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Pylos and Sphacteria 425: Sparta's Island of Disaster

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Pylos and Sphacteria 425: Sparta's Island of Disaster Reviews That said, the Roman’s life and ca- that could be further explored. I would reer is very accurately portrayed, some- therefore recommend Mark Antony: A times with too much zeal in wanting to Plain, Blunt Man to every fan of the Late rehabilitate his deeds, in my opinion, Roman Republic, the more so if he or but anyway worth to be read. The book she is looking for new ideas about this is filled with many interesting insights famous chapter of Roman history. 0 The parallel battles of Pylos and Sphac- teria epitomize everything that is great Pylos and Sphacteria 425: about Classical Greek warfare. It chal- Sparta’s Island of Disaster lenges all of the concrete statements that ISBN: 978-1782002710 have been often made about the traditions Author: William Shepherd and ‘rules’ of Greek warfare, as well as the Pages: 96 indomitable military prowess of Sparta. Publisher: Osprey Publishing The book begins with a summarized Address of publisher: account of Classical Greek politics and www.ospreypublishing.com military campaigns after the Persian inva- Reviewer: Owen Rees sions. Shepherd gives just the right amount of information to have a grasp of the back- just how complex this one ‘battle’ really ground that led to the Peloponnesian War, where understandably the majority of this was: the siege of the Athenian position at Py- chapter focusses. Any person interested in los, the naval battle within the harbour, the the tactical innovations of Demosthenes political battle regarding the truce that was will appreciate the space Shepherd takes declared, the continued siege and Athenian to explore the Aetolian disaster, which in- blockade of the Spartans on Sphacteria, and fluenced Demosthenes’ later tactics. the final battle on the island itself. This chapter is followed by a chro- The following chapter attempts to sum- nology, which plots all of the major marize the ten years that followed the cam- events starting with the victory over the paign with some success. You do get the Persians at Plataea, and ending with the feeling of being rushed through a decade of Athenian’s disastrous campaign in Sicily history, but it does effectively show the im- (the dates of which are incorrectly given pact such a defeat had on Sparta, especially as 417–415, rather than 415–413) ten after such an embarrassing surrender that fol- years after the focal point of this book. lowed Demosthenes’ offensive on the island. Chapters 3 and 4 introduce the oppos- Shepherd finishes his book with a small ing commanders and their relevant forces. section about the battlefields today, and These provide a succinct review of well- a useful if short suggested reading list. The trodden ground regarding Athenian lead- numerous maps make this a campaign nar- ership and the make-up of the two armies. rative that is easy to follow, and the colour Shepherd places a strong emphasis on plates give the book an artistic flair we have Athens’ dominance on the sea, and takes come to expect from Osprey. This book ef- an interesting and revealing detour into fectively presents what is known about the the Athenian trireme. A short chapter on battle, with a few discreet interpolations of ‘Opposing plans’ finishes of an effective a controversial nature, which I particularly lead up to the campaign narrative. This enjoyed – for instance the colour plates chapter really highlights just how un- show the Spartans without any body armour, planned much of this campaign was. which may seem a little bit early, chrono- The meat of Shepherd’s narrative fol- logically, for some people. All in all, this is a lows the account given by Thucydides very great addition to the Osprey series, and is a closely. The chapter on the battles shows perfect introduction to the campaign. 0 ancient warfare iX-1 55 aw_9-1.indd 55 19/03/15 11:55.
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