Aineias Tacticus (mid-fourth century BC) is not only the earliest but also one of the most historically interesting of ancient military writers. Important, too, as a social commentator, he sheds valuable light on the nature of life and the psychological and strategic preoccupations of a typical Greek city-state (polis) at a time dominated by two extraordinarily atypical ones, Athens and Sparta. In Aineias' work we see what conditions were like in a polis obliged to play a minor and much more passive role in the history of its age - not laying siege like the big players but suffering it. His practical recommendations derive clearly from accumulated personal experience in the first place; but at the same time he also draws copious illustrative material from both Herodotus and Thucydides. This edition has the Greekless reader firmly in mind, providing a fresh modern translation of "How to Survive Under Siege", a comprehensive introduction to Aineias and his work, and a full historical commentary.
- ISBN10 1853996270
- ISBN13 9781853996276
- Publish Date 25 April 2002 (first published April 1990)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Imprint Bristol Classical Press
- Edition New edition
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 240
- Language English