ARMED AND DANGEROUS
Classical Greece (c480–323 BC) is chiefly remembered for its poetry, statues and extraordinary works of architecture such as the Parthenon. Yet for all the energy the ancient Greeks expended on forging art for the ages, they also dedicated a great deal to mastering the art of war.
One of the main reasons for this was competition. In the fifth and fourth centuries BC, Greece wasn’t a single country like it is today. It was made up of lots of smaller city-states (from Athens to Sparta, Corinth to Thebes), all competing for finite land or resources. Such rivalries were often resolved at the point of a sword. Then there was Persia. This regional superpower attempted to conquer Greece more than once.
The resulting conflicts produced some of the most celebrated clashes in history – the Athenians’
