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News:New edition of Aeneas Tacticus: first German translationKai Brodersen (2017), Tusculum edition Site Updates: The whole text is now available in English and Greek. |
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Welcome!
This is the website for all things Aeneas Tacticus.Includes the whole text in Greek and English.
Who was Aeneas Tacticus?Aeneas (or Aineias) wrote the first ‘how to’ book in western literature, the Poliorketika, or How To Survive Under Siege. He lived in the fourth-century BC and provides us with a unique insight into the lives of Greek communities at his time. His work deserves more attention. Read more about Aeneas and his book.
This website is here to spread the word about Aeneas and his work.The Poliokretika is by turns serious, informative, sinister, innovative, political, psychological, surprising, eccentric, wacky and sometimes hilarious. But it lets you never forget what can happen when a few hundred (perhaps a few thousand) people get in the way of an aggressive enemy. Nothing less than survival is at stake. Yet, Aeneas’ commander not only fights the enemy outside the gates, he also has to be worried about traitors on the inside. Moreover, he has to achieve his goals with modest supplies of competent troops and quality equipment, and he contends with the need to keep morale, food and basic resources in steady supply. This is not the impressive stuff of epics or grand conquest: Aeneas deals with a situation much closer to a common, brutal reality in ancient Greece: he shows us what needs to be done when a group of people who'd rather get on with their normal lives are forced to fight for survival.Have a go, read a few extracts and see for yourself.
Aims of this website:
Who should read this site, and look in now and then for updates?Anyone with an interest in any of the following:
This website was first set up in 2010, in the process of organisating a conference on Aeneas Tacticus. You can see the details here ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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created 04/02/2010 - updated 05/07/2017
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