A Mission Statement

Hello,

So I guess you're reading this, so I figure as my first post I will more or less explain what I'm trying to do. Basically, I like Greek military history, from the early Mycenaean and Minoan era to Alexander and the Diadochi.

I'm going to try and cover all sorts of aspects of the Greek experience of war, because it is not enough just to say that "Greek A fought in a phalanx with Greek B and they defeated Greek C".

What was it like to fight in a phalanx, or on a trireme, or on horseback? Why did the Greeks fight this way? What does it say about them, economically, socially, and physically?

Also, understanding Greek warfare is understanding the culture as a whole. You can't really understand Aeschylus' the Persians without knowing about the Persian Invasions. The comedies of Aristopanes rely vitally on understanding the Pelopponesian War. Classical Greek theater is inextricably tied to what was happening at the time.

So, I've never done this before but I hope this experiment works.