Arms and Armor of the Greeks

Aspects of Greek & Roman Life

by Anthony Snodgrass

"We shall never know how Marathon was won, but we can be fairly certain that valor alone would not have won it, nor even perhaps the combination of courage with the somewhat rudimentary tactical skill for which the style of Greek warfare at that time gave scope. The superiority of Greek equipment must have been an important factor here and elsewhere, and at times perhaps a decisive one."--from the introduction In Arms and Armor of the Greeks, Anthony M. Snodgrass uses available literary, archaeological, and artistic evidence to piece together a picture of ancient Greek armory from the Mycenaean period through the campaigns of Alexander the Great. The ancient Greeks were neither populous nor rich in natural resources, Snodgrass explains, so it is remarkable that they succeeded in battle as often as they did. "Snodgrass's book on Greek arms and armour must rank already as a standard textbook... It is as clear as any book can be on a surprisingly ill-documented subject."--Economist "Helps to explain why (for one thing) the Greeks won the Persian Wars and how they then stuck for centuries, with true military unimaginativeness, to their far from enterprising hoplite phalanx tactics."--Times Literary Supplement

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Archaeology, Ancient

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

Reviews

[Myke Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inarguably the go-to book on the material record for Ancient Greek military history. It’s dated, but I don’t think this detracts at all from the book. Snodgrass’ discussion of the development of equipment, the regional variance, and the practical applications of Ancient Greek militaria from the archaic period through the Hellenistic Age is cogent, relevant and revelatory. The book is lively and engaging, and is often at odds to discussion of ancient warfare that comes from largely literary sources. This dissonance underscores to importance of looking at ALL the evidence. Worth your time.

[Josho Brouwers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an overview of ancient Greek warfare that expands on Snodgrass's earlier PhD dissertation, published in 1964 as Early Greek Armour and Weapons. Even after nearly 50 years, that book is still the starting point when it comes to studying Early Greek arms and armour. (Later books have expanded upon Snodgrass's work, especially with the ongoing publication of excavation results from sites such as Olympia and the continued appearance of new syntheses, but despite all this it has withstood the test of time. It is a pity that, to the best of my knowledge, the book has never been reprinted, but copies of it should be available in any half-decent academic library.) This book builds on that foundation and is recommended reading to anyone wishing to familiarize themselves with ancient Greek warfare.

[Josho Brouwers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a new edition of the original book from 1967, published in 1999. The only difference is an afterword in which Snodgrass comments on the state of then-current research. Otherwise, this is just as useful an introduction to newcomers to ancient Greek warfare as the original book. Written by an archaeologist, it offers a more practical approach to the field than similar books written by historians.

[Dan Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and dense, this book gives a whirlwind tour of ancient Greek arms from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic era. It is quite academic, bringing the pros and cons from that realm. All in all I would say that it was quite informative on the subject, but if you're not interested in ancient Greek arms then you would be bored to tears.

[Scott Smith]

The book covered the topics of the various Greek military weapons and armor from the Mycenaean age until the sixth century B.C., including the helmet, shield, body-armor, sword, spear, the bow and arrow, the chariot, horses and their armor, the ax, and the sling.
Primary source literary evidences were considered, such as the Homeric poems and other contemporary poetry and later writers. The author cited works of many other historians (e.g., Lorimer, H. Hecken, Dr. H. W. Catling, Gero von Merhart, and W. Déonna), and critiqued their evidence, weighing it to his own studies and the evidence. The relevant artifacts were described and divided into relevant groups. Information about the artifacts was also provided, such as the museum catalogue numbers and where they were found. I felt that the author’s conclusions were well founded on the evidence and critical reason.