Tactics of Aelian

The book is a very complete edition, as it offers not only the Greek text, translation and notes, but also a glossary of key terms in Greek with an English transliteration and explanation. Last but not least, there are plates, which visualize the various formations discussed by Aelian. Christopher Matthew has succeeded in amalgamating ancient military history with a text edition and commentary in one accessible book. In doing so, he has not only made the ancient Greek text of the Tactics itself available to a larger public, but he has also published a work that cannot be neglected in any future study of ancient military history. Ancient Warfare

Christopher Matthew has just completed his doctoral thesis on hoplite warfare at MacQuarie University in Sydney, where one of his assessors has said he ‘singlehandedly advanced the whole field’. He has also been invited to lecture on the subject at other Australian universities. This book, closely based on his doctoral thesis, will be his first, although he has already had several articles published in academic journals. He is currently working on a new translation of Aelian’s work on tactics and co-editing (with Dr Matthew Trundle) Beyond the Gates of Fire: New Perspectives on the Battle of Thermopylae.