Warfare and agriculture in classical Greece / Victor Davis Hanson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hanson, Victor Davis.

Series:

Biblioteca di studi antichi ; 40.

Biblioteca di studi antichi ; 40

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Agriculture--Defense measures--Greece--History.

Agriculture.

War damage, Industrial--Greece--History.

War damage, Industrial.

Attikē (Greece)--History.

Attikē (Greece).

Greece--History--Peloponnesian War, 431-404 B.C.

Greece.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xviii, 281 pages)

Edition:

Rev. ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c1998.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

Introduction

PART ONE. The Attack on Agriculture

PART TWO. The Defense of Agriculture

PART THREE.3 The Effectiveness of Agricultural Devastation

APPENDIX. The Vocabulary of Agricultural Devastation

Select Bibliography

Updated Commentary and Bibliography

General Index

Index Locorum

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 195-251) and indexes.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9786613520302

9781280087912

1280087919

9780520921757

0520921755

9780585154855

0585154856

OCLC:

44962805