Greek Mercenaries

Greek Mercenaries is an analysis of the political, social and economic aspects of classical Greek mercenary service.

This book provides a detailed picture of the life of these Greek mercenaries, analyzing who they were and from what section of society they came. It explores their motivations, their relationships and connections, both with each other and those with whom they served, and shows how mercenaries were recruited, paid and maintained. Matthew Trundle reviews a variety of evidence, including Xenophon's detailed account of how over ten thousand Greeks tried and failed to establish the Persian prince Cyrus on his brother's Imperial throne, the fragments of a fourth century play about the first ever soldier of fortune, and inscriptions prohibiting Athenians from taking service with their neighbours. The result is a fresh look at the significance of mercenaries in ancient Greek society, economy and politics, and their part in the process that shaped the great Empire of Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic world.

This book provides a detailed picture of the life of these Greek mercenaries, analyzing who they were and from what section of society they came. It explores their motivations, their relationships and connections, both with each other and those with whom they served, and shows how mercenaries were recruited, paid and maintained. Matthew Trundle reviews a variety of evidence, including Xenophon's detailed account of how over ten thousand Greeks tried and failed to establish the Persian prince Cyrus on his brother's Imperial throne, the fragments of a fourth century play about the first ever soldier of fortune, and inscriptions prohibiting Athenians from taking service with their neighbours. The result is a fresh look at the significance of mercenaries in ancient Greek society, economy and politics, and their part in the process that shaped the great Empire of Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic world.

Mercenaries were a significant factor in many of the wars of the Classical world, being employed in large numbers by many states. By far the most famous were Xenophon's 'Ten Thousand', who had to cut their way out of the Persian Empire after the death of their employer and such Greek infantry were for long the most dominant type (even a Spartan king hiring himself out in one case), but there was a wide variety of mercenaries available. Some, such as Celts and Thracians were hired largely for their love of fighting, while others were valued for their specialist skills, such as Cretan archers or slingers from Rhodes or the Balearic Islands. This will be the first full-length book on the subject since 1997. It will examine the role of the mercenaries and their influence on the wars of the period down to the death of Alexander the Great, who employed them and why, and will also look at the social and economic pressures that drove tens of thousands to make a living of fighting for the highest bidder, despite the intense dangers of the ancient battlefield.

Originally published in 1935, this book provides a detailed history of the employment of mercenaries in the Hellenistic period. Griffith discusses how and why mercenaries were used after the death of Alexander the Great by the Seleucids, Ptolemies, the Greek League and other powers active before the rise of Rome, and includes a section contrasting the pay and maintenance of mercenaries in the classical period with that of the Hellenistic period. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in ancient history and one of the ancient world's most important professions.

Essay from the year 2003 in the subject World History - Early and Ancient History, grade: 66 %, University of Wales, Aberystwyth (Department of Classics), language: English, abstract: Early Saite Pharaohs possibly employed Greek mercenaries, but there is no validated confirmation1 of this. Moreover, in the 26th dynasty, Egypt entered a period of unquestionable artistic brilliance and prosperity and became a powerful state. The primary resource for this period is Herodotus, Book Two. There is no evidence that a link between Egypt and Greece existed, but it is a possibility which might go back to the “Mycenaean period”2or even the “third millennium BC”3. If there was a link it broke down and became non-existent or even became hostile4 in the “Dark Ages”5. Apart from those early contacts, the first time we hear of Greeks, especially as mercenaries in Egypt, is under Psammetichos I, when “Greeks had access to the country”6. Traders followed the mercenaries and commerce between the Greek and Egyptian worlds which prospered once again. Before the Peloponnesian War, the Greek cities had no significant skill in extended7 campaigns or distant expeditions. Their fighting consisted of mainly small struggles on a medium to small scale. In any battle citizens might be called in to fight according to their standing in their city as cavalry, infantry or skirmishers. So, nearly everybody was familiar with warfare but only some of those who chose to develop into experts became mercenaries. Generally, these mercenary activities were accepted as sources “of profits and were practised for that reason”8. These soldiers barely existed aside from in foreign armies. In the Greek tradition, the Carians were seen as the first9 mercenaries, “who originated wearing crests on their helmets and devices on their shields, and who first made grips for their shields”10. [...] 1 Sullivan, p. 177. 2 Chamoux, p. 87, Sullivan, p. 185 and MacGillivray, p. 81 ff. 3 Cartledge, p. 48. 4 Sullivan, p. 185. 5 Chamoux, p. 87. 6 Chamoux, p. 87. 7 Sage, p. 19 f. 8 Sage, p. xi. 9 Griffith, p. 236. 10 Hdt., I.171.

Rewrites the military and political history of Greek military service in ancient Persia and Egypt.

With a blend of narrative and analysis, this book explores the extent to which mercenaries have been used, from Sumer to Rome, and the reasons governments hired them when they could conscript native citizens.