The Joy of Sacks: A New Theory of Homeric Warfare

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Date

2005-05-18

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Ohio State University. Mershon Center for International Security Studies

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Abstract

Our usual image of Homeric warriors is of men who loved the battlefield but we overlook the big role played in Homeric warfare by sacking cities for fun and profit. The first warriors of the western tradition were less soldiers and more pirates than we generally care to admit. Chivalry and battle-lust are elements in Homer but so are greed and the glory brought by material goods. And Homeric warriors thought nothing of making war on unarmed civilian cattleherders while treating women as so much war loot. If we are all Greeks than we may all be more Vikings than we care to admit.

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The University Archives has determined that this item is of continuing value to OSU's history.
The media can be accessed here: http://streaming.osu.edu/knowledgebank/hist767sp05/07.mp4

Keywords

Homeric, warfare

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