Overview

The island of Sicily was a highly contested area throughout much of its history. Among the first to exert strong influence on its political, cultural, infrastructural, and demographic developments were the two major decentralized civilizations of the first millennium BCE: the Phoenicians and the Greeks. While trade and cultural exchange preceded their permanent presence, it was the colonizing movement that brought territorial competition and political power struggles on the island to a new level. The history of six centuries of colonization is replete with accounts of conflict and warfare that include cross-cultural confrontations, as well as interstate hostilities, domestic conflicts, and government violence. This book is not concerned with realities from the battlefield or questions of military strategy and tactics, but rather offers a broad collection of archaeological case studies and historical essays that analyze how political competition, strategic considerations, and violent encounters substantially affected rural and urban environments, the island’s heterogeneous communities, and their social practices. These contributions, originating from a workshop in 2018, combine expertise from the fields of archaeology, ancient history, and philology. The focus on a specific time period and the limited geographic area of Greek Sicily allows for the thorough investigation and discussion of various forms of organized societal violence and their consequences on the developments in society and landscape.

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9781789253566

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...deserves the attention of ancient historians and archaeologists alike and will bean important point of departure for anyone interested in violent conflict in Classical Greek history. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *

The volume […] remains an excellent tool and information base of the methodology for new research on the Sicilian territory. * Bonner Jahrbücher * In fact, the multilingual foundation of this book is to be lauded, as is the book itself for looking past the wars that plagued Sicily to examine the socio-political effects of warfare on the island and its populations. * American Journal of Archaeology * The contributions’ quality is high, showcasing the combination of archaeological and literary evidence that characterizes the best work on ancient Sicily. […] For specialists in ancient Sicily and ancient warfare, it will also be an exciting and enlightening read. For archaeologists and historians of the Classical period who do not work on Sicily, this volume offers an excellent way in. * Ancient West & East * Melanie Jonasch has edited a truly splendid volume on the impact of war on the societies, politics, and landscapes of Sicily, from the archaic period to the Roman conquest. [...] This volume is an excellent example of why we should strive more in this direction, and hopefully a powerful stimulus as well. * Greece and Rome * …both books constitute very valuable contributions to the study of ancient Sicily. They reflect an ever-increasing international interest in the archaeology and history of the island and many of the papers will be essential reading for years to come. All the involved editors are to be congratulated for putting together these volumes. * Opuscula * ...deserves the attention of ancient historians and archaeologists alike and will be an important point of departure for anyone interested in violent conflict in Classical Greek history. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *

In fact, the multilingual foundation of this book is to be lauded, as is the book itself for looking past the wars that plagued Sicily to examine the socio-political effects of warfare on the island and its populations. * American Journal of Archaeology * ...deserves the attention of ancient historians and archaeologists alike and will bean important point of departure for anyone interested in violent conflict in Classical Greek history. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review * ...both books constitute very valuable contributions to the study of ancient Sicily. They reflect an ever-increasing international interest in the archaeology and history of the island and many of the papers will be essential reading for years to come. All the involved editors are to be congratulated for putting together these volumes. * Opuscula *

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Research Associate at the German Archaeological Institute

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