Classical Greek Tactics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
First edition

Classical Greek Tactics: A Cultural History is a 2017 non-fiction book by Dutch historian Roel Konijnendijk, published by Brill Publishers.

Synopsis[edit]

The book re-assesses ancient Greek warfare by examining literary evidence from the 5th and 4th Century BCE. It also re-examines Western scholarship on the topic from the 19th Century onwards. Konijnendijk rejects theories that the Greeks primarily engaged in ritualized warfare on a limited scale. Instead, he proposes that Greek warfare was brutal and destructive, and that Greek battle tactics were not as primitive as some modern scholars have claimed.

Reception[edit]

Upon publication, it garnered a mostly positive reception. Kyle Fingerson, writing for Bryn Mawr Classical Review, called it "a much-needed reevaluation of the traditional views of classical Greek warfare," and recommended that it be used in future studies of the subject.[1] It received similar praise from Kostas Vlassopoulos in Greece & Rome,[2] and Pavel Nývlt in Eirene: Studia Graeca et Latina.[3] In a review for The Classical Journal, Edith Foster praised the book's examination of Classical scholarship, saying that it was "clear and well-organized".[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Review of: Classical Greek Tactics: A Cultural History". Bryn Mawr Classical Review. ISSN 1055-7660.
  2. ^ Vlassopoulos, Kostas (October 2018). "Greek History". Greece & Rome. 65 (2): 253–259. doi:10.1017/S0017383518000190. ISSN 0017-3835. S2CID 232179261.
  3. ^ Nývlt, Pavel (2020-01-01). "(review) R. Konijnendijk: Classical Greek Tactics". Eirene: Studia Graeca et Latina.
  4. ^ Foster, Edith (December 2, 2018). "BOOK REVIEW: Classical Greek Tactics: A Cultural History" (PDF). The Classical Journal.