Description: The product of a colloquium at Harvard's Center for Hellenic Studies, this volume offers a broadly based, comparative examination of war and military organization in their complex interactions with social, economic, and political structures as well as cultural practices.
Brief description: Kurt A. Raaflaub is Professor of Classics and History at Brown University and Joint Director of the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C.
Review Quotes: Thucydides and his contemporaries knew war from bitter experience. Peace to them was an illusion, war the true constant... War and Society in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds shows how and why Thucydides's vision prevailed throughout pre-industrial times in the Mediterranean and elsewhere. Because of the omnipresence of war or its specter within ancient Greek--and Roman--culture, editors Kurt Raaflaub and Nathan Rosenstein recognize the real need to explore in theoretical terms how war (including military technology and organization) affected ancient society (including economic and political systems) and vice versa.--Thomas Palaima "Times Higher Education Supplement" (12/1/2000 12:00:00 AM)