When did the age of heroic warfare come to an end?
Hegel gets in touch after listening to episode AW417, ‘The Evolution of Tactics’, with a question about the changing nature of warfare in the ancient world. Was there a period when individual warriors and one-on-one combat were considered the ideal of warfare, and when did organised tactics begin to replace this heroic model?
The Iliad provides one of the best-known examples of heroic warfare, but how did later Classical Greeks view this tradition? Was tactical warfare regarded as less heroic, or even dishonourable? And what can the contrasting reputations of figures such as Odysseus, famed for his cunning and stratagems, and Ajax, celebrated for his strength and martial prowess, tell us about changing ideas of what made a great warrior?
