Aeneas Tacticus

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Aeneas Tacticus
Native name
Αἰνείας ὁ Τακτικός
OccupationWriter
NationalityGreek
Period4th century BC
SubjectArt of war
Notable worksHow to Survive under Siege

Aeneas Tacticus

Greek writers on the art of war and is credited as the first author to provide a complete guide to securing military communications.[2] Polybius described his design for a hydraulic semaphore system.[3][4]

Part-title page of the first printed edition of Aeneas Tacticus, by Isaac Casaubon, an appendix to his edition of Polybius (Cologne, 1609)

According to

Ancient Greek: Περὶ τοῦ πῶς χρὴ πολιορκουμένους ἀντέχειν, Perì toû pôs chrḕ poliorkouménous antéchein), deals with the best methods of defending a fortified city. An epitome of the whole was made by Cineas, minister of Pyrrhus, king of Epirus. The work is chiefly valuable as containing a large number of historical illustrations.[5]

Aeneas was considered by Isaac Casaubon to have been a contemporary of Xenophon and identical with the Arcadian general Aeneas of Stymphalus, whom Xenophon (Hellenica, vii.3) mentions as fighting at the Battle of Mantinea (362 BC).[5]

References

  1. ^ The error or typo "Tacitus" instead of "Tacticus" is more frequent than expected. See "Tacticus vs. Tacitus". Google Ngram Viewer. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
  2. ^ Newton, David E. (1997). Encyclopedia of Cryptography. Santa Barbara California: Instructional Horizons, Inc. p. 7.
  3. ^ Polybius, 10.44–45
  4. S2CID 46975329
    .
  5. ^ a b  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Aeneas Tacticus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 257.

Further reading

See also Chisholm 1911 for a long list of editions and commentaries.

External links