Conscription of Hoplites in Classical Athens

Christ, Matthew R.

doi:10.1093/cq/51.2.398

Cited by 87 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 23 publications

(12 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…After this, the list of conscripts was drawn-up by tribe, and possibly sub-divided by deme; notices were posted under each of the statues on the Monument of Eponymous Heroes. For a description of the process for drawing up, conscription and mustering of the Athenian army, see Christ 2001, 399–409; for discussion on the deployment of armies, see Siewert 1982.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Going the Extra Mile: Travel, Time and Distance in Classical Attica

McHugh

2019

Annu. Br. Sch. Athens

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The aim of this paper is to explore the physical connectivity of Attica by examining the realities of travel for Athenians wishing to engage with wider civic, social, economic and cultic institutions. This will be achieved by focussing upon the practicalities of short-, medium- and long-distance travel with the aim of differentiating aspects, modes and reasons for travel. This investigation will be realised through a series of computational scenarios created on the basis of a combination of ancient and nineteenth-century accounts of journeys through Attica along with the archaeological evidence of the Athenian road system. The results of this study shed light upon the constraints on, and opportunities for, participation in wider practices and the experience of travel for the individual traveller. Recent studies have shown there were many spaces in Attica that provided opportunities for Athenians to come together, to interact with each other and participate in civic, ritual and social institutions. The ultimate conclusions of this study will help to illustrate the fundamental connectivity and active engagement of the traveller with the Athenian landscape.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Going the Extra Mile: Travel, Time and Distance in Classical Attica

McHugh

2019

Annu. Br. Sch. Athens

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…36 On the importance of the phalanx and its contribution to Greek political thought compare Bravo & Wipszycka-Bravo 1988: 189-211. 37 In the Apology the mention of Socrates' military experience may be endowed with a particular importance: the ἀστρατεία forming a standard rebuke against active politicians, who were frequently seen as actively avoiding military duty, a mention of honorable performance in battle emphasizes Socrates' claims concerning political/juridical inexperience (on the issue of ἀστρατεία compare Christ 2001).…”

Section: The Military Linkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why Not Escape? On the Hosiotes in Plato’s Crito

Komorowska¹

2018

peitho

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While the article discusses the factors that motivated Socrates’ decisionin the Crito, it emphasizes the possible cultural import of the choiceundertaken in the aftermath of the political upheavals in the late fifthcentury. It is also argued here that as Plato’s dialogue were written inthe period that followed the renewal of the Athenian politeia, it shouldbe perceived as having its roots both in the historical reality of its narrativefocus (i.e. Socrates’ trial) and in the then reality of Plato’s Athens(i.e., its political stability dependent on the ephebic oath).

show abstract

“…A brief look at how conscription was carried out (cf. Christ, 2001) reveals a number of ways for a reluctant conscript to dodge or postpone service.…”

Section: Opportunitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Draft evasion onstage and offstage in classical Athens

Christ

2004

The Class. Q.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In time of war Athens required citizens who could afford armour and weapons to serve as hoplites, if called upon; at the time of the Peloponnesian War, some 18,000-24,000 men were eligible for service (Rhodes, 1988, 274). While most probably complied-if not always enthusiastically-with conscription, some evaded service. This paper seeks to assess evasion of hoplite service in Athens both as a historical phenomenon and as an ideological problem for the city. Specifically, it will argue that in Athens, as in modern democracies, evasion of compulsory military service was a real temptation and possibility. Consistent with this is tragedy's frequent treatment of evasion and, more generally, tensions concerning compulsory service in connection with recruitment for the Trojan War. Tragedy, I will argue, provided an imaginative vehicle through which contemporary audiences might come to terms with the tensions surrounding compulsory military service and its evasion within a democratic society. 1 The first section of this paper will make the case for taking draft evasion seriously as a problem for the Athenian democracy. Its second section will explore tragedy's intriguing engagement with evasion and tensions surrounding compulsory military service. DRAFT EVASION AND COMPULSORY MILITARY SERVICE Modern scholarship rarely addresses draft evasion in Athens or elsewhere in the Greek world. 2 This may reflect the assumption that the martial orientation of Greek society and the high premium it placed on honour made evasion unlikely. Thus Pritchett (1971, 1.27) asserts, 'There is little evidence for the existence of anything like the modern desire to avoid military service at all costs. I doubt that the ordinary soldier had any general philosophy about war, or that he even imagined any alternative.' 3 The evidence for Athens suggests, on the contrary, that Athenians were well aware of draft evasion (2τυσαυε α) as an alternative to service, and that individuals had many possible reasons to dodge the draft and numerous opportunities to succeed in this. Draft evasion crops up regularly in public discourse in Athens. For example,

show abstract

Conscription of Hoplites in Classical Athens

Abstract: ζιµε η1σ 4ξδσαΚ π µενοΚ 2ησε ειξ ξ οφΚ War always hunts out young men (S. fr. 554 R)

Cited by 87 publications

References 23 publications

Going the Extra Mile: Travel, Time and Distance in Classical Attica

Going the Extra Mile: Travel, Time and Distance in Classical Attica

Why Not Escape? On the Hosiotes in Plato’s Crito

Draft evasion onstage and offstage in classical Athens

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About