Ancient militaries were less complex than they are today, though their simplicity didn’t necessarily equate to efficiency or effectiveness. The typical corps system that modern militaries utilize now stem largely from Napoleon Bonaparte, but even Bonaparte built off of what already existed. Moving backward from Bonaparte to the militaries of nation’s like England, France, Russia, Prussia, Spain, and even the Roman Empire, each military often contributed something to what the moderns possess. Nicholas Sekunda, a professor at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology in Torun, Poland, takes readers and ancient (and classical period) military enthusiasts all the way back to the 6th century B.C.
Democratic Methods
The author demonstrates how Athens, the birthplace of democracy, utilized democratic methods to organize its armies, such as the election of 10 generals, called “strategoi.” There was a brief period where the archons—the chief magistrates in Athens—were selected by lot, but when that proved an errant idea, elections of the archons were reestablished.Of course, not every single aspect of military life was democratic. A command structure in any organization, especially military, must be hierarchical and, at least periodically, somewhat dictatorial. Sekunda shows how there was a command structure within elements and how the regular soldier understood it when he quotes the soldier’s oath: “I shall not fail the taxilochos, or the enomotarch, be he alive or dead, and I shall not retreat unless the hegemones lead [the army] away, and I shall do whatever the strategoi command.”
Sekunda notes that this arrangement does not specifically concern the Athenian army (hoplite force), but rather the allied armies. Although the taxis (commander of a tribal regiment) commanded on average 800 men, the author notes that there isn’t much information available to identify subordinate officers and those sections in an army, we might call, say, a battalion. This quote nonetheless demonstrates that there was an understanding of who was in charge at what level, even if archaeology has yet to unearth those specifics.
The People Rule
When it comes to the great command structure, Athens was under the rule of the people. This democratic power can hardly be better exemplified than the story of the discovery of a massive silver vein and how Themistocles persuaded the people that instead of doling out the 100 talents of silver to the people equally, it should be distributed among the 100 richest people in the city-state.An Excellent Resource
For such a brief work, Sekunda draws from numerous ancient sources, ranging from the writings of Herodotus and Thucydides to the artworks on reliefs and pottery. The author explains how these works of art provide archaeologists and historians a clear historical analysis of the times of the Greeks. These works display what soldiers wore, and how their apparel and types of armor and weaponry distinguished their rank.
“The Athenian Army: 507–322 B.C.” is full of great images, as well as detailed illustrations, by Giuseppe Rava. The book is easy to follow. The author proves a good teacher by making things clear and tying together the visual and literary works of the Greeks to demonstrate how the Athenian military was assembled, how it fought, and why it was so successful for so long.
It’s a very nice addition to a personal resource library and for anyone looking to better understand the Ancient Greeks (or Classical Greeks) in a way that won’t demand too much time and effort.
