5: “Yet it remains a somewhat ambiguous activity that can on occasion be condemned, as it is later in the poem by Odysseus’ swineherd Eumaeus” p. (Less important, but annoying to this pedant, is the author’s habit of omitting commas before non-restrictive relative clauses.) The usefulness of the author’s discussions would be improved at times by the insertion of references to ancient testimonia where his comments might prompt curious readers to further investigation. The text is riddled with typographical and other small errors, sometimes two or three per page. This is surely a convenience for the reader, but these repetitions could have been eliminated had it been necessary. 158, 167, and 169), while at other times the same material appears translated in two different places in the book (thus the passage translated as no. Some of the passages which were included in the book could have been shortened considerably while remaining illustrative of the point being made by the author (so, for example, nos. If the publisher would not allow a longer book, space for a treatment of naval warfare might have been found. 30, 156, and 216), aristeia (mentioned but not discussed at length on pp. With other desiderata of mine one might quibble: discussions of military discipline (particularly as it is alluded to on pp. While it is inevitable that opinions will differ on what topics merit inclusion in a work of this sort, I am surprised that the author elected to exclude from the collection any extended discussion of naval warfare, the importance of which surely needs no defense. Students should find something among the diverse subjects covered to excite their interest.īut S.’s book might have been better. Thus one finds in S.’s pages, for example, sections on burial practices, the treatment of vanquished populations, military pay, and the collection, division, and sale of booty. The great merit of S.’s work is that in addition to traditional military subjects-tactics and armaments-the author has included material of greater social interest.

(Nonetheless-and despite the author’s 19-page introduction, which traces the development of Greek warfare from the Homeric to the Hellenistic periods-readers of the book would benefit from a general familiarity with Greek history.) The passages are for the most part well chosen, and the thematically-arranged bibliography of works in English should be adequate to launch students interested in pursuing topics addressed in the book. The individual passages, chapter subdivisions, and chapters are introduced by discussions which provide the necessary context for understanding the translated passages. has provided a useful supplementary text for classes in which ancient military history is a component. Undergraduates are presumably the intended audience of the book, though that question is never in fact addressed by the author, and S. Within each chapter discussion is organized thematically, with subdivisions addressing questions of, for example, military command, treaties of alliance, and mercenaries. Sage’s sourcebook includes 302 translated passages divided among five chapters, whose subjects are Homer and the Dark Ages, the “age of hoplite warfare,” the fourth century, Philip and Alexander, and the Hellenistic period.

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