Ancient Greece Research Paper

Ancient Greece paper Two Throughout history, there have been many cultures that have influenced todays societies, Ancient Greece being one of them. Violence, and warfare throughout history have seemed inevitable. Some of the most famous, and influential warfare throughout history stems from Ancient Greece. As everyday economic resources increased, Ancient Greek city-states stopped performing smaller scale raids for resources, livestock, or grain, and began building “armies of foot soldiers,” within their more wealthy states. This paper will explain the characteristics of Ancient Greek armies, as well as the tactics used, types of warfare, and why they are believed to have been so successful. As “the dark age” approached, world …show more content…
One answer is that the Greeks were one of the first civilizations to utilize smarter and more successful citizens amongst their societies, in their armies. This was done through the creation of the hoplite armies. Hoplite armies have been referred to as the “military backbone of ancient Greek city-states.” Hoplites were often “wealthier,” and more physically fit than previous citizens used as soldiers. They consisted primarily of the middle class people, and they “bore the financial ability to arm themselves.” They were also not “full-time professional soldiers whose only life was war,” but they instead worked on a volunteer basis, and preferred to go to war in the summer time when they had time off. Overall, these soldiers were more strategic, more physically fit, and more financially capable of supporting their city-states in times of need. Another reason the Greek armies were so successful,was because of their use of alliances. After the results of the Greco-Persian wars, in order to fight the “Achamenid Empire,” Greeks realized they would have to ally some of their city-states. Alliances throughout history have existed, but the Greeks were the first society to ally armies with much larger sizes than ever seen before. This allowed a “pooling of resources and a division of labour,” amongst their armies. Although allied to defend themselves from foreign …show more content…
Although not nearly as advanced, and as large scale as todays “biological weapons.” Chemical warfare dates back as far as the late Egyptian Empires. According to historians, some Greek city-states would “take decomposed bodies of several venomous adders, mix with human blood and dung and place in a sealed vessels.” The soldier would then dig holes in the ground and bury these substances until they were thoroughly fermented. This chemical was then used as a poison that soldiers would dip arrows in, in an attempt to poison, or cause serious physical problems such as diseases, and infections. Extremely disgusting, but completely effective. During the Peloponnesian war, an “epidemic broke out that killed thousands of Athenians.” It was later written by famous Greek historian Thucydides that “it was supposed that Sparta poisoned the wells.” Over time chemical warfare has continued to advance, due to technology, and common knowledge as civilizations advanced. Early armies used plague victims, poisonous snakes, chlorine gas clouds and even burning sand catapults to disable rivals. These weapons have also been frowned upon for as long as they have existed. Due to the cruelty and overall damage to societies these weapons can cause, they are rarely used. When chemical warfare weapons have been used it has seemed to be