A Greek Army on the March
Soldiers and Survival in Xenophon's Anabasis

Reconstructs the experience of ordinary soldiers on campaign in an ancient Greek mercenary army.

John W. I. Lee (Author)

9780521870689, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 10 January 2008

336 pages, 7 b/w illus. 1 map 3 tables
23.5 x 15.9 x 2.6 cm, 0.66 kg

'A Greek Army on the March is a remarkable book and one that the author should be proud of. … I … marvel at what Lee has achieved here. I am sure that students of ancient warfare in particular, but also those interested in ancient society more generally and the issues relating to the formation of community, will find this book of immense value.' John Dillery, University of Virginia

Professor Lee provides a social and cultural history of the Cyreans, the mercenaries of Xenophon's Anabasis. While they have often been portrayed as a single abstract political community, this book reveals that life in the army was mostly shaped by a set of smaller social communities: the formal unit organisation of the lochos ('company'), and the informal comradeship of the suskenia ('mess group'). It includes full treatment of the environmental conditions of the march, ethnic and socio-economic relations amongst the soldiers, equipment and transport, marching and camp behaviour, eating and drinking, sanitation and medical care, and many other topics. It also accords detailed attention to the non-combatants accompanying the soldiers. It uses ancient literary and archaeological evidence, ancient and modern comparative material, and perspectives from military sociology and modern war studies. This book is essential reading for anyone working on ancient Greek warfare or on Xenophon's Anabasis.

1. Introduction
2. The march route
3. Portrait of an army
4. Unit organization and community
5. The things they carried
6. Marching
7. Resting
8. Eating and drinking
9. The soldier's body
10. Slaves, servants, and companions
11. Beyond the battlefield.

Subject Areas: Military history [HBW], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA], Humanities [H]