Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity

Book Description

Sparta, Macedon, and Rome—how did these nations come to dominate the ancient world? What set their armies apart? Noting this was an age that witnessed few technological advances, J. E. Lendon shows us that the most successful armies were those that made the most effective use of cultural tradition. Ancient combat moved forward by looking backward for inspiration—the Greeks, to Homer; the Romans, to the Greeks and to their own heroic past. The best ancient armies recruited soldiers from societies with strong competitive traditions; and the best ancient leaders, from Alexander to Julius Caesar, called upon those traditions to encourage ferocious competition at every rank.
Ranging from the Battle of Champions between Sparta and Argos in 550 B.C. through Julian’s invasion of Persia in A.D. 363, Soldiers and Ghosts brings to life the most decisive military contests of ancient Greece and Rome. Lendon places these battles, and the methods by which they were fought, in a sweeping narrative of ancient military history. On every battlefield, living soldiers fought alongside the ghosts of tradition—ghosts that would inspire greatness for almost a millennium before ultimately coming to stifle it.

Customer Reviews:

You'd better be into this kind of thing.......2007-08-14

This book was very good at getting into not only how the ancients fought but why. Some of the progressions and terminology get hard to follow but it's worth the concentration. If you're an ancient culture fan, this is an excellent book. If not, I think you'll be bored silly.

Interesting Review of the Greek, less so for the Roman.......2007-08-09

Lendon does a credible job of describing and explaining Greek cultural norms and how it affected warfare. I think its effectiveness Lendon's ability to correlate the Homeric epics and with Greek warfare. Since the relationship between the Greeks and their epic is clear, the thesis, I think, holds well.

I think that the application of this approach in the Roman era (cultural norms affecting warfare) is less profound. In Greece, the epics actually affected an army's structure and tactics. With Rome, it is more about how the army operated and conducted itself in warfare and the balance between discipline and virtue - less an explaination and more a description.

Five stars for the Greek section, three for the Roman, averaging a solid four.

Solid Academic History of Classical Battle.......2006-11-04

Lendon's treatise is not a broad sweeping description of classical battle. It is comprised of a series of chapters analysing battles in the ancient Greek and Roman tradition and isolating changes that happenned in formation and tactics. While the changes are analysed, Lendon's central thesis is the constant reference to "epic battle" which could be defined loosely as that occuring in the Iliad: seeking out personal combat, demonstating individual glory and competency at arms, and seeking personal danger to gain glory. All of these elements are a certain ethic of battle that, accorinding to Lendon has waxed and wained throughout the classcal times.

Lendon starts with an analysis of the elements of epic battle as defined by the Iliad and then traces this battle ethic within the mindset of the ancient Greeks in the Great Age and Hellenistic periods. Interpretations may have been different and elements may have been stressed that were in fact not practised during battle, but the pull of history and the example to which all Greeks defined themselves was that of the epic warrior.

In many cases this lead to actions that may have either directly contradicted the ethic -- ie mass battle without breaking ranks, and the killing of individual soldiers who did break ranks (the Roman practise of decimation).

Lendon tells us that there was no single homogeneous way of Greek or Roman warfare. The epic style stressed individual combat, but although this may have been something that was more practised in Marathon, it was certainly not used in Alexander's time, though writers of the age may make referential comment on the importance of epic battle and how Alexander largely defined himself in terms of homage to the Ancients.

Latterly Roman warfare developed from maniple to cohort warfare with an initial layering of Roman offensive power giving way to large-scale clashed of massed, shielded infantry. There was also tension between discipline, which encouraged every man to maintain his place within the ranks, in order for victory to be won, and the quest for bravery and glory by seeking out individual battle -- which could be an often was disasterous (as happenned at Adrianapol). The secret of the Roman's according to Lendon, was the ability of the commanders to blend and control the two elements. To demonstrate the above we are offerred the examples of early manipular warfare against the Greeks, latter restrained warfare during the Punic war, the tension between the two in the Jewish War, and then the latter battle against the Parthians in Persia. Indeed Lendon makes the point that the Persian war in the early 4th Cen. was carried out by Julius because the Persians were who you battled against, as did the Greeks, if one wanted to wage war and be more closely regarded as part of the epic tradition.

Lendon is I think, more credible than Victor Davis Hanson in his handling of classical history. While his central thesis may be controversial Lendon sticks to what he knows and is not so strong on the truth certainty principle that seems to define (largely) America academics. In short he's more reasonable that Hanson.

The book is scholarly yet flows reasonably well. It is useful as an antedote against an understanding that Greek or Roman warfare was static in any way. New methods of battle, not surprisingly, did arise, and although each may have been different there always was a person, Seneca, Caeser, Alexander or Josephus ready to cite elements of the epic battle tradition as a conservative refrain. While not breezy, "Soldiers and Ghosts" is a good academic read.

Note* If you are reading this book to get an overview of the history of the era it may not be the best introduction. Lendon picks slices of time and analyses battle tactics and ethics. He leaves out (though unlike Hansen, he does not do it deliberately) whole swathes of history, Valen's battle with the Germans, Adrianapole, Cannae, the Actium, Thebes and others are all absent.

A Different Perspective.......2006-02-14

Subtitled A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity, Soldiers and Ghosts turned out to be a far different book from what I expected. If you're looking for a complete military history of the classical world or a detailed exposition on organization, tactics and weapons look elsewhere. Professor Lendon instead explores the impact of the Greek and Roman cultures on their warfare. I certainly found his thesis an eye-opener, providing a perspective on the subject I never considered before. Well written and up-to-date, this will no doubt prove to be a landmark study of the subject.

A thoughtful survey of Greek and Roman warfare.......2005-10-15

JE Lendon's "Soldiers and Ghosts" provides a unique survey of Greek and Roman warfare from 400 BCE to the late Roman Empire, emphasizing how much the Greeks and Romans consciously emulated the past, or at least emulated the idealized past as they understood it from ancient authors. The most successful armies, Lendon contends, were those who could blend the lessons of the past (as understood) with the social and cultural realities of their own time.

I found his exploration of Roman military practice from the Early Republic to Late Empire to be most interesting, evolving -- although I am not certain "evolution" is necessarily the most accurate word -- from use of a Macedonian-style phalanx to maniples to cohorts and back to a phalanx. He emphasizes the traditional tension in the Roman army between "virtus" (more or less individual heroics, often in defiance of orders) and "disciplina" (disciplined organization under control of the commanders). If anyone conceives of the Roman army at any time being a machinelike organization of perfect discipline, Lendon's book should cure that view; Roman generals of all eras were often faced with the repeated problem of their soldiers -- not just eager young aristocratic officers but also common footsoldiers -- insisting on launching themselves into quick battle when prudence and common sense would dictate restraint.

Lendon also emphasizes the importance of competition between indviduals and, especially among the Romans, units as a force behind better training and performance in battle.

Siege Mentalities; Lessons learned from the classical way of war.(Soldiers and Ghosts a History of Battle in Classical Antiquity)(Book review): An article from: The Weekly Standard

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Siege Mentalities; Lessons learned from the classical way of war.(Soldiers and Ghosts a History of Battle in Classical Antiquity)(Book review): An article from: The Weekly Standard
Dennis Showalter
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000KB8F2O
Release Date: 2006-11-02

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Weekly Standard, published by Thomson Gale on November 6, 2006. The length of the article is 1335 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Siege Mentalities; Lessons learned from the classical way of war.(Soldiers and Ghosts a History of Battle in Classical Antiquity)(Book review)
Author: Dennis Showalter
Publication: The Weekly Standard (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 6, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 12 Issue: 8 Page: NA

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity.(Book review) : An article from: Parameters

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Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity.(Book review) : An article from: Parameters
J. Boone, Jr. Bartholomees
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Parameters, published by Thomson Gale on March 22, 2006. The length of the article is 912 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity.(Book review)
Author: J. Boone, Jr. Bartholomees
Publication: Parameters (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 36 Issue: 1 Page: 135(2)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity

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Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity
J. E. Lendon
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSD7EE

Customer Reviews:

Good economic and societal history.......1998-12-30

As described in the summary, this is a good short (250pp) volume that discusses the rise and fall of the Dutch Navy during the indicated period. It is not a detailed military history nor a reference to the vessels and facilities that comprised the Dutch Navy, as I had hoped. For those interested in the Age of Sail at a high level, I can recommend this book as it does provide insight into the problems faced by the United Provinces and the attempted solutions, as well as excellent coverage of the makeup of the crew, cadre and administration. But if you expect this book to be a technical reference to the Dutch Navy, you will be disappointed.

The Warfare in the Eighteenth Century (Smithsonian History of Warfare) (Smithsonian History of Warfare)

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Warfare in the EIghteenth Century
Improper focus
Warfare in the Eighteenth Century
I won't buy this book
A good try at a difficult topic

The Warfare in the Eighteenth Century (Smithsonian History of Warfare) (Smithsonian History of Warfare)
Jeremy Black
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060851236
Release Date: 2006-01-31

Book Description

Worldwide warfare might seem like a twentieth-century development, but the colonial empires of Europe fought wars around the globe in the eighteenth. With domains spreading to the Americas and across the Pacific Ocean to Asia, a great power such as France could find itself fighting simultaneously against England's Hanoverian king in northern Germany, in the waters of the English Channel, and on the grounds of what became Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Jeremy Black explains not just the wheres and whys of those wars, but also the hows.

The Age of Enlightenment on the battlefield.
Diversity of tactics and weapons used around the globe.
After the death of Louis XIV, French hegemony yielded to French decline and the French Revolution.
Shifting balance of power sets the stage for the rise of Prussia.
The American Revolution witnesses the origins of guerilla warfare.

Customer Reviews:

Warfare in the EIghteenth Century.......2006-02-19

I bought this book recently and just finished reading it. Although it has many nice pictures and maps that make it easy to follow things, I take issue with some of his focuses.

He has a very Americo-centric view of the War of Independance, playing down British victories and emphasising American successes that were not really that successful.

Secondly, he pays no more than two pages to Fredrick the Great, and only a few more to Marlborough. Although it might be interesting to know about the wars of minor African and Asian nations, that is not why I bought this book. I bought this book for a good summary of the major wars of the 18th century, and for me, the invasion of Tibet should not have more time devoted to it as the Seven Years War.

My advice is that if you want to know about non European conflicts, buy this book, if you want a balanced and complete view of European Wars in the 18th century...stay away.

Improper focus.......2004-10-06

The stated purpose of Cassell's History of Warfare series is to provide a richly illustrated survey of, well, the history of warfare. Series editor John Keegan has assembled a team of distinguished historians to write this history. For the eighteenth century, he has chosen Jeremy Black, who is known for his support of the 'Military Revolution' thesis.
In his introduction, Black makes it clear that military history has for too long been "Eurocentric". He considers this unacceptable, and wishes to advance the cause of - for lack of a better term - multicultural military history. The resulting work is watered-down even by the standards of a general survey.
Black argues that European military theory/practices were not universally followed. Thus, in his opening chapter "War Without Europeans", Black narrates the Dsungar (a central Asian people) invasion of Tibet, describing the effectiveness of non-European tactics when applied between non-European cultures. Throughout the book he lists scores of obscure peoples, empires, and battles, all in an effort to buttress his thesis.
You really get the sense that Black relishes his defiant stance against 'conservative' military history. He bashes Frederick the Great and the Prussians in a paragraph and a caption, and doesn't even provide a map of the Seven Years' War. But then he showers praise on Alaung-hpaya and the mighty Burmese army, even parcelling out a precious map of South-East Asia.
Black's thesis is faulty for several reasons. The first is his contention that non-European tactics are deserving of study on a wider scale because of their successful application by one non-European state against another. While this may be true within the context of a war between two South-East Asian states, when compared against the awesome effectiveness of European tactics, the former simply does not hold up.
The second problem with Black's thesis is his belief that a battle should be widely known simply because it was important to the participants, or that the bigger a battle is, the more it should be studied. All conflicts, whether they be between dozens of nomads for control of grazing land or between giant mechanized armies for control of industrial cities, are crucial and memorable to the participants involved. The question historians must ask (especially historians writing general histories encompassing whole centuries) is which conflict is more deserving of inclusion into the historical narrative. Since every military on Earth is modeled after the European one, the obvious choice is to strongly emphasize European military history, leaving non-European history to a separate volume.

Warfare in the Eighteenth Century.......2002-05-31

Readers familiar with Jeremy Black's work will recognize Warfare in the Eighteenth Century as another solid effort by the author. This book is richly illustrated and has several good maps to help aid the book's presentation. However, if not for the many illustrations and maps, the book might barely be half as long as it is. Black does not really challenge the reader with new theories, in fact this is essentially a continuation of theories set for in his earlier work, European Warfare, 1660-1815.

Many of Black's arguments are continuations of earlier studies and this does affect the overall effectiveness of the present work. He dazzles the reader with his knowledge of obscure (are largely insignificant) conflicts, particularly those between Europeans and natives from the new worlds, but this does not necessarily make his case. He flits between battles and opponents much the way a warbler flits between branches in a tree. He is always moving, but is not always going anywhere. He randomly expands his cases into the nineteenth century when it suits him to do so, and this further confuses the reader.

But Black is not pretentious about his objectives. They are relatively contained to discussions on technology's role in warfare and a variety of locations achieving basically the same types of accomplishments. He rarely strays from this theory, but since he already did this in European Warfare 1660-1815, it is largely irrelevant or at least redundant.

Yet his knowledge is impressive and the reader should come away with knowing a bit more than before they started the book. Given this, and the fact that this effort is much more readable than European Warfare, it is worth a look.

I won't buy this book.......2001-10-02

Having read the other clear reviews on this book and also having browsed thru it myself, I can see that the author is probably attempting too much in trying to cover All warfare in the 18th century in this one book. He has made his task even more difficult by moving away from a Eurocentric view of global warfare. The problem of course is compounded by the fact that this would require a synopsis of warfare covering different geographical settings, different forces and logistics and different cultures. This is not achieved here.
I note with interest that this series will in the future cover other non-European warfare and colonial warfare and would prefer to save my money for these more promising offerings.

A good try at a difficult topic.......2000-06-23

Jeremy Black wrote this work as part of the Cassell History of Warfare series edited by John Keegan. Unlike the other historians in the series who were assigned specific wars (i.e. WWI, WWII, American Civil War) or types of war (i.e. War in the Air 1914-1945, Napoleonic Wars) he had to cover a whole century on a global scale. He tackled this in an interesting fashion. Rather than focusing on battles or wars as many of his predecessors had done in their sweeping works (JFC Fuller's Military History, etc.) He tried to take a mixed strategy. He first looks at the nature warfare among the different civilizations. He organizes the first three chapters along these lines: 1. War without Europeans, 2. Europeans versus Non-Europeans, 3. Transoceanic Conflict between Europeans. The remaining chapters deal with the American Revolution (a global war), wars within Europe, the importance of naval warfare - which allowed nations to fight on a global scale, and the developing background for Napoleonic innovations. It is admittedly still eurocentric, but Black acknowledges this and still does provide one of the few popular descriptions of warfare outside of Europe for this time period. It should give the reader a curiosity to read more. His bibliography is quite good, although more academic - and deserves attention by the reader. The 2nd and 3rd chapters give credence to the notion that perhaps the first "world war" was actually fought by the French and English empires of the 18th century (by Barbara Tuchman?). Though the armies were not always large, operations were planned and mounted around the globe. The text does read smoothly and there are several nice illustrations and maps. It is not without some faults as noted by the other reviewers, but the author should be given credit for the "degree of difficulty" of his task. It is a good addition to the libraries of military history buffs who are interested in the horse and musket era. It isn't for the specialist American Revolution reader - not enough depth, but for those who are curious about that era, it will open your mind to considering that grand plans were plotted out in an era where it took weeks to months to position an army or fleet for operations.

Patterns of War Through the Eighteenth Century

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Patterns of War Through the Eighteenth Century
Larry H. Addington
Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0253301319

The Patterns of War Since the Eighteenth Century

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Mandatory Text for U.S. Army Majors
A disappoinment
A Great Book by a Great Professor

The Patterns of War Since the Eighteenth Century
Larry H. Addington
Manufacturer: Indiana Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0253301327

Customer Reviews:

Mandatory Text for U.S. Army Majors.......2002-03-13

As the title indicates, the Army's Command & General Staff College requires students to read Patterns of War in the core history class. Professors can make best use of this book as a supplement to a more thorough analysis into military history. Addington surveys the history of warfare from the evolution of national warfare in France and the U.S. in the late 1700's to operations in Desert Storm.

This book will not provide a lot of depth or analysis, simply the basic facts and a good list of sources from which to perform further research. If a student or enthusiast of history, use Patterns of War to gain a cursory understanding of many of the conflicts in the last two centuries. Or, use it as a basis to launch into further study and learning. Addington provides a respectable review of the development of 200 years of war.

A disappoinment.......2000-02-26

An abbreviated review of military history spanning roughly the last two and a half centuries. Despite the promise of the title, there is little effort spent on the implications of evolution of military thought and technology on the actual practice of waging war.

A Great Book by a Great Professor.......1998-01-14

An outstanding work that can be turned to time and time again. Addington does a great job of consolidating a lengthy period of time into an easy read. I have used the book for research sources for several papers and studies. I studied under him as an under-grad at The Citadel and took his class. The book is well though out and well researched, a great reference.

Allan Maclean, Jacobite General: The Life of an Eighteenth Century Career Soldier

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Allan Maclean, Jacobite General: The Life of an Eighteenth Century Career Soldier
Mary Beacock Fryer
Manufacturer: Dundurn Pr Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1550020110

The Background of Napoleonic Warfare : The Theory of Military Tactics in Eighteenth-Century France

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The Background of Napoleonic Warfare : The Theory of Military Tactics in Eighteenth-Century France
Robert S. Quimby
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Intellectual Ancestors of Napoleon

The Background of Napoleonic Warfare: The Theory of Military Tactics in Eighteenth-Century France
Robert S. Quimby
Manufacturer: Ams Pr Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Customer Reviews:

The Intellectual Ancestors of Napoleon.......2001-06-15

This excellent book gives information and the story of the intellectual background that prompted the resurgence of the French Army after the disastrous defeats of the Seven Years' War and that led to the development and employment of the Grande Armee of Napoleon.

After the inglorious ending of the Seven Years' War in 1762, thoughtful French officers started to write about what went wrong, and were definitely ready to fix what they knew was defective about the French army. Guibert, Mesnil-Durand, the du Teil brothers, and others were bent on reform, with revenge definitely in mind. Necessity being the mother of invention, the French went at it with a will, developing a new artillery system, which both lightened the artillery equipment, and standardized its design. Cuncurrently, staff organization and functioning was carefully thought out, and permanent higher level formations, the division, were developed and implemented.

Interesting and very modern experiments and maneuvers were conducted and the results argued over for years. What initially culminated were new regulations for the infantry, the benefits of which were seen in the American Revolution with the arrival of Rochambeau's Expeditionary Force (which contained an intellignent and gallant young staff officer, Alexandre Berthier, who would later become Napoleon's hard working chief of staff for eighteen years).

While the reform did culminate in the excellent 1791 Reglement for infantry, it couldn't stop the Revolution. However, the commanders who rose to prominence in the Revolutionary Wars, and later commanded under Napoleon in the Grande Armee, all benefitted from the experience. This book delivers the development, the experiments, and the arguments of these formative years, and were 'the mental grandparents' of Napoleonic strategy, tactics, and organization.

Book Description

The Royal Navy, prominent in building Britain's maritime empire in the eighteenth century, also had a significant impact on politics, public finance and the administrative and bureaucratic development of the British state throughout the century. The Navy was the most expensive branch of the state and its effective funding and maintenance was a problem that taxed the ingenuity of a succession of politicians, naval officers and bureaucrats. By the middle of the century the difficulties its growth created had become critical, and the challenge this presented was taken up by Admiralty Boards led by Anson, Egmont, Hawke and Sandwich. Resolving these problems introduced reform in the navy's administration and in public finance (often pre-figuring later bureaucratic development), but there was a political price to pay when the management of the Navy and its apparent unpreparedness for the War of American Independence made the Earl of Sandwich and the Navy a focus for political opposition to an unpopular government and a disappointing war.CLIVE WILKINSON is a research officer with the Climatological Database of the World's Oceans 1750-1850, University of Sunderland.

East Central European Society and War in the Prerevolutionary Eighteenth Century (East European Monographs ; No. 122)

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East Central European Society and War in the Prerevolutionary Eighteenth Century (East European Monographs ; No. 122)
Gunther Rothenberg
Manufacturer: East European Monographs
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0930888197

The English Militia in the Eighteenth Century: The Story of a Political Issue 1660-1802 (Modern Revivals in History)

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The English Militia in the Eighteenth Century: The Story of a Political Issue 1660-1802 (Modern Revivals in History)
J. R. Western
Manufacturer: Gregg Revivals
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0751201405

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