Henchmen of Ares


Book Description

Henchmen of Ares is a new overview of warfare in ancient Greece from the Mycenaean Bronze Age down to the Persian Wars.




Warriors of the Ancient Greek World


Book Description

This in-depth visual guide, Warriors of the Ancient Greek World, boasts over 140 lavishly detailed photographed and illustrated recreations of the warrior panoplies of the fifth and fourth centuries BC. It covers the heavy infantry and cavalry of Greece and Macedonia, the light infantry and horsemen of the Thracian territories and the fighting men and women of the vast Persian and Scythian realms. The book has been crafted to show these ancient combatants in as much physical, gritty detail and character as possible. The combatants are seen torn from moments in time and dropped onto the page. It illustrates the range of distinct weapons and equipment carried by them, why it was needed and how it was made. It shows how the warriors may have looked whilst on campaign, mud, blood and all.




Ancient Greeks at War


Book Description

“A detailed, insightful survey of Greek warfare” with illustrations and “many well-informed and highly perceptive observations” (Choice). In this book, historian and archaeologist Simon Elliott considers the different fighting styles of Greek armies and discusses how Greek battles unfolded. Covering every aspect of warfare in the Ancient Greek world from the beginnings of Greek civilization to its assimilation into the ever-expanding world of Rome, it begins with the onset of Minoan culture on Crete around 2000 BC, then covers the arrival of the Mycenaean civilization and the ensuing Late Bronze Age Collapse before moving on to Dark Age and Archaic Greece. This sets the scene for the flowering of Classical Greek civilization, as told through detailed narratives of the Greek and Persian Wars, the Peloponnesian Wars, and the rise of Thebes as a major power. The book then moves on to Macedonian domination under Philip II, before focusing on the exploits of his son Alexander the Great, the all-conquering hero of the ancient world. His legacy was the Hellenistic world with its multiple, never-ending series of conflicts that took place over a huge territory, ranging from Italy in the west all the way to India in the east. Topics covered include the various Wars of the Successors, the rise of the Bactrian-Greek and Indo-Greek kingdoms, the wars between the Antigonid Macedonian, Seleucid, and Ptolemaic kingdoms, and later the clash of cultures between the rising power of Rome in the west and the Hellenistic kingdoms. In the long run the latter proved unable to match Rome’s insatiable desire for conquest in the eastern Mediterranean, and this together with the rise of Parthia in the east ensured that one by one the Hellenistic kingdoms and states fell. The book ends with the destruction of Corinth in 146 BC after the defeat by Rome of the Achaean League—and concludes by considering the legacy of the Ancient Greeks in the Roman world, and subsequently. “A comprehensive survey, smoothly written by an expert popularizer of ancient history. A tour de force.” —NYMAS Review




The Amazons


Book Description

The real history of the Amazons in war and love Amazons—fierce warrior women dwelling on the fringes of the known world—were the mythic archenemies of the ancient Greeks. Heracles and Achilles displayed their valor in duels with Amazon queens, and the Athenians reveled in their victory over a powerful Amazon army. In historical times, Cyrus of Persia, Alexander the Great, and the Roman general Pompey tangled with Amazons. But just who were these bold barbarian archers on horseback who gloried in fighting, hunting, and sexual freedom? Were Amazons real? In this deeply researched, wide-ranging, and lavishly illustrated book, National Book Award finalist Adrienne Mayor presents the Amazons as they have never been seen before. This is the first comprehensive account of warrior women in myth and history across the ancient world, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Great Wall of China. Mayor tells how amazing new archaeological discoveries of battle-scarred female skeletons buried with their weapons prove that women warriors were not merely figments of the Greek imagination. Combining classical myth and art, nomad traditions, and scientific archaeology, she reveals intimate, surprising details and original insights about the lives and legends of the women known as Amazons. Provocatively arguing that a timeless search for a balance between the sexes explains the allure of the Amazons, Mayor reminds us that there were as many Amazon love stories as there were war stories. The Greeks were not the only people enchanted by Amazons—Mayor shows that warlike women of nomadic cultures inspired exciting tales in ancient Egypt, Persia, India, Central Asia, and China. Driven by a detective's curiosity, Mayor unearths long-buried evidence and sifts fact from fiction to show how flesh-and-blood women of the Eurasian steppes were mythologized as Amazons, the equals of men. The result is likely to become a classic.




Warfare in the Classical World


Book Description

This authoritative volume traces the evolution of the art of warfare in the Greek and Roman worlds between 1600BC and AD 800, from the rise of Mycenaean civilisation to the fall of Ravenna and the eventual decline of the Roman Empire. The book is also, of course, about the great military commanders, such as Alexander and Julius Caesar - men whose feats of generalship still provide material for discussion and admiration in the world's military academies.




The Spartans


Book Description

“Remarkable . . . [The author’s] crystalline prose, his vivacious storytelling and his lucid historical insights combine here to provide a first-rate history.” —Publishers Weekly Sparta has often been described as the original Utopia—a remarkably evolved society whose warrior heroes were forbidden any other trade, profession, or business. As a people, the Spartans were the living exemplars of such core values as duty, discipline, the nobility of arms in a cause worth dying for, sacrificing the individual for the greater good of the community (illustrated by their role in the battle of Thermopylae), and the triumph over seemingly insuperable obstacles—qualities often believed today to signify the ultimate heroism. In this book, distinguished scholar and historian Paul Cartledge, long considered the leading international authority on ancient Sparta, traces the evolution of Spartan society—the culture and the people as well as the tremendous influence they had on their world and even ours. He details the lives of such illustrious and myth-making figures as Lycurgus, King Leonidas, Helen of Troy (and Sparta), and Lysander, and explains how the Spartans, while placing a high value on masculine ideals, nevertheless allowed women an unusually dominant and powerful role—unlike Athenian culture, with which the Spartans are so often compared. In resurrecting this culture and society, Cartledge delves into ancient texts and archeological sources and includes illustrations depicting original Spartan artifacts and drawings, as well as examples of representational paintings from the Renaissance onward—including J.L. David’s famously brooding Leonidas. “A pleasure for anyone interested in the ancient world.” —Kirkus Reviews “[An] engaging narrative . . . In his panorama of the real Sparta, Cartledge cloaks his erudition with an ease and enthusiasm that will excite readers from page one.” —Booklist “Our greatest living expert on Sparta.” —Tom Holland, prize-winning author of Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic




Amazons


Book Description

Since the time of the ancient Greeks, we have been fascinated by accounts of the Amazons, an elusive tribe of hard-fighting, horse-riding female warriors. Equal to men in battle, legends claimed they cut off their right breasts to improve their archery skills and routinely killed their male children to purify their ranks. For centuries people believed in their existence and attempted to trace their origins. Following decades of new research and a series of archeological discoveries, we now know these powerful warrior queens did indeed exist. In Amazons, John Man travels to the grasslands of Central Asia, from the edge of the ancient Greek world to the borderlands of China, to discover the truth about the warrior women mythologized as Amazons. In this well-researched book, Man redefines our understanding of the Amazons and their culture, tracking the ancient legend into the modern world and examining its significance today.




Sparta!


Book Description

Thirty dramatic, full-page illustrations depict the Spartan devotion to military training plus scenes of festivals, worship, and work. Portrayals of famous conflicts include the Battle of Thermopylae and episodes from the Peloponnesian wars.




Spartan Warrior 735–331 BC


Book Description

Immortalized through their exploits at the battle of Thermopylae under the legendary Leonidas, as well as countless other victories throughout the classical period, the Spartans were some of the best-trained, -organized and most-feared warriors of the ancient world. The small state of Sparta, known to the Ancient Greeks as Lakedaimon, developed a unique warrior society that used serfs and non-citizens to do all of the manual work, leaving the free-born men of Sparta free to concentrate all of their energies on warfare. Forbidden from engaging in any form of manual labour, these Spartan warriors were trained from an early age in a brutal regime that gave them the necessary discipline and tolerance to withstand the pressures of phalanx warfare and endure all manner of hardships on campaign. This book covers all aspects of the Spartan warrior's life, from the earliest days of his training through his life in peace and war, culminating in the battlefield experiences of these feared combatants.




The Spartans


Book Description

Traces the history of the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta, describes its distinctive military society and the unusual freedom of Spartan women, and discusses the influence which its culture has had on later civilizations.