01-13-2010, 08:04 PM
OOOPS! For those who do math better than myself (a likely majority) there is an obvious error in my foregoing comment. Clearly, at 95 vs 29 the Athenians didn't fight four times as many battles as Sparta during the 5th century B.C. I seem to have crossed my ratios in haste. The proper assessment is that 5th century Athens won more than four times as many battles as Sparta (64 vs 15 with 1 draw) over the course of fighting more than three times as many battles (95 vs 29) for a superior rate of victory (69% vs 52%). Sorry for the misinformation!
It\'s only by appreciating accurate accounts of real combat past and present that we can begin to approach the Greek hoplite\'s hard-won awareness of war\'s potential merits and ultimate limitations.
- Fred Eugene Ray (aka "Old Husker")
- Fred Eugene Ray (aka "Old Husker")
