the enemy. Enemy soldiers unable to protect their women suf-
fered a loss of masculinity that aff ected morale. Conversely,
the rapists experienced an elevation of masculinity.
A potential form of overwhelming superior force lay in
the use of the chariot, but the genesis of the chariot is still dis-
puted. Th e invention of key components, such as the wheel,
took place in Europe, while various peoples in eastern Eu-
rope experimented with light, bentwood, fast, horse-drawn
carts. Th e horse itself originated in the Russian steppes and
was fi rst trained in this region. Th e absence of the horseshoe,
however, meant that mounted troops were at a disadvantage
when compared with charioteers. Shooting arrows while rid-
ing and controlling a galloping horse remained far harder
than fi ring a bow from a speeding chariot until the inven-
tion of the stirrup during the fi rst millennium c.e. Only the
mounted bowmen from the steppes, notably the Parthians,
were to succeed in mastering this diffi cult skill in the West.
Th e European style of battle involving both infantry and
chariots initially showed little organization. Th e objective
was to reach a suitable place of battle in order to overwhelm
the enemy before he could prevail. Essentially, a campaign
diff ered little from a large raid. Maneuver in battle was
largely accidental. Sometimes the initial charge of chariots
and horsemen would strike terror into the opposite side, in
which case battle quickly became a chase, with only the fl eet-
est men escaping the slaughter. More oft en, the two masses
simply converged to carry on the butchery. Th e Roman style
of disciplined warfare spread gradually throughout Europe.
Styles of warfare among the European people did not
include sieges. While the Romans had the money to fi nance
such expensive confl icts, the smaller European kingdoms did
not have the resources to do so. For the same reason, they
generally did not engage in naval warfare. Ethnic groups such
as the Goths in the mid-third century c.e. did sometimes
seize ships to use for raiding or, more oft en, simply for trans-
portation. Th e practice of fortifying settlements and other
important locations dates back to Neolithic times. Fortifi ed
sites, called oppida, were oft en built in easily defended loca-
tions such as hilltops and peninsulas. Earthen ramparts and
ditches were supplemented during the Bronze and Iron Ages
by timber and stone walls. A common construction technique
used by the Celts to build their oppida was called the murus
gallicus, in which heavy timber beams were used to construct
a framework between which stone walls were built.
In ancient Europe climate controlled war. Weather im-
posed seasonal rhythms that dictated periodic campaigning
seasons. In Gaul and on the Rhine frontier the war season
was signaled by the beginning of summer. In other regions
war began with spring. In autumn and winter roads were
slippery with ice, and no grass grew that could be used as
fodder for horses and mules. Th ese temporal patterns were
so well known that they were regularly presented as part of
normal tactical advice. But emergencies could alter tactics.
Th e people along the northern frontier of the Roman Empire
sometimes found themselves facing midwinter subsistence
crises that drove them to enter the developed regions of the
empire. In 366 c.e. the Alamanni crossed the Rhine. Th e
Lentienses crossed the same river in 378 c.e. Th ey attacked
agricultural settlements to fend off famine. By attacking
these settlements, the Lentienses could steal and eat the crops
grown by the farmers and avoid starvation.GREECE
BY MICHAEL M. SAGE
Th e Mycenaean Period (ca. 1600–ca. 1100 b.c.e.) is the earli-
est for which there is any evidence for Greek military forces.
Greece appears to have been divided into a number of small
kingdoms that had their own armies. Th ere is evidence that
these kingdoms had central military stores, at least for their
chariot forces, and that a class of chariot warriors existed. It
is not known whether these men were professional soldiers,
nor is it known how they were selected. Equally lacking is any
information on how armies of this period fought. Archaeo-
logical fi nds indicate that the heavy thrusting spear was the
most common weapon, so it is likely that fi ghting was done in
some sort of close formation. Toward the close of this period
there is some evidence for standardization of equipment.
At the end of the Mycenaean Period these kingdoms
disappeared, and there was a decline in population. Th e
communities of this time appear to have been small and iso-
lated. Most of the evidence for warfare, apart from weapons
fi nds, is concentrated aft er 800 b.c.e. and consists of por-
trayals of combat on pottery and descriptions in the Ho-
meric poems, which probably refl ect warfare in the period
from 750 to 650 b.c.e.
Th e fi ghting forces were led by local chiefs and princes
for whom success in warfare was crucial to their standing as
leaders. Th eir war bands were held together by the promise
of the rewards they could off er. Th ese bands appear to have
been made up of two types of warriors: the nobles, who were
relatively well equipped and played a leading part in the fi ght-
ing, and the mass of poorly armed and poorly protected fi ght-
ers who followed them. Th ere was mass combat of a relatively
open type dominated by missile weapons and the sword,
which allowed for individual demonstrations of prowess by
the nobles.
A series of important changes marked the end of this
so-called dark age around 700 b.c.e. Militarily the most im-
portant was the growth of a new kind of community, the city-
state, in central and southern Greece. Th e city-state consisted
of an urban core, which served as the political, religious, and
economic center, and a dependent countryside of towns and
villages. Along with the city-state came the idea of citizenship
as a collection of rights and duties, one of which was military
service. Th e strong connection between citizenship and mili-
tary service is evident in the prohibition of military service
for slaves, while in some states full citizenship was reserved
only for those who did military service. Given the limited
revenues of the communities, citizens were required to serve732 Military: Greece