Agonistic Display in Classical Greek Warfare

Abstract

Warfare in the classical period has often been regarded as a quintessentially communitarian and cooperative activity, the enterprise of citizen-militiamen whose activity was motivated by and contributed to civic solidarity. In this paper, I gather fifth- and fourth-century sources that attest individual rivalries, agonism, and status-seeking within armed forces of the classical poleis. I argue that this evidence is enough to demonstrate a certain continuity of the martial agonism and competitive display familiar from Homer into the classical period. More broadly, this paper aims to contribute to the ongoing historical debate over the degree to which egoistic and competitive values or communitarian and cooperative values governed the behavior of citizens in the classical city.