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Greek and roman warfare
Greek and roman warfare
Greek and roman warfare
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Xenophon, the son of Athenian wealthy family, was exiled because of his assistance for the enemies of Athenians. He claimed that he was yearning for a thrilling adventure; as a result, he decided to join Cyrus’s expedition against his brother Artaxerxes, the Persian King along with the Greek mercenaries. Though Anabasis is more about the record of the Greeks’’ struggle and hardship during their retreat in the hostile territory, Xenophon writes Anabasis as his interest of ethnography. Ethnography is a study of human cultures. It aims to describe the origin, the behavior, and the physical, social, and cultural development of humans. Xenophon has recorded the Greeks and the local customs of the friendly and hostile forces such as dance, food, religious rites, songs, military tactics and leadership. Through Xenophon’s narrative, it offers a valuable insight of the ancient human culture.
The prominent theme of Anabasis is about the journey of the Greek mercenaries confronting the “barbarian” world. Xenophon documented the leadership and military tactics among the Greeks mercenaries during their retreat to their homeland. According to Xenophon, leadership was the important element of success and unification in ancient Greek culture. Xenophon admires Cyrus’s bravery and his leadership to the Greek mercenaries, “most of the troops has set sail and undertaken this mercenary service not because they were hard up, but because they had heard of Cyrus’ magnanimity” (Xenophon 144). Not only did Xenophon think Cyrus is a good leader, but also the Greeks. Xenophon defined Cyrus, a great leader, as being respectful, obedient to the elders, skilled at handling horse and proficient in the military skills of archery and javelin, trustworthy and ...
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... from Greeks’ custom. Furthermore in Book Six, the Greeks were invited by the Paphlagonians to a banquet. In there, Xenophon depicted many different cultures’ dance and song. It is an unusual scene in Anabasis to have all the barbarians zealously sharing their own culture.
In conclusion, Xenophon not only studied the Greeks’ military tactics and leadership, but also closely observed other human cultures while they were marching on their journey. Xenophon is interested in the qualities of a good commander and he realized that having a good leader is the main component for the Greeks to overcome all the hardships. Religious ritual also influenced the Greeks throughout the march. Their generals made sacrifice and decisions depend on the favorable of the omen. Other local customs might seem aberrant from the Greeks’ custom, but Xenophon found them to be intriguing.
* Xenophon in Seven Volumes, 3. (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA; William Heinemann, Ltd., London, 1980.)
In “Epameinondas, the Battle of Leuktra (371 B.C.), and the ‘Revolution’ in Greek Battle Tactics,” Victor Hanson argued that Epameinondas’s battle tactics at Leuktra were not revolutionary and thus his brief battle record reported by Herodotus was justified. Hanson broke down his argument into five parts. First, he considered Epameinondas’s innovations of considerable value. Second, he compared Leuktra and Mantineia for similarities. Third, he reviewed Xenophon’s version of the Theban battle plan. Fourth, he reviewed other historic accounts for their reliability. Finally, Hanson provided an explanation of the victory at Leuktra that required no revolutionary tactical maneuvers and followed the narrative of Xenophon.
Throughout Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, the reader or viewer has the opportunity to see the story’s main protagonist make leadership decisions, and take actions, that range from critical to minor in terms of importance. But the fact is that Odysseus is a leader. And that is the key thing to keep in mind no matter how you experience the poem. Inevitably, when you are talking about leaders, the questions arise: is he or she good or bad? What is the metric and what is your method of evaluation? In this case, we’ll look at Odysseus’ performance through a modern leadership lens, while keeping in mind that Homeric Greek culture might have motivated him to act differently than he would have today.
Of all the heroic traits such as honor and glory, given to the reader through Homer’s epic poems loyalty seems to be the strongest, as with Patroclus in the Iliad, so it is with Penelope, Telemachus, and Eumaeus in the Odyssey. Through the use of these characters loyalty is demonstrated to Odysseus, the hero if the poem. Their undying loyalty and devotion to the warring hero gives perfect examples of how humans should act to those they claim to be faithful too.
All throughout The Odyssey there are scenes of good and bad xenia, or hospitality. It can be seen that hospitality is extremely important in the Greek culture, both how someone treats their guests and how the guests treat the host. A closer look chronologically into the good, then bad examples will show how one acts affects the actions that are brought upon them when they either follow or disobey Zeus' Law.
“Anabasis” is the Xenophon’s account of the expedition for Cyrus against Persian and the marching home of Greeks. The Greek title of Xenophon’s work, “Anabasis”, referred to a march up country, away from the coast. The title applies only to the first of its seven books. It all ends with the death of Cyrus at the Battle of Cuxana. The Greek mercenary soldiers were left stranded in the “barbarian” world. The rest of the books involves with tales of the Greeks’ discipline, leadership and courage during their journey home. Xenophon’s narrative offers an insight of the character and their political life of a Greek army. Although Xenophon seems to write about the account between the Greek and the barbarian, he presents himself as an important role in the Greek army throughout the rest of the books. He uses a third-person form when describing his own actions as a character. It might suggest that Xenophon is writing an apologia to defend himself and to show his vital role in the expedition.
In Aeschylus’ Libation Bearers, Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War and Aristophanes’ Lysistrata contained strong Leadership and commitment to their fellow citizens. Each one of these works had a different view on issues which affected them during that time. Common motifs, themes and events had occurred; however some differ within these works. Leadership was considered power and strength at that time, all three of these works present strong arguments by leaders who were trying to make a difference.
The King and Queen happily welcome Telemachos into their home as they can recognize his relationship to Odysseus by his clear physical resemblance to him. In the household of King Menelaus, Telemachos is told the account of Odysseus and the Trojan horse. Odysseus cunningly dressed himself as a beggar to infiltrate Troy and brought through the Trojan horse, actually full of warriors ready to attack within the city’s walls. Further, this story adds to the character development and description of Odysseus as it portrays his masterful success. While Telemachos is in Sparta, Odysseus starts his ‘nostos’ or journey home. In ancient Greece, when a man of Odysseus’ high character leaves for war or to complete a heroic act he is expected to return home and earn his ‘nostos,’ which is the Greek word to express the honorable and proud return back to one’s own
In conclusion, multiple factors led to the failure of Xerxes’ expedition into Greece. According to Herodotus, Xerxes failed due to his personal hubris, fear, and general ineptitude. He further believed that it was God’s decree. More pragmatic reasons would include strategy; the Persian’s plans were generally sound – the Greeks, with the genius of Themistocles, just did one better. Timing was also a factor – winter came on all too soon. Key to all of this was the war of morale – one which the Greeks decisively won. Luck, too, played its part, but it was relative incompetence of the Persian troops which was the crux of the matter. The failure of the infantry was the cause of the final disintegration of the campaign. Xerxes’ personal failures and errors of judgment were an accelerant towards this end. First and foremost, he was let down by his men.
Homer's two central heroes, Odysseus and Achilles, are in many ways differing manifestations of the same themes. While Achilles' character is almost utterly consistent in his rage, pride, and near divinity, Odysseus' character is difficult to pin down to a single moral; though perhaps more human than Achilles, he remains more difficult to understand. Nevertheless, both heroes are defined not by their appearances, nor by the impressions they leave upon the minds of those around them, nor even so much by the words they speak, but almost entirely by their actions. Action is what drives the plot of both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and action is what holds the characters together. In this respect, the theme of humanity is revealed in both Odysseus and Achilles: man is a combination of his will, his actions, and his relationship to the divine. This blend allows Homer to divulge all that is human in his characters, and all that is a vehicle for the idyllic aspects of ancient Greek society. Accordingly, the apparent inconsistencies in the characterization of Odysseus can be accounted for by his spiritual distance from the god-like Achilles; Achilles is more coherent because he is the son of a god. This is not to say that Achilles is not at times petty or unimaginative, but that his standards of action are merely more continuous through time. Nevertheless, both of Homer's heroes embody important and admirable facets of ancient Greek culture, though they fracture in the ways they are represented.
As such, it is possible that in writing his “version” of events Xenophon used The Persian Expedition as an apologia. Xenophon’s writing centers around himself and his greatness. His purpose could also have been simply to record the events and people of the expedition. As a military history, it could be seen to exemplify a Socratic philosophy while teaching the principles of leadership and government shown by an army. Both purposes are difficult to substantiate as Xenophon did not state his formal purpose for writing. However, one could argue that this book gave Philip of Macedon the belief that a small, disciplined Greek army could overtake a much larger Persian army generations after its
... the Greeks and drafted the entire male population. The Greeks won the battle. Xerxes escapes and tells the gory outcome of the scene. Atossa returns to Xerxes fathers tomb, Darius. King Darius returns as a ghost. He is ignorant of his empires collapse. Atossa tells her husband that their son is the reason his empire failed. The chorus then tries to make Xerxes a slave. Darius forbids it. He tells them to teach his son self-control and leaves reminding everyone of the value of life. King Xerxes tells his citizens of the battle and begs for forgiveness. He honors the dead with sadness (Aeschylus).
The Athenians chose their leaders to be valiant and motivating, and how we came to that conclusion was how the speech towards fallen soldier in war was given. “There has never been a time when they did not inhabit this land, which their valor they have handed down from generation and generation, and we have received from them a free state. But if they were worthy of praise, still more ere our fathers, who added to their inheritance, and after many a struggle transmitted to us their sons this great empire. And we ourselves assembled here today, who are still most of us in the vigor of life, have carried the work of improvement further, and have richly endowed our city with all things, so that she is sufficient for herself both in peace and war.”
The entertaining stories of greek mythology imparted wisdom, taught lessons, and gave historical insight on ancient Greece. The greatest reconized of these stories are The Illaid and The Odyssesy. They were written in epic from by a poetic author, Homer. In The Illaid Achilles and Hector are mighty leaders who face difficult challenges. Achilles was nearly invincible and contained inpressive speed and strength. However, he over credited his abilities which created an unheroic addition to his charactor,pride. His pride caused him to make foolish decisions therefore reflecting a childish attitude on his charactor throughout the epic. Hector was the defender of Troy, and he fought couragiously and wise?. Unlike Achilles, glory was not his desire, his only obligation to the war was loyaly protecting his people. There is no historical proof of Homer's existance, some even believe it was not a single person, yet a group of poetic writers. Homer has provided infomation regarding the Trojan War that has remained unmatched by other authors, thus, explaining his fame. Greeks are also remembered for their plays and performances. Antigone, by Sophicles, is a tragic play were a girl, Antigone, has mixed emotions. Torn between respecting her brother's corpse while knowing the penity of death, or following the unjustice laws of her uncle, Creon. Antigone, Achilles, and Hector have significantly given critical insight to our community about avoiding lawlessness, by suffering the consequences of their actions. Achilles is commonly mistaken as a god because of his strength, wisedom, and supernatural abilities. Yet just as his father Peleus, he is mortal. However, his mother Thetis was a sea nypth. Thetis was admired by Zeus, the ruler of all O...
The ancient Greek civilization, including those from current Greece and surrounding areas, had a singular perception of what an “ideal” man was and what characteristics this man should have to be considered one. The ancient Greeks venerated those with more intellectual and noble attributes, with qualities such as bravery, responsibility, and esteem. Homer’s the Iliad encompasses these traits and portrays them through various characters, scenarios, and comments made in the epic. Based on these ideals, one can come to the decision that Hector, the Trojan hero in the Iliad, is a better man that the Achaean king Agamemnon.