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Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria

Event 

Open Lecture: The Evolution of Hellenistic Warfare
Title:
Open Lecture: The Evolution of Hellenistic Warfare
When:
28.05.2014 19.00 h
Where:
The Ithacan Philanthropic Society - Melbourne
Category:
Education

Description

Presenter: Dr Christopher Matthew
Entry:
Free

Synopsis

The Hellenistic way of war changed the face of the ancient world forever.

At the heart of Hellenistic warfare was the Macedonian heavy infantryman (the phalangite) armed with a long pike (the sarissa), and deployed in a dense formation of ranks and files (the phalanx).

From the rise of Macedon as a military power in the mid 4th century BC, through the age of Alexander the Great and the Successors, to the time of their defeat at the hands of the Romans at Pydna in 168BC, the pike-armed phalanx formed the core of nearly every Hellenistic army on battlefields from Italy to India.

And yet, there remains some contention amongst scholars as to who first created the pike phalanx and when. This presentation will examine how such a revolutionary form of warfare came into being, who created it, what this reform involved, how the pike-phalanx was used to great effect by Alexander the Great, and how this style of combat came to dominate the eastern Mediterranean world for 200 years.

 

Biography

Christopher graduated with first class honours from the University of New England in 2006 where he focused on the study of ancient Greek and Roman warfare and completed a research thesis on the impacts of the reforms made to the Roman military by the general Gaius Marius.

He then moved to Macquarie University in Sydney where he completed a PhD in 2009 using physical re-creation, experimental archaeology and ballistics testing to examine the mechanics of warfare in ancient Greece, particularly how the equipment of the infantryman of the time dictated his role and functionality on the battlefield.

This research has been very well received and he is regarded as a leading authority on ancient Greek warfare. - See more at: http://goo.gl/KhnClo

 

Sponsors

This lecture is co-sponsored by The Australian Institute of Macedonian Studies (AIMS) and the Pan Macedonian Association of Melbourne & Victoria.

Venue

Venue:
The Ithacan Philanthropic Society   -   Website
Street:
Level 2, 329 Elizabeth Street
Postcode:
3000
Suburb:
Melbourne
State:
VIC
Country:
Country: au

In October 1916, the Ithacan migrants of Melbourne established the ITHACAN PHILANTHROPIC SOCIETY "The Ulysses", with an inaugural membership of some 153 members. This was in response to pleas for aid from their loved ones in Ithaca who were suffering deprivation during the First World War.

Over the years, however, the Society has been much more than just a philanthropic institution. It has been a constant in the lives of the early Ithacan migrants replacing the homeland which they had left.

The Society takes an active role in the cultural, social, educational and quality of life interests of the Ithacan Community. The Society, as part of its philanthropic role, also makes many monetary contributions to worthy causes, including those outside the immediate Ithacan community. The Society celebrated its 90th Anniversary in 2006.

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