Religion and Classical Warfare: Archaic and Classical Greece

Religion was integral to the conduct of war in the ancient world and the Greeks were certainly no exception. No campaign was undertaken, no battle risked, without first making sacrifice to propitiate the appropriate gods (such as Ares, god of War) or consulting oracles and omens to divine their plans. Yet the link between war and religion is an area that has been regularly overlooked by modern scholars examining the conflicts of these times. This volume addresses that omission by drawing together the work of experts from across the globe. The chapters have been carefully structured by the editors so that this wide array of scholarship combines to give a coherent, comprehensive study of the role of religion in the wars of the Archaic and Classical Greek world. Aspects considered in depth will include: Greek writers on religion and war; declarations of war; fate and predestination, the sphagia and pre-battle sacrifices; omens, oracles and portents, trophies and dedications to cult centres; militarised deities; sacred truces and festivals; oaths and vows; religion and Greek military medicine. AUTHOR: Dr Matthew Dillon is Associate Professor of Classics and Ancient History at the University of New England, New South Wales, Australia. His previous works include The Ancient Greeks in their own Words (2002). Dr Christopher Matthew teaches at Australian Catholic University, New South Wales, Australia. He wrote A Storm of Spears (2012), made a new translation of Aelian’s Tactics (2012) and co-edited Beyond the Gates of Fire (2013) (all published by Pen and Sword).
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