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Editorial Reviews
Product Description
The ancient Greeks were for the most part a rural, not an urban, society. And for much of the Classical period, war was more common than peace. Almost all accounts of ancient history assume that farming and fighting were critical events in the lives of the citizenry. Yet never before have we had a comprehensive modern study of the relationship between agriculture and warfare in the Greek world. In this completely revised edition of Warfare and Agriculture in Classical Greece, Victor Davis Hanson provides a systematic review of Greek agriculture and warfare and describes the relationship between these two important aspects of life in ancient communities. With careful attention to agronomic as well as military details, this well-written, thoroughly researched study reveals the remarkable resilience of those farmland communities.
In the past, scholars have assumed that the agricultural infrastructure of ancient society was often ruined by attack, as, for example, Athens was relegated to poverty in the aftermath of the Persian and later Peloponnesian invasions. Hanson's study shows, however, that in reality attacks on agriculture rarely resulted in famines or permanent agrarian depression. Trees and vines are hard to destroy, and grainfields are only briefly vulnerable to torching. In addition, ancient armies were rather inefficient systematic ravagers and instead used other tactics, such as occupying their enemies' farms to incite infantry battle. Warfare and Agriculture in Classical Greece suggests that for all ancient societies, rural depression and desolation came about from more subtle phenomena--taxes, changes in political and social structure, and new cultural values--rather than from destructive warfare.
In the past, scholars have assumed that the agricultural infrastructure of ancient society was often ruined by attack, as, for example, Athens was relegated to poverty in the aftermath of the Persian and later Peloponnesian invasions. Hanson's study shows, however, that in reality attacks on agriculture rarely resulted in famines or permanent agrarian depression. Trees and vines are hard to destroy, and grainfields are only briefly vulnerable to torching. In addition, ancient armies were rather inefficient systematic ravagers and instead used other tactics, such as occupying their enemies' farms to incite infantry battle. Warfare and Agriculture in Classical Greece suggests that for all ancient societies, rural depression and desolation came about from more subtle phenomena--taxes, changes in political and social structure, and new cultural values--rather than from destructive warfare.
From the Inside Flap
"The book is excellent. . . . Hanson's literary style is clean and lucid, a delight to read."--Walter Donlan, University of California, Irvine
"Warfare and Agriculture in Classical Greece presents a closely argued and thoroughly supported critique of an entire tendency in classical scholarship to think uncritically about agriculture. . . . Hanson's success in this results in an admirably short work that is full of interest, not just for classical scholars but also for military, agriculture, and environmental historians."--Colin Duncan, Queen's University, Ontario
"Warfare and Agriculture in Classical Greece presents a closely argued and thoroughly supported critique of an entire tendency in classical scholarship to think uncritically about agriculture. . . . Hanson's success in this results in an admirably short work that is full of interest, not just for classical scholars but also for military, agriculture, and environmental historians."--Colin Duncan, Queen's University, Ontario
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
An army of invasion in the classical age usually sought decisive battle, but it needed to utilize the countryside of its adversary to accomplish that goal-both to feed itself and to provoke the enemy to fight by attacking farmland. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
agricultural devastation, updated commentary, enemy ravagers, seventh oration, ravaging parties, crop devastation, agricultural destruction, hoplite battle, hoplite warfare, border forts, agricultural damage, sacred olives, crop destruction Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Archidamian War, Peloponnesian War, Dekeleian War, New York, Aeneas Tacticus, Ten Thousand, Oxyrhynchus Historian, Dema Wall, Olive-Growing Community, Asia Minor, Athenian Plain, Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique, American Civil War, Crimean Chersonesos New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
An army of invasion in the classical age usually sought decisive battle, but it needed to utilize the countryside of its adversary to accomplish that goal-both to feed itself and to provoke the enemy to fight by attacking farmland. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
agricultural devastation, updated commentary, enemy ravagers, seventh oration, ravaging parties, crop devastation, agricultural destruction, hoplite battle, hoplite warfare, border forts, agricultural damage, sacred olives, crop destruction Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Archidamian War, Peloponnesian War, Dekeleian War, New York, Aeneas Tacticus, Ten Thousand, Oxyrhynchus Historian, Dema Wall, Olive-Growing Community, Asia Minor, Athenian Plain, Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique, American Civil War, Crimean Chersonesos New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 65
books:
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10
books
cite this book:
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- War and Society in the Greek World by John Rich on 9 pages
- The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides on 8 pages
- Ancient Greek Agriculture: An Introduction by Signe Isager on 6 pages
- Human Landscapes in Classical Antiquity: Environment and Culture (Leicester-Nottingham Studies in Ancient Society ; V. 6) by John Salmon on 5 pages
- in Front Matter, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 65 books this book cites
- Republics Ancient and Modern, Volume I: The Ancien Régime in Classical Greece by Paul A. Rahe in Back Matter
- The Play of Space: Spatial Transformation in Greek Tragedy by Rush Rehm in Back Matter
- Rome at War: Farms, Families, and Death in the Middle Republic (Studies in the History of Greece and Rome) by Nathan Rosenstein in Back Matter
- The Cambridge Illustrated History of Warfare (Cambridge Illustrated Histories) by Geoffrey Parker in Back Matter
- Oeconomicus: A Social and Historical Commentary (Clarendon Paperbacks) by Xenophon on page 47
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68% buy the item featured on this page: Warfare and Agriculture in Classical Greece, Revised edition (Biblioteca Di Studi Antichi, 40) $24.95 |
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13% buy The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece $14.93 |
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7% buy The Other Greeks: The Family Farm and the Agrarian Roots of Western Civilization $25.46 |
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