Muse, Where’s My “Th”?
Hot on the heels of a history of The Spartans, (who went from Big City-State on Peninsula to “Alexander son of Philip and the Greeks — except the Spartans — dedicated these spoils from the barbarians of Asia” in a few hundred years) I’m reading Warfare in the Classical World by John Warry. It’s a wonderful book, spanning military engagements, tactics and weaponry from Troy to the early 5th century. He compares phalanx combat to a rugby scrum; how cool is that?
The editing, on the other hand, is atrocious. When I got to this passage, I wondered what terrible things I had done to cause the heroes of the ancient world to speak so poorly.
The Greek leaders disputed bitterly among themselves and tempers were lost, until the Spartan admiral raised his staff in a threatening gesture. “Strike,” said Themistocles calmly, “but here [sic] me.” The Spartan heard him.
Another passage talks about the historian Ucydides, who seems to have lost his Th.
August 18th, 2004 at 7:10 pm
Have you read Hanson’s “Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece”. It’s a nice read, reconstructing the individual experience of warfare by infantry troops. You won’t get alot of discussion on classical heroic ideals or war strategies–this is the meat of everyday soldiers in battle…
Then again, you’ve prolly already read it you Greek scholar you… :)