Greek Warfare beyond the Polis : Defense, Strategy, and the Making of Ancient Federal States

by: Blome, D.A.

Price: 49,00 EURO

(in stock)

Greek Warfare beyond the Polis
Defense, Strategy, and the Making of Ancient Federal States

by David A. Blome

Greek Warfare beyond the Polis assesses the nature and broader significance of warfare in the mountains of classical Greece. Based on detailed reconstructions of four unconventional military encounters, David A. Blome argues that the upland Greeks of the classical mainland developed defensive strategies to guard against external aggression. These strategies enabled wide-scale, sophisticated actions in response to invasions, but they did not require the direction of a central, federal government. Blome brings these strategies to the forefront by driving ancient Greek military history and ancient Greek scholarship "beyond the polis" into dialogue with each other. As he contends, beyond-the-polis scholarship has done much to expand and refine our understanding of the ancient Greek world, but it has overemphasized the importance of political institutions in emergent federal states and has yet to treat warfare involving upland Greeks systematically or in depth. In contrast, Greek Warfare beyond the Polis scrutinizes the sociopolitical roots of warfare from beyond the polis, which are often neglected in military histories of the Greek city-state.

By focusing on the significance of warfare vis-à-vis the sociopolitical development of upland polities, Blome shows that although the more powerful states of the classical Greek world were dismissive or ignorant of the military capabilities of upland Greeks, the reverse was not the case. The Phocians, Aetolians, Acarnanians, and Arcadians in circa 490–362 BCE were well aware of the arrogant attitudes of their aggressive neighbors, and as highly efficient political entities, they exploited these attitudes to great effect.

Contents

Preface: The Iliad in Iraq
Introduction
1. The Phocian Chalk Raid of the Thessalian Camp Circa 490
2. The Aetolian Rout of the Athenians in 426
3. The Defense of Acarnania in 389
4. The Defense of Arcadia in 370
Conclusion

David A. Blome is a combat veteran of the US Marine Corps. He holds a PhD in Ancient History from Cornell University.

A valuable contribution to the study of polities and warfare in ancient Greece, Greek Warfare Beyond the Polis is also likely to prove a valuable read for anyone with an interest in "unconventional" warfare.

NYMAS Review
Greek Warfare beyond the Polis is a significant contribution to the study of Classical Greek warfare. Moreover, even readers without a deep interest in that subject will find much to contemplate in this short book.

Comparative Strategy
Straightforward yet graceful, Greek Warfare Beyond the Polis will be rewarding for specialists and non-specialists alike.

Bryn Mawr Classical Review
[T]this concise book will be rewarding for specialists and non-specialists alike. Blome's writing style is straightforward yet graceful.

Bryn Mawr Classical Review
This is an important work that fills a major lacuna in the field of ancient Greek military history. David A. Blome's military experience distinguishes it from other books.

Joseph Roisman, Colby College, author of The Classical Art of Command
Greek Warfare Beyond the Polis tackles a topic given too little attention from scholars, and does so in a series of captivating stories that take the reader directly into the midst of the thoughts and actions of Greek hoplites and soldiers fighting for to save their cities and themselves.

Jim Lacey, Marine Corps War College, author of The First Clash and The Washington War

Greek Warfare beyond the Polis : Defense, Strategy, and the Making of Ancient Federal States

by: Blome, D.A.

• ISBN-13: 9781501747526
• ISBN-03: 1501747525
• Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 2020

Price: 49,00 EURO

(in stock)