The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece 2nd Edition

by Victor Davis Hanson (Author), John Keegan (Introduction)

51 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0520219113

ISBN-10: 0520219112

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The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece

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The Greeks of the classical age invented not only the central idea of Western politics--that the power of state should be guided by a majority of its citizens--but also the central act of Western warfare, the decisive infantry battle. Instead of ambush, skirmish, maneuver, or combat between individual heroes, the Greeks of the fifth century b.c. devised a ferocious, brief, and destructive head-on clash between armed men of all ages. In this bold, original study, Victor Davis Hanson shows how this brutal enterprise was dedicated to the same outcome as consensual government--an unequivocal, instant resolution to dispute.

The Western Way of War draws from an extraordinary range of sources--Greek poetry, drama, and vase painting, as well as historical records--to describe what actually took place on the battlefield. It is the first study to explore the actual mechanics of classical Greek battle from the vantage point of the infantryman--the brutal spear-thrusting, the difficulty of fighting in heavy bronze armor which made it hard to see, hear and move, and the fear. Hanson also discusses the physical condition and age of the men, weaponry, wounds, and morale.

This compelling account of what happened on the killing fields of the ancient Greeks ultimately shows that their style of armament and battle was contrived to minimize time and life lost by making the battle experience as decisive and appalling as possible. Linking this new style of fighting to the rise of constitutional government, Hanson raises new issues and questions old assumptions about the history of war.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A small masterpiece of style and scholarship." -- The Economist

"Enthralling. . . . One closes this book wishing that its final verdict was as well known as more familiar tenets of Greek wisdom." -- Christopher Hitchens, Newsday

"[Hanson's] vivid style and meticulous combing of the ancient literary, archaeological, and epigraphical sources have produced a near masterpiece of historical imagination and reconstruction. . . . Masterful and gripping." -- Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"[Hanson] has opened up a whole new way of looking at classical Greek war-fare. . . . The study of Greek warfare can never be quite the same again." -- Journal of Hellenic Studies

About the Author

Victor Davis Hanson is Professor of Classics at California State University, Fresno, and author of Warfare and Agriculture in Classical Greece (revised edition, California 1998), The Other Greeks: The Family Farm and the Agrarian Roots of Western Civilization (revised edition, California 1999), and Fields without Dreams: Defending the Agrarian Idea (1996).

Product details

Paperback: 271 pages
Publisher: University of California Press; 2nd edition (February 11, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0520219112
ISBN-13: 978-0520219113
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
Average Customer Review: 51 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,215,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1439 in Books > History > Ancient Civilizations > Greece
- #2176 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Ancient
- #3420 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Military

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alan j. greczynski

How the Western Wars Were Won.

November 22, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Victor Davis Hanson is unmatched in his writing's of ancient warfare. The foundation of the Western and modern military mindset was laid out by the Greeks (Macedonians and Romans to follow). The Greeks were primarily heavy infantry armies. Unlike the Persians and many other Near Eastern armies, they did not rely upon cavalry (although some modification will come under Alexander the Great), along with chariots as those armies had. As Hanson describes; "The Greek battlefield was the scene of abject terror and utter carnage." The Greek word "Othismos"- a "pushing" describes Greek city state warfare at its best. Very little ingenuity in tactics were used. The Persians would bring change to Greek city state warfare by using their cavalry, archers and chariots that would force the Greeks to "think outside of the box." The Hopelite-the Greek heavy shield bearing infantryman and his partners to his left and his right were inseparable, for if they loosened formation they were finished. The same came with the Phalanx trooper developed by Philip and improved upon by his more dynamic son Alexander. The basis for the Macedonian Phalanx and the Roman Cohort and Legion had its roots in the Greek way of war. Greeks were "citizen soldiers." not the Carthaginian mercenaries or Persian mass levy's. The were men with a "stake" in their respective society.

4 people found this helpful

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Delightful Study of Hoplite Warfare

December 5, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is an impressive and readable attempt to recreate the feel and details of the Hoplite battle, as viewed from the soldier's perspective, through analysis of ancient manuscripts and artwork, and filling in the details with conclusions based on reasoning and Dr. Hanson's 'hands on' past as an agrarian farmer in the San Joaquin valley of California. His opinions often conflict with those of the stuffy, stultified elite within Classics, whose life of Bourgeois luxury have led then to purely mental categories, divorced from conceptions grounded in realities relevant to Greek Agrarian society.
Interesting as well is the discussion of the place of battle in Greek society, as a somewhat ritualized struggle between city-states, within implicit rules that made the battle quick, deadly, and done. Dr. Hanson projects this concept on the manifold of battle as evolved in the intervening centuries to show how this form has deteriorated, and how a danger lurks for those that wish to cling to the older conception against the newer reality of the 'dirty war', or 'war by an means'.

One person found this helpful

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One of the Finest Books on Military History EVER Written.

May 4, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

One of the best military history novels EVER written. Period. Belongs on all military historians shelves next to Keegan, von Clausewitz, Fuller...etc. Examines phalanx warfare during Greece's city-state era using first person accounts garnered from historical documents. Covers the human aspects of battle - the fear, the sounds, they discomfort, the fatigue that almost places one in the center of the phalanx. The Western Way of War refers to the Western World's pursuit of the "decisive battle" (as opposed to the eastern methods of the prolonged struggle). Very incisive, especially given today's global situation.

3 people found this helpful

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Things you always "knew". Now I know WHY.

December 22, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Glad I was a Tanker in the Army. Would not want to be an Infantryman in any age.
Thank God they taught the West how to FIGHT!! I always knew I was a soldier. NOT a "warrior".
Thank you Mr. Hanson. I know why.
Aim High! It allows for bullet drop.

One person found this helpful

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Timothy A. Curry

Hanson's Breakout Book

November 6, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Hanson's breakout book, done after the fashion of Keegan's Face of Battle in focusing on the actual experience of the infantryman on the ground. Most interesting to me is Hanson's observation that despite the imagery of destruction in ancient Greek warfare it turns out that grape and olive agriculture is exceedingly difficult to wipe out with the limited time and hand tools available to the armies of the day - Hanson tried it himself on his farm. From those base observations he began to question assumptions about hoplite warfare that have filled centuries' worth of literature. The result is a highly entertaining, iconoclastic read. Highly recommended.

3 people found this helpful

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Hoplites and modern war

November 15, 2012

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This is a one of Victor Davis Hanson's classiscs about the Western Way of War. Hanson's insights into the cultural elements that make the Western way of war so deadly, whether used by Westerners or adopted against them, are so profound that John Keegan, perhaps the most prestigious military historian alive when Hanson published, abandoned his customary British reserve and called them "dazzlingly original".

"The Western Way of War" has become a fundamental concept in military history, as fundamental as things like the role of surprise or the importance of logistics.

Hanson is especially laudable in his discussion of Western warmaking because he denies any "superiority" in the moral sense, and utterly disdains any racial element. He makes it clear that Western armies have too often used this deadliness do do what they should not. But it is important for an understanding of the world, and how we can prevent some wars (NOT all) and contain the harm done by those which do start.

Jay Maupin

3 people found this helpful

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Iacobus de arenoso

Groundbreaking Work From Our Californian Classicist

November 14, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Contains the initial statement of two of Hanson's important theses that shook the usually staid world of classics and the study of ancient military history.

Whatever you feel about Hanson's political leanings, proclivities, activities, and writings, this book is a very important addition to our understanding of Ancient Greece.

Recommend !

Comment

He loves learning about history and says it's perfect in every way

November 27, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This was a gift for my husband and he loves it. He loves learning about history and says it's perfect in every way. He has spent a lot of time reading it and studying it.

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