Warfare and Agriculture in Classical Greece, Revised edition

Warfare and Agriculture in Classical Greece, Revised edition provides a systematic review of Greek agriculture and warfare, exploring the relationship between these two crucial aspects of life in ancient communities. The author, Victor Davis Hanson, pays particular attention to both agronomic and military details.

This study reveals that attacks on agriculture rarely resulted in famines or permanent agrarian depression. Trees and vines are hard to destroy, and grainfields are only briefly vulnerable to torching. Furthermore, ancient armies were rather inefficient as systematic ravagers and instead employed other tactics, such as occupying their enemies' farms to provoke infantry battles.

The author suggests that rural depression and desolation in ancient societies were more often caused by subtle phenomena—such as taxes, changes in political and social structures, and new cultural values—rather than by destructive warfare.