News:

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.

Have a go, read a few extracts and see for yourself.

Aims of this website:

• Offering information about Aeneas Tacticus to anybody who is interested.
• Giving visitors an idea of what the text is like.
• To offer, for the first time online, the full text in English translation.
• To offer some commentary and additional information, particularly for non-expert readers.
• Spreading the word about anything Aeneas-related going on around the world
• Bringing together people with a special interest in Aeneas’ work.
• Attracting people with related interests (e.g. siege warfare in other historical periods)
• To start a dialogue about the wider themes addressed in Aeneas’ work.

Who should read this site, and look in now and then for updates?

Anyone with an interest in any of the following:

• Ancient Greek history
• Life in the many small towns of ancient Greece
• Life in small communities the world over
• Pre-modern warfare
• Sieges and the plight of communities under siege
• Ancient technology
• The history of military and technical literature