Men of Bronze takes up one of the most important and fiercely debated subjects in ancient history and classics: how did archaic Greek hoplites fight, and what role, if any, did hoplite warfare play in shaping the Greek polis? In the nineteenth century, George Grote argued that the phalanx battle formation of the hoplite farmer citizen-soldier was t
This collection of contested problems in the history of Ancient Greece aims to enhance and deepen the experience of any student. Each chapter within Problems in the History of Ancient Greece is a self-contained unit that presents a key problem of continuing interest among historians. In each case there is a selection of pertinent ancient sources in translation, with a number of modern viewpoints also presented. In this way, students may experience the nature of weighing and evaluating sources; the problem of posing meaningful and enlightening questions; the need to change hypotheses in the light of new evidence or new insights; and the necessity, in some cases, of suspending judgment. The problems selected for this collection span the chronological period usually covered in ancient Greek courses. Second, they were selected because they have been the subject of relatively recent study. Finally, they are meant to be sufficiently varied in topic and approach; in order to expose the student to a variety of historical methods and techniques.