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Lädt ... Henchmen of Ares : warriors and warfare in Early Greece (2013. Auflage)von Josho Brouwers (Autor)
Werk-InformationenHenchmen of Ares: Warriors and Warfare in Early Greece (Ancient Warfare Special) von Josho Brouwers Keine Lädt ...
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Much has already been written on warfare in ancient Greece, yet there are a number of factors that nevertheless warrant the publication of another book on this topic.Firstly, this book provides a detailed, diachronic treatment of a dynamic and formative period of Greek history: from the Mycenaean Bronze Age down to the Persian Wars. Secondly, it offers an up-to-date and detailed treatment of the archaeological evidence in addition to the ancient texts. Thirdly, it places the military developments into their proper cultural and historical contexts: warfare was not merely an activity that ancient peoples frequently engaged in, but served a much broader function as a constituent element of their cultural identities.Using the Homeric epics as a guide, the reader is presented with a cultural history of warriors and warfare in early Greece: from the chariot-borne soldiers of the Mycenaean palaces to the seaborne raiders of women and cattle of the Dark Age; from the men of bronze who helped liberate Egypt from the Assyrian yoke down to the Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis. Along the way, a number of detailed issues are considered, including the proper place of the Greek hoplite in the history of the Eastern Mediterranean, the possible origins of the Argive shield, developments in naval warfare, and the activities of Greek mercenaries.Henchmen of Ares is an expanded and revised version of the doctoral dissertation on Early Greek warfare by Mediterranean archaeologist Josho Brouwers, editor of Ancient Warfare magazine. It has been completely restructured and reworked to make the text accessible to a general audience, while also offering a detailed treatment of the relevant sources and a further reading section for more serious students and specialists alike. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)355.009Social sciences Public Administration, Military Science Military Science Biography And HistoryKlassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
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Brouwers sees Homer as a fairly accurate depiction of warfare, but not in the ostensible time – the Late Bronze Age – but in Homer’s actual time – the Early Iron Age. Brouwers notes that the palaces described by Homer don’t correspond to actual Mycenean structures; that Mycenaean society was considerably more bureaucratic – with administrative records kept in Linear B – than Homeric society, which seems barely literate; and Mycenean warriors are much less heavily armored than their Homeric counterparts. It is acknowledged that Hittite archives mention places that might be “Ilium” (Wilusa) and “Achaea” (Ahhiyawa) and people that might be Priam (Piyama-Radu) and Paris (Alaksandu; “Alexandros” is an alternative name for Paris). Thus Homeric epics might actually refer to dimly remember history. (For more about this see the Rape of Troy and The War That Killed Achilles).
During Iron Age time, the Greeks developed the “Argive” shield – which had a double grip; the holder passed his arm through a loop in the approximate center, and used a handgrip near the far edge. Brouwers contends this was originally intended to make the shield easier for a horseman to use, and it later facilitated “shield wall” tactics. The discussion of cavalry is interesting; the chariot disappears (except in mythic context) and is replaced by two mounted warriors – the hippobatas and hippostrophos; the hippobatas is an older fighter and the hippostrophos is a youth accompanying him on a second horse, thus vaguely analogous to a medieval knight and squire. However, the hippobatas apparently rode to battle but fought on foot. (See Cavalry Operations in the Ancient Greek World, although the emphasis is more on Macedonian times there’s some discussion of Mycenean chariots).
However, horses disappear by the time of the Persian Wars; Brouwers suggests this is because warriors became more heavily armored, making it more difficult to ride on a horse (he doesn’t note it, but stirrups hadn’t been invented yet). Another innovation is the trumpet, making it possible to communicate instructions to soldiers outside voice contact; at the same time helmet design changes to allow openings at the ears so trumpet signals could be heard. Naval warfare also develops, from single bank galleys with 25 or 50 oars (in Mycenaean times) through biremes and eventually the iconic trireme, outfitted with a bronze ram.
Heavily referenced, usually to scholarly publications. Brouwers draws heavily on painted pottery for depictions of Greek warriors, and there are lots of illustrations of these (although some fairly important ones are described rather than illustrated; a problem getting the rights, maybe? Don’t know. No formal bibliography, but an excellent section of “Bibliographic notes” for each chapter, supplemented by a “Sources” section, which cross references topics (“Horses”, for example) to passages in Homer, Herodotus, or other ancient authors where they are mentioned. Good maps, and a useful chronology. The only thing I didn’t like very much are the full page and page-and-a-half paintings that provide the “coffee table” element; I would have rather seen more illustration of archaeological finds. ( )