Connecting a City to Its Navy: The Long Walls of Athens

FAIN: FT-52509-04

David Hulburt Conwell
Baylor School (Chattanooga, TN 37401)

"Connecting a City to Its Navy" is an interdisciplinary study which systematically analyzes the wealth of ancient written and physical evidence for the preeminent example of a uniquely Greek class of ancient fortifications, the Long Walls of Athens. Hitherto, scholars have used only the ancient written evidence to consider these structures from the narrow perspective of their revolutionary strategic purpose. This project breaks new ground both because it considers the whole range of historical and architectural issues to which the Long Walls contribute and because it incorporates the now-abundant but largely unknown evidence of the excavated remains.

Associated Products

Connecting a City to the Sea (The History of the Athenian Long Walls) (Book)
Title: Connecting a City to the Sea (The History of the Athenian Long Walls)
Author: David H. Conwell
Abstract: The Long Walls joining Athens with its harbors are universally recognized as symbols of naval imperialism and the lynchpin of a radical departure from traditional Greek military strategy during the later fifth century B.C. Nevertheless, many important questions about the structures remain disputed or simply neglected. As the first comprehensive history of the Long Walls, the present study dates each construction phase, examines the function of the structures from beginning to end, and chronicles their fluctuating viability. The analysis is driven by the proposition that the Athenians would not have relied on the walls to the sea when their navy did not control the sea lanes effectively. This full consideration of the Long Walls' development and strategic prominence over time will enable accurate assessment of their position in Greek military and political history from classical through early Hellenistic times.
Year: 2008
Publisher: Brill
Type: Scholarly Edition
ISBN: 9789004162327
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

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