This is how Sparta selected infants for their army
Spartan life was harsher then her sister Greek city-states by design. Every aspect of a boy’s life was scrutinized from the day they were born until they passed away. The…
5 times using food as a weapon helped turn the tide of a battle
Napoleon is credited for saying that an Army marches on its stomach. Whether he actually said that or not is disputed, but whomever did say that was correct: Food is…
A black Marine fought for Greek independence after fighting the Barbary War
In the early 1800s, Greece was fighting the same struggle for freedom as John Jakob Williams. Greece was then dominated by the Ottoman Empire and Greeks were being sold into…
How the Persian Immortals became masters of psychological warfare
War is just as much a psychological battle as it is physical. If you’re able to convince your enemy that they have no chance of surviving before the first drop of blood is spilled, you’ve already won. No warriors in history have embodied this conc…
Today in military history: Greek soldiers sack and burn Troy
On June 11, 1184 BC, Greek soldiers, hiding in an elaborately-built wooden horse, opened the gates to the city of Troy and laid waste to the once famed city. Renowned…
Alexander the Great’s father compiled the world’s first joke book
Philip of Macedon isn’t as well known as his son, Alexander the Great, although it could be argued that without Philip II, Alexander might not have conquered the known world….
How a Greek foot soldier inadvertently invented the marathon
The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC, where Greek and Persian forces fought for control of Greece. The homefront army won, despite being greatly outnumbered, and the win…
That time a Greek Priest Saved Over 27,000 from the Concentration Camps
Greece is no stranger to legendary war heroes from King Leonidas of Sparta to Alexander the Great. However, one of its greatest achieved his heroic status without swinging a sword…
This is how you would be glorified if you became a Roman war hero
Best known to the Greek literature, a Roman war hero ought to be of divine ancestry and, on the contrary, be also a mortal. Nevertheless, Roman heroes concentrated on their…
The 5 most ingenious weapons ever created for combat
China and Russia are designing new, futuristic weapons that can supposedly take down an entire aircraft carrier anywhere in the world or zoom past American radar and detection defenses. These…