Auf ein Miniaturbild klicken, um zu Google Books zu gelangen.
Lädt ... Xenophon's Retreat: Greece, Persia, and the End of the Golden Age (2006)von Robin Waterfield
Keine Lädt ...
Melde dich bei LibraryThing an um herauszufinden, ob du dieses Buch mögen würdest. Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch. One of the most fascinating stories in Greek military history is Xenophon's Ascent and Waterfield here has done an admirable job of presenting the first field account of a military campaign. Almost a side note but as Waterfield traveled much of Xeonophon's route the author was not able to view the sight of the sea that suggested the Greek mercenaries had a good chance of returning home alive, most of them anyway. The day that Waterfield visited the sky was too cloudy for the water to be seen. In any case, he made an admirable attempt to traverse the same route that Xenophon and his troops did. For many non-specialists they may be put off by their unfamiliarity with Xenophon and although Waterfield is not quite at the quality of writing as a Barry Strauss or a Victor Davis Hanson he is accessible and lively enough for many readers to become more knowledgeable about the ancient Greeks and their first reported field campaign. This volume should be paired with the original text by Xeonophon. Quite a good book, going into detailed analysis of the things Xenophon doesn't really go into. The politics of Cyrus' situation in the Persian Empire. The logistics and strategy of Cyrus' campaign (and of the march to the sea itself), the tactics of the Battle of Cunaxa. All pretty well informed by some on-the-ground experience by the author. Robin Waterfield, a Greece-based translator of Xenophon and other classics, has written an entertaining companion to Xenophon's eyewitness report on the failed expedition of Cyrus and the retreat of the Greek mercenaries back home (completing a tour de Turquie). After Cyrus died during the battle of Cunaxa, the now masterless Greek mercenaries were escorted by the Persian army to die in the wintery Turkish highlands. Xenophon led the men to the Black Sea, fending off local tribes. Within reach of Greek civilization, the soldiers started plundering and misbehaving and the unity found in adversity was dissolved. Xenophon, however, amassed a fortune which allowed him to retire as a gentleman farmer writer. Waterfield's introduction to Ancient Greece at the turn of the fifth century BCE enhances (but never replaces) the (not included) original text with comments, explanations and tourist impressions (including badly rastered B/W pictures). His vignettes of Greek warfare and camp life as well as the continued squabble among the Greeks are well written and incite to further lecture (in which task the ably commented and collected bibliography comes handy). Zeige 5 von 5 keine Rezensionen | Rezension hinzufügen
In The Expedition of Cyrus, the Western world's first eyewitness account of a military campaign, Xenophon told how, in 401 B.C., a band of unruly Greek mercenaries traveled east to fight for the Persian prince Cyrus the Younger in his attempt to wrest the throne of the mighty Persian empire from his brother. With this first masterpiece of Western military history forming the backbone of his book, Robin Waterfield explores what remains unsaid and assumed in Xenophon's account--much about the gruesome nature of ancient battle and logistics, the lives of Greek and Persian soldiers, and questions of historical, political, and personal context, motivation, and conflicting agendas. The result is a rounded version of the story of Cyrus's ill-fated march and the Greeks' perilous retreat--a nuanced and dramatic perspective on a critical moment in history that may tell us as much about our present-day adventures in the Middle East, site of Cyrus's debacle and the last act of the Golden Age, as it does about the great powers of antiquity in a volatile period of transition. Just as Xenophon brought the thrilling, appalling expedition to life, Waterfield evokes Xenophon himself as a man of his times--reflecting for all time invaluable truths about warfare, overweaning ambition, the pitfalls of power, and the march of history. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
Aktuelle DiskussionenKeineBeliebte Umschlagbilder
Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)938.06History and Geography Ancient World Greece to 323 Greece to 323 Spartan and Theban Supremacy (404-362 BC)Klassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
Bist das du?Werde ein LibraryThing-Autor. |
Anyway, this is a very well structured book. Waterfield uses the same necklace approach as does Herodotus, with the story of the expedition forming the chain of the book and with sections on a great variety of subjects depending from it, steadily building up a picture of the world. He makes firm statements about what happened using inference and supposition from the meagre evidence we possess. The book thereby has narrative drive and there is an excellent bibliography for those who wish to explore the controversies of history. Waterfield's opinion though is sensible and well informed.
The 2006 F&F paperback looks good but the spine is poorly constructed. Caveat emptor. ( )