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Battles and Battlefields of Ancient Greece A guide to Their History, Topography and Archaeology by C. Jacob Butera Matt...

Battles and Battlefields of Ancient Greece: A Guide to Their History, Topography and Archaeology by C. Jacob Butera and Matthew A. Sears Battles and Battlefields of Ancient Greece: A Guide to Their History, Topography and Archaeology by C. Jacob Butera and Matthew A. Sears

Battles and Battlefields of Ancient Greece: A Guide to Their History, Topography and Archaeology by C. Jacob Butera and Matthew A. Sears

Battles and Battlefields of Ancient Greece: A Guide to Their History, Topography and Archaeology by C. Jacob Butera and Matthew A. Sears





Battles and Battlefields of Ancient Greece

A guide to Their History, Topography and Archaeology

by

C. Jacob Butera

Matthew A. Sears







 Greece was the bassinet of the Western World. So it should come as no surprise that it is also the birthplace of Western warfare. The topography of Greece lent itself to mostly locked in city-states due to the mountainous terrain. This also meant that there would be battles galore over the small amount of flat arable land, and also access to the sea. A student of the military history of Ancient Greece will be well acquainted with the names of the different battles that make up each separate chapter on a separate battle.

 The book shows us the battles from as far back as the Greco-Persian Wars; Marathon, Salamis, and Thermopylae. The timeline of the book goes all the way to the Battle of Actium and the start of the Roman Empire. The authors have chosen twenty battles, from the myriad they could have chosen, to concentrate on. 

 The book starts with a small chapter on Greek and Roman land and naval warfare, then jumps right in to the individual chapters on the battles. The book is separated into four parts that show battles in different geographic areas of Greece. They are:

Part I: Athens and Attica
Part II: Boetia and Central Greece
Part III: Northern Greece
Part IV: The Peloponnese and Western Greece

 Each chapter follows the same pattern. There is a small introduction, followed by 'Directions to the Site', 'Historical Outline of the Battle', The Battle Site Today', and 'Further Reading'. The Further Reading starts with ancient sources and then follows up with modern ones. It even lists articles from different Journals. 

 The book is excellent, both for the beginner and old hand at Ancient Military History. For the beginner the information is exactly what they would need to get into the subject, and it also gives the needed information for the lucky traveler to Greece. For us old hats, I believe the best part is the explanation of the topography. So we can visualize exactly why it was necessary for this bit of dirt to be stained with the blood of brave men. 

 The book is almost 400 pages long. The pages are made with a glossy paper. It is filled with pictures of the different battles today and other ones that show items from the battle etc. All of the chapters have at least three if not more maps of the area the battle is located in. It also shows the forces moving to and engaging in the battle. I can recommend the book to anyone who has an interest in the subject. If you are not interested yet, you probably will be after reading the book. Thank you Casemate Publishers for letting me review another great book.

Robert

Book: Battles and Battlefields of ancient Greece: A Guide to Their History, Topography, and Archaeology
Authors: C. Jacob Butera, Matthew A. Sears
Publisher: Pen & Sword
Distributor: Casemate Publishers




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