a complicated geopolitical context, with a large cast of characters connected through a series of shifting alliances.