Wars that made the western world

70 Pages·2004·0.69 MB·English

by  Timothy Baker Shutt, Recorded Books, Inc

W T M
ARS HAT ADE THE
W W :
ESTERN ORLD
THE PERSIAN WARS,
THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR,
AND THE PUNIC WARS
COURSE GUIDE
Professor Timothy B. Shutt
KENYONCOLLEGE
Wars That Made the Western World:
The Persian Wars, the Peloponnesian War,
and the Punic Wars
Professor Timothy B. Shutt
KenyonCollege
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WarsThatMadetheWesternWorld:
ThePersianWars,thePeloponnesianWar,
andthePunicWars
ProfessorTimothyB.Shutt
(cid:2)
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Lecturecontent©2004byTimothyB.Shutt
Courseguide©2004byRecordedBooks,LLC
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2004byRecordedBooks,LLC
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CourseSyllabus
WarsThatMadetheWesternWorld:
ThePersianWars,thePeloponnesianWar,
andthePunicWars
AboutYourProfessor......................................................................................................4
Introduction ...................................................................................................................5
Lecture1 ThePersianWars:GreeceandPersia,
theOpeningRounds..................................................................................6
Lecture2 ThePersianWars:Darius,Miltiades,andthe
BattleofMarathon ..................................................................................10
Lecture3 ThePersianWars:Xerxes,Leonidasandthe
300Spartans,theBattleofThermopylae................................................15
Lecture4 ThePersianWars:Xerxes,Themistocles,and
theBattleofSalamis................................................................................20
Lecture5 ThePersianWars:MardoniusandtheFinalVictory
ofGreece:TheBattlesofPlataeaandMycale........................................24
Lecture6 ThePeloponnesianWar:TheOutbreak,
Pericles,andthePlague..........................................................................28
Lecture7 ThePeloponnesianWar:MelosandMytilene,
AthensOverreaches................................................................................32
Lecture8 ThePeloponnesianWar:Alcibiades,Nicias,
andSyracuse;SpartaSendsaGeneral..................................................36
Lecture9 ThePeloponnesianWar:Arginousai,Aegospotomoi,
LysanderandtheBitterEnd....................................................................40
Lecture10 ThePunicWars:RomeandCarthage,the
FirstPunicWar........................................................................................45
Lecture11 ThePunicWars:TheSecondPunicWar,
HannibalCrossestheAlps,LakeTrasimene..........................................50
Lecture12 ThePunicWars:CarthageTriumphant,theBattleof
Cannae,FabiusMaximus—Cunctator.....................................................54
Lecture13 ThePunicWars:RomeWinsatLast,
ScipioAfricanusandZama......................................................................58
Lecture14 ThePunicWars:“CartagoDelindaEst,”
theThirdPunicWar.................................................................................64
CourseMaterials............................................................................................................68
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Shutt
B.
Timothy About Your Professor
of
Photocourtesy Timothy B. Shutt
Fornineteenyears,ProfessorTimothyBakerShutthastaughtatKenyon
College,famedforsplendidteaching,foritsliterarytradition,andforitsunwa-
veringcommitmenttotheliberalarts.NoteacheratKenyonhaseverbeen
moreoftenhonored,bothbythecollegeandbystudents,forexceptionalskills
intheclassroomandasalecturer.ProfessorShutt’scoursesinKenyon’s
interdisciplinaryIntegratedPrograminHumaneStudiesandintheDepartment
ofEnglishalikearealwaysheavilyoversubscribed,andhelecturesonHomer,
Plato,Aristotle,theBible,theGreekhistorians,Virgil,andDanteeveryyearto
apackedhouse.
ShuttisanativeofOhio,raisedinMichiganandschooledinConnecticut.
DuringhishighschoolyearsattheHotchkissSchool,hewashonoredasan
All-Americanswimmeranddevotedmuchofhistimetodrama.Hemajoredin
EnglishasanundergraduateatYale(’72).AfterthreeyearsatSt.Mark’s
SchoolofTexas,wherehetaughtEnglishandhistory,andcoachedswim-
ming,ShuttwentontograduateschoolinEnglish,specializinginmedievallit-
eratureandthehistoryofideasattheUniversityofVirginiaasaDuPont
Fellow.AfterearninghisPh.D.in1984,Shuttspenttwofurtheryearsat
VirginiaasMellonPost-DoctoralResearchFellowandtookapositionat
Kenyonin1986,wherehehastaughthappilyeversince,deeplyenjoyinghis
contactswithhisstudentsandthepeacefullifeoftheOhiocountryside.
Shuttisajovialextrovertandapolymath—abornteacherandlecturer—inter-
estedinnearlyeverythingandeverybody.IntheIntegratedPrograminHumane
Studies,heteachesliterature,philosophy,history,arthistory,religiousstudies,
and,attimes,thehistoryofscience.Hehaswrittenonmilitaryhistory,baseball,
andbirdinginadditiontohisacademicstudiesandgivesregulartalksatthe
BrownFamilyEnvironmentalCenteratKenyononmigratorybirdsandonobser-
vationalastronomyandtheloreofthestars.Healsoworks,whentimepermits,
asasportsannouncerforKenyonfootballgames,andforchampionshipswim-
mingmeetsnationwide,claiminglongtimeDetroitTigerannouncerErnieHarwell
ashisinspiration.ShuttalsotravelsregularlyasaspokespersonforKenyon,giv-
ingtalksandlecturesonbehalfofthecollegefromcoasttocoast.Buthisreal
vocationisreadingandtheclassroom.
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Quest
Picture
©
Introduction
Thiscourseaddressesthreewarsfoughtinantiquity,eachofwhichhad—
eventwothousandyearsandmorelater—adecisiveeffectinshapingour
communalsenseofwhoweare,notonlyinEurope,butthroughoutthe
Europeanculturaldiaspora,intheAmericas,inOceania,andtosome
degree,atleast,inAsiaandAfricaaswell—wherever,inshort,Westernval-
ueshold.Thethreewarstobeinvestigatedhereare(1)thePersianWars,
betweenacoalitionofGreekcity-statesor“poleis,”mostnotablyAthensand
Sparta,andtheAchaemenidPersianempire,thecentralanddecisiveportion
ofwhichtookplacebetween490and479B.C.E.;(2)thelaterPeloponnesian
WarbetweenAthensandheralliesandSpartaandhers,431-404B.C.E.;
andfinally(3)thethreePunicWarsbetweenRomeandCarthage,which
stretched,onandoff,forwellmorethanacentury,from264to146B.C.E.
Eachofthesewarshelped,inprofoundandperhapssurprisingways,to
shape,evenstill,ourideals,ouridentity,andourvalues.
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Lecture1:
ThePersianWars:
GreeceandPersia,theOpeningRounds
Beforebeginningthislectureyoumaywantto...
ReadPeterGreen’sTheGreco-PersianWars.
erodotus’analysisofthePersianWarsinhisHistoriesmarkssomething
closetoanewmodeofconsciousness,notonlyintermsofhistorical
vision—intermsofHerodotus’notionthatwhowearedependsinlarge
partonwhowehavebeen,whatwehavedone,andwhathashappenedto
us.Itissomethingnewaswellinthesurprisinglyfair-mindedandsympathetic
distinctionshedrawsbetweenthe“Hellenes”orGreeksandtheirPersian
rivals.Mostlanguagesseemtodrawdistinctionsbetween“us”and“them”in
termsthatgenerallytranslatetosomethinglike“thehumanbeings”and“the
stinkers.”Ethnicslursarenothingnewintheworldandseemtobeaboutas
oldaslanguageitself.Herodotusfollowsthecustomaryusageofhistimein
termingthePersians,andindeed,allwhodonotspeakGreek,“barbaroi,”or
“barbarians.”ButHerodotusisfarlessdismissiveof“barbarians”thanmost
Greeks,andthePersianswere,fromhispointofview,theEgyptiansaside,
themostimpressive“barbarians”ofall.Nonetheless,hedrawssharpdistinc-
tionsbetweenGreeksandPersians,andbetweenGreekandPersianculture,
andthosedistinctionstothisdayconstituteafundamentaltaprootofour
senseofwhoweare.
TheessentialdistinctionHerodotusseesbetweenGreeksandPersiansis
thattheGreeksarefreeandthePersiansarenot.Courageous,honest,
capable—filledwithallsortsofvirtues,yes.Butnotfree.InHerodotus’view,
eventhoughtheywerevastlyoutnumbered,theGreekswonthePersian
Wars,andfinallydeservedtowin,becausetheywerefree.Itisanattitude
thatisstillverymuchwithus.Itispreciselyourownfreedom—social,intel-
lectual,andpolitical,eveneconomic—thatwebelievesetsusapart,andnot
onlysetsusapart,butpreservesourvirtueandourprosperity.
Itisonlyfairtoaddthatthe“freedom”oftheGreeks—oftheAtheniansand,
stillmore,oftheSpartans—wasbyourownstandardsseverelycompro-
mised.BothAthensandSpartawereslave-owningsocieties.Sparta,indeed,
wassoobsessivelyconcernedwithmaintainingcontroloveritsserf-slaves,or
“helots,”whovastlyandthreateninglyoutnumberedthetinySpartancitizen
elite,thatkeepingalidonthehelotsshapedSpartansocietyfromtoptobot-
tom.Andfullcitizenshipwasrigorouslyconfined,inAthensaswellasin
Sparta,notonlytomen,buttofree-bornnativemen.ButGreekcitizenswere
characteristicallyfreer,andclearlythoughtofthemselvesasfreer,thantheir
Persiancounterparts,whowere,accordingtoHerodotus,littleshortofslaves
E
N ofthe“GreatKing,”howeverhightheirpositioninPersiansociety.
O
E GermanphilosopherGeorgFriedrichWilhelmHegelsuggestsnotonlythat
R
U ourconsciousnessarisesasaresultofhistoricalprocesses,butthatinthe
CT courseofthoseprocesses,wedefineourselvesbysettingourselvesapart
E
L
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from“others.”Andthatsenseof“otherness”crystallizesfortheWestin
Herodotus—itwasthePersianWars,inshort,thatforgoodorill,madethe
Westself-consciouslyWestern.
Democracyandfreedom,howeverlimitedandqualifiedtheymayhavebeen,
andtheimmenselyfruitfulnotionthatthebestwayofattackingproblemsis
systematicrationalanalysisarevaluesworthdefending.AndsotheGreeks
did.Inthatsense,theconflictwithPersiahasbeentermedthefirst“ideologi-
cal”war,fought,inasense,foradistinctively“Western”culturalvision.
What,then,wereGreeceandPersialike?Inmanyrespects,theywerevery
different.Persiawasagreatlandempire,politicallyunified(moreorless)
underthehegemonyofthe“GreatKing,”themostextensiveempiretheworld
hadyetseen.Butitwasthedirectsuccessorofthousandsofyearsofurban-
izedlifeintheancientMiddleEast.UrbanlifeinSumer,intheBabylonof
Hammurapi(orHammurabi),stretchedbackintosecond,orinthecaseof
Sumer,eventhethirdandfourthmilleniumBCE.
MorerecentMiddleEasternculturesweretheHittitesandthefierce
Assyrians,enjoyingtheirheydayunderleaderslikeTiglath-PilaserII,Sargon,
andSennacheribanddefeatedfinallybyarevivifiedBabylonatthebattleof
Carchemish.ItwasthefounderofthePersianEmpire,CyrustheGreat,who
in539conqueredBabylon(andshortlythereafter,allowedtheexiled
IsraelitestoreturntoZion).
Cyrus(or“Kurash”or“Koresh”inPersian)isafascinatingfigureinhisown
right,greatlyadmiredevenbyhisenemiesandmanyofthoseheconquered.
SubstantialcontactbetweentheGreeksandPersiansseemstohavebegun
withCyrus’conquestofKingCroesusofLydiainwhatisnowwesternTurkey
(CroesusnumberedamonghissubjectsagoodmanyIonianGreeks,living
onorneartheAegeancoastofhisdomains).CyrusconqueredCroesusin
547/46,and,ambitionsunslaked,undertooktoconquertheMassagetae,a
fiercenomadicCentralAsianpeople,anddiedintheattemptin530,onlyto
besucceededbyhissonCambyses,whoruledfrom530to522andman-
agedduringhisrelativelyshortreigntoaddEgypttothePersiandomain.
ThedeathofCambyses,however,precipitatedasuccessioncrisis,andthe
upshotwastheruleofDarius,whogainedthecrownthroughasortofcoup
d’état.Dariusprovedaverycapablerulerandheldthethronefrom522until
hisdeathin486.ThestoryofthePersianWarsbeginswitharevoltonthe
partofDarius’IonianGreeksubjects,formerlypartoftheLydiankingdomof
Croesus,whointheyear499roseup,seekingtothrowoffPersianrule.
TheAthenians,themselvesIonianGreeks,thoughsettledontheotherside
oftheAegean,decidedtoassisttheirIonianfellows,andin498helpedto
burnthelocalPersiancapitalatSardis.Thisprovedtobeanunwisemove,
whichtheAthenianssoonrecognized,withdrawingtheirsupportoftherevolt
soonafterwards.ButDariusdidnotforget.ThePersiansregainedcontrolof
theregionby493,andDarius,soHerodotustellsus,designatedaslaveto
remindhimto“remembertheAthenians”threetimesadayatdinner(5.105).
Itwasunseemlytohavesuchfractious,independentfolksonhisborders,
andDariusdecidedtotakecareoftheproblem.In491,hesentmessengers
tovariousGreekcity-states,or“poleis,”demandingthattheygiveover“earth
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andwater”asatokenofsubmission.Understandablyintimidatedbythevast
empiretotheeast,manycity-statescomplied.AthensandSparta,however,
didnot.TheAthenians,infact,disposedofDarius’envoysinapitreserved
forthebodiesofexecutedcriminals,andtheSpartans,nottobeoutdone,
threwtheenvoysdownawell,where,sotheysuggested,theenvoyscould
findalltheearthandwaterthattheymightwant(7.133).Predictablyand
rightly,Dariustooksuchgesturesasdeliberateactsofdefiance,andthewar,
verysoon,wason.
WhatwasthePersianempirelike,besidesvast,rich,andpowerful?Itwas
autocratic,butbythestandardsofthetime,andcertainlybythestandards
setbyMiddleEasternpowersliketheAssyrians,itwasrelativelybenign.The
Persianswerewillingtogoalongwithlocalcustomsandevenlocalrulersas
longasPersianhegemonywasassuredandthetaxrevenuesweresteady.
Theempirewasdividedinto“satrapies”(“khshathrapavan,”wearetold,in
Persian),administrativesubunitsgenerallymanagedbylocalaristocratsor
membersoftheroyalfamily.ThoughtheirownreligionwasMazdaism,asort
ofethicaldualismpostulatinganongoingcosmicbattlebetweentheforcesof
lightanddarkness,theywererelativelytolerantonsuchmattersaslongas
thingsremainedorderlyandtherevenueskeptcomingin.
TheGreekcity-statescouldhardlyhavebeenmoredifferent.Therewasno
overarchingGreekpoliticalorder.“Hellenism,”or“Greekness,”wasamatter
oflanguage,religion,andculture,notofpoliticalunity.Thecity-stateswerein
factfiercelycompetitiveandindependent.Theyseldomcooperatedor
agreed.Inthisregard,themoreorlessunifiedPersianempireenjoyedan
immenseadvantage.
Thepoleiswereforthemostpartsmall.Thereweremorethan1,000of
them,andnoneofthemremotelyapproachedthePersianempireinsize.
Beyondthat,byPersianstandards,theGreekpoleiswerepoor.Thenand
now,thereisnotmuchgoodagriculturallandinGreece.Butiftheywere
smallandpoor,thepoleiswerenothingifnotproud,contentious,andinde-
pendent.Manyofthemremainfamoustothisday—Argosandthegreat
SiciliancolonialcityofSyracuse;Thebes,Athens’greatrivaltothenorth,
famedasthehomeofOedipus;theluxury-andtrade-lovingCorinth,atthe
Peloponnesianisthmus;andaboveallAthensandSparta,theleadersofthe
defenseagainstPersia.
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FORGREATERUNDERSTANDING
(cid:2)
Question
1.InwhatsensewerethePersianWarsadecisivemomentinformulatinga
self-conscioussenseofWesternculture?OfGreekculture?
2.Whatisapolis?WhatwerethemostinfluentialpoleisinancientGreece?
WhateffectsdidthepolishaveonGreekcultureandday-to-daylife?
3.WhatwasitliketoberuledbythePersianempire?
Suggested Reading
Green,Peter.TheGreco-PersianWars.Berkeley:UniversityofCalifornia
Press,1996.
Other Books of Interest
DiodorusofSicily.DiodorusofSicily.Trans.C.H.Oldfather.10vols.Loeb
ClassicalLibrary.Cambridge:HarvardUniversityPress,1933.
Fuller,J.F.C.AMilitaryHistoryoftheWesternWorld.2vols.NewYork:Funk
&Wagnalls,1954.
Hanson,VictorDavis.TheWesternWayofWar:InfantryBattleinClassical
Greece.Intro.JohnKeegan.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1989.
Herodotus. The Histories. Oxford World’s Classics. Trans. Robin Waterfield.
Ed.,notes,andintro.CarolynDewald.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1998.
Plutarch.Plutarch’sLives.Trans.BernadottePerrin.11vols.LoebClassical
Library,1914;Cambridge:HarvardUniversityPress,1985.
Pomery,SarahB.,StanleyM.Burstein,WalterDonlan,andJenniferTolbert
Roberts.AncientGreece:APolitical,Social,andCulturalHistory.Oxford:
OxfordUniversityPress,1999.
Warry,John.WarfareintheClassicalWorld.Norman:Universityof
OklahomaPress,1995.
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