new history of the Peloponnesian War

Matthew King · 08 Aug 2006, 21:36 · from 2006-August.txt.gz

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From: automatthew at gmail.com (Matthew King)
Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2006 16:36:16 -0500
Subject: (urth) new history of the Peloponnesian War
In-Reply-To: <BAY102-F41DDA0F37D94A63417252286540 at phx.gbl>
References: <BAY102-F41DDA0F37D94A63417252286540 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <4C5A7048-97D1-472A-85BE-E32AFF8C880F at gmail.com>

On Aug 8, 2006, at 2:27 PM, Chris wrote:

> I am not familiar with the work, but I would be slightly wary of  
> reading too
> much into Latro's story from a modern book about its historical  
> background.
> This background is, for Wolfe, seen more through the eyes of  
> Herodotus,
> Thucydides or Xenophon.

The focus of _Carnage and Culture_ is on the nature and development  
of Western military prowess, so the chapter on Salamis is not  
directly relevant to _Soldier of the Mist_.  As I recall it, Latro  
doesn't tell us much about the battle of Peace.

Knowing a little about the battle, the strategy of Themistocles, and  
the appalling human loss on the side of the Persians:  I say knowing  
some of this makes for a richer reading of _Mist_.

Regarding wariness toward modern books:  where do you suppose the  
authors get their historical information about the Persian war if not  
from Herodotos, et al.?

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