The military cultures of classical Greece and Rome each utilized mythology and history to prepare themselves for warfare. The written works of such men as Julius Caesar and Xenophon served as fairly accurate accounts of contemporary battles, battles from which younger soldiers and officers could draw tactical and strategic ideas. Works of mythology served the same purpose, such as Virgil’s Aeneid and Homer’s Iliad.
Caius Julius Caesar
Caius Julius Caesar is a prime example of a Roman officer well versed in the historiography of both Greece and Rome. Caesar was literate in, and could speak, both Greek as well as his native Latin. His knowledge of these two languages afforded him a wide variety of military sources to increase his education, and to draw inspiration from. Like the heroes in the mythologies of Greece and Rome, Caesar approved of, participated in, and encouraged personal combat for himself and for the men under his command.
Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great studied warfare extensively as a young man, and as an acting commander during his campaigns. He read Xenophon’s March of the Ten Thousand extensively, and was said to have brought a copy of the Iliad with him, often reading from it during the evenings and looking for tactical suggestions. Xenophon’s historical work was a significant factor in Alexander’s military education, and so was Homer’s tale of Troy. Both history and myth, then, formed the essential core upon which he built his tactical and strategic ideas.
History versus Myth
While historical works such as Xenophon’s March of the Ten Thousand and Caesar’s own Gallic Wars are fairly accurate accounts of the battles and conflicts in which the authors fought, the Aeneid and the Iliad are not. Virgil and Homer’s works are important for the inspirational aspect of the works. The heroes of the stories are -- literally in some cases -- god-like, and it is not a literal reading of their actions some much as it is an interpretational approach which makes the stories significant in regards to their impact on Greek and Roman warfare.
Thus the military historiography of classical Greece and Rome was dependent upon both historical and mythological sources. The mythological sources served as inspirations to the officers who read them: brave deeds and the proper behavior from the heroes of old for a leader and hopeful hero of men. The historical sources, in their turn, were written by commanders and veterans, offering practical advice: tactical and strategic solutions to problems that commanders face still on today’s modern battlefields.
Nicholas Efstathiou - My name is Nicholas E. Efstathiou and I have a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature and a Master's in Military History. I have had a ...
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