Classical Greek tactics : : a cultural history / / by Roel Konijnendijk.

• Superior document: Mnemosyne. Supplements, Volume 409
• VerfasserIn: Konijnendijk, Roel,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, The Netherlands ;, Boston, [Massachusetts] : : Brill,, 2018.; ©2018
• Year of Publication: 2018
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Mnemosyne, bibliotheca classica Batava. Supplementum ; Volume 409.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (269 pages).

What determined the choices of the Greeks on the battlefield? Were their tactics defined by unwritten moral rules, or was all considered fair in war? In Classical Greek Tactics: A Cultural History , Roel Konijnendijk re-examines the literary evidence for the battle tactics and tactical thought of the Greeks during the 5th and 4th centuries BC. Rejecting the traditional image of limited, ritualised battle, Konijnendijk sketches a world of brutally destructive engagements, restricted only by the stubborn amateurism of the men who fought. The resulting model of hoplite battle does away with most received wisdom about the nature of Greek battle tactics, and redefines the way they reflected the values of Greek culture as a whole.

Table of Contents

Front Matter -- Introduction -- The Prussian Model of Hoplite Battle -- ‘Improvisers in Soldiering’: Training for War -- ‘The Finest, Flattest Piece of Land’: Where to Fight -- ‘Deployed to Fit the Need’: Forming Up for Battle -- ‘Utterly Outmatched in Skill’: Battle Tactics -- ‘No Shortage of People to Kill’: The Rout and Its Aftermath -- Conclusion -- Indexes.