War and Violence in Ancient Greece

The study of Greek warfare should involve much more than reconstructing the experience of combat or revisiting the great wars of the classical period. Here, a distinguished cast of international scholars explores beyond the usual thematic and chronological boundaries. Ranging from the heroes of Homer to the kings and cities of the hellenistic age, the contributors set war in the context of other forms of Greek violence, private and public. At every turn they challenge received ideas about the causes and conduct of war, its development and its place in Greek society and culture.

The study of Greek warfare should involve much more than reconstructing the experience of combat or revisiting the great wars of the classical period. Here, a distinguished cast of international scholars explores beyond the usual thematic and chronological boundaries. Ranging from the heroes of Homer to the kings and cities of the hellenistic age, the contributors set war in the context of other forms of Greek violence, private and public. At every turn they challenge received ideas about the causes and conduct of war, its development and its place in Greek society and culture.

IntroductionHans van Wees Abbreviations PART 1. CAUSES OF WAR 1. Homeric vengeance and the outbreak of Greek warsJ.E. Lendon 2. Killing rage: physis or nomos or both?Jonathan Shay PART II. FORMS OF VIOLENCE WITHIN THE POLIS 3. Sticks, stones, and Spartans: the sociology of Spartan violenceSimon Hornblower 4. Hybris, revenge and stasis in the Greek city-statesNick Fisher PART III. BEYOND THE CLASSICAL PHALANX 5. The development of the hoplite phalanx: iconography and reality in the seventh centuryHans van Wees 6. Deception in archaic and classical Greek warfarePeter Krentz 7. Hoplite battle as ancient Greek warfare: when, where and why?Victor Davis Hanson 8. Alternative agonies: hoplite martial and combat experiences beyond the phalanx Louis Rawlings 9. Perspectives on the death of fifth-century Athenian seamenBarry S. Strauss PART IV. WAR AND RELIGION 10. Athena and Ares: war, violence and warlike deitiesSusan Deacy 11. Sacrifice and battleRobert Parker PART V. CONTINUITIES IN HELLENISTIC WARFARE 12. Hellenistic military leadershipPaul Beston 13. Fighting poleis of the hellenistic worldJohn Ma Index