The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece

<p><P>The Greeks of the classical age invented not only the central idea of Western politics&#151;that the power of state should be guided by a majority of its citizens&#151;but also the central act of Western warfare, the decisive infantry battle. <br>Instead of ambush, skirmish, or combat between individual heroes, the Greeks of the fifth century B.C. devised a ferocious, brief, and destructive head-on clash between armed men of all ages. <br>In this bold, original study, Victor Davis Hanson shows how this brutal enterprise was dedicated to the same outcome as consensual government&#151;an unequivocal, instant resolution to dispute. Linking this new style of fighting to the rise of constitutional government, Hanson raises new issues and questions old assumptions about the history of war. A new preface addresses recent scholarship on Greek warfare.</p>