Page 41 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol III

860 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

In peace, sons bury their fathers. In war, fathers bury their sons. • Herodotus
(484?-c. 425 bce)

dependent rent- and tax-paying peasants. This process and if possible increase the size of its phalanx to be able
went unchecked in Asia and quickly led to the emergence to protect itself against its neighbors.
of new empires and kingdoms, like the biblical kingdom Since fighting farmers had to arm themselves for the
of David. In Greece, however, for something like three phalanx with income from the family farm, radical steps
hundred years, a different pattern prevailed. were necessary to prevent them from losing their land by
going into debt to richer landowners. In Sparta, a (per-
Greek Military and hapsmythical)lawgivernamedLycourgos(Lycurgus)was
Economic Power credited with setting up a system of military training that
The critical difference hinged on the emergence of pha- required the “equals,” as Spartan citizens officially called
lanx warfare among the Greeks. Beginning about 650 themselves,to live in barracks between the ages of 20 and
BCE, well-armored farmers, trained to keep in line so each 30, practicing military skills and eating together. Family
man’s shield helped to protect the man next to him, life became correspondingly marginal. Conquered helots
proved superior to disorganized personal combat of the in neighboring Messenia supplied the equals with the food
sort Homer had celebrated. When such men, equipped they consumed, so Spartan citizens, specialized for war,
with spears and swords, arrayed themselves six ranks became an unusual kind of upper class by exploiting the
deep to form what the Greeks called a phalanx, their con- helots collectively.Prolonged military training soon made
certed charge easily swept less disciplined and closely the Spartan phalanx superior to others, and by 490 BCE
packedopponentsbeforeit.Oncethissimpletacticproved Spartans had compelled most other city-states of south-
uniformly successful, every Greek city had to maintain ern Greece to become their allies.

GREECE AND COLONIES
at 500 BCE

Black
Adriatic
Sea
Spain
Byzantium
Greece Troy
Aegean WEST ASIA
Sea
Athens Ionia
Sparta
Byblos Tyre nicia
Cyprus
Crete
Phoe
M e d i t e r r a n e a n S e a
Greek colonies N
Trade routes
0 300 mi
Egypt
0 300 km