Category: Ancient
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We relate with Athens, but idealize Sparta
Paul A. Rahe opens The Spartan Regime with an astute point on how we perceive the ancient Spartans and Athenians. Of course, we may prefer the Athenians, regarding them as more like ourselves, and we may well be right not only in that judgment but in our moral and political preferences as well. Our predilections notwithstanding,…
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What the Hell is the Nature of Hellenistic Kingship?
Anyone reading about the Hellenistic Period—the 3 centuries between Alexander and Cleopatra’s deaths—will inevitably learn that kings (and generals) gained legitimacy through military victory. That’s just the nature of Hellenistic kingship, or leadership, or generalship. Sometimes a work will provide details, explaining that when Alexander left no heir and his generals fought over the remains of his…
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Book Review: Roman Empire at War
Taylor, Don. Roman Empire at War: A Compendium of Battles from 31 BC to AD 565. Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2016. Don Taylor has produced a handsome volume on the battles of the Roman Empire. While the book does provide some introductory material on the Roman army and the ancient and early medieval sources about…
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These Weapons Killed Leonidas
Those visiting the site of the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) will be disappointed to learn that the battlefield has changed dramatically after 2,500 years. This was not due to development, but instead nature—earthquakes, deposits from the nearby hot springs, sediment deposition, and changes in the sea level. The result is the shoreline is now…
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Caesar’s Account of Bodies Piling up in Battle
Inspired by the “Battle of the Bastards” episode from Game of Thrones, we are looking at ancient accounts of bodies piling up during battle. Caesar’s account of the Battle of the Sambre (57 BC) provides one of the only ancient eyewitness accounts of bodies piling up in battle. ((The Latin is Sabis. Sambre is the…
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Bodies Piling up at the Battle of Zama (202 BC)
Inspired by the “Battle of the Bastards” episode from Game of Thrones, we are looking at ancient accounts of bodies piling up during battle. Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca, who had terrorized the Italian Peninsula for 16 years, fought his last battle at Zama against Roman general Scipio Africanus. This battle marks the first instance where…
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Bodies Piling up at the Battle of Issus (333 BC)
Inspired by the “Battle of the Bastards” episode from Game of Thrones, we are looking at ancient accounts of bodies piling up during battle. In the search for piles of bodies in ancient battles, the analysis of Diodorus’s account of Leuctra is disappointing for its unreliability. Worse, it likely means Diodorus’s account of Alexander the…
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Bodies Piling up at the Battle of Leuctra (371 BC)
Inspired by the “Battle of the Bastards” episode from Game of Thrones, we are looking at ancient accounts of bodies piling up during battle. Writing more than 300 years after the Battle of Leuctra, Greek historian Diodorus (c. 80-20 BC) tells us of the battle between a Spartan-led army against the Boeotian coalition led by Epaminondas…
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Bodies Piling up at the Battle of Cremera (477 BC)
Inspired by the “Battle of the Bastards” episode from Game of Thrones, we are looking at ancient accounts of bodies piling up during battle. Starting with the oldest account I found—Cremera—the common problem with many of these ancient accounts immediately appears, as almost all of these historians were writing well after the events. For example,…
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8 Ancient Accounts of Bodies Piling up in Battle
With the airing of Game of Thrones’ “Battle of the Bastards” episode, many historians, myself included, offered commentary on how scenes resembled those found in medieval chronicles. One of the more unusual aspects, at least for Hollywood productions, was the piles of bodies on the battlefield. Numerous articles recounted how the episode’s creators were inspired…
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4 Reasons Why Battle of the Bastards was no Cannae
I received some criticism on my Game of Thrones article–Battle of the Bastards is Straight from Medieval Chronicles. In particular, some folks are shocked by the lack of any mention of Cannae (216 BC), the ancient battle where Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca enveloped a numerically-superior Roman army and destroyed it. SPOILER WARNING Despite the notion…
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The Hannibal History Channel Doesn’t Want You to Know
A buddy of mine asked what I thought of History Channel’s latest depiction of Hannibal Barca in their docu-drama series Barbarians Rising. First, let’s cover the good stuff. Visually, the show is beautiful. The maps and computerized battles are striking. The depiction of Hannibal’s army slugging it over the Alps during winter is appropriately gruesome. The…