1. If you have access to the internet, familiarize yourself with some of the resources available for the class on the world wide web:

• Visit the class web site at <http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~warfare>, and set a bookmark in your browser for future reference.
  
• Subscribe to the class e-mail discussion group. Instructions are on the syllabus and at the web site.
  
• Begin to familiarize yourself with the Perseus Project, a digital library of information on ancient Greece.
  

At this point, don't worry about anything specific; just take a few minutes to see what kinds of things are available, so you'll have a notion of where to look if you later want to find something specific. You might want to have a look at the on-line texts (links to Herodotus and Thucydides are on the web version of the class syllabus) to see if you want to avoid buying a few of the books for the class. As the semester progresses, I'll be directing you to relevant information in Perseus.

A few notes on using Perseus:

Most of the Perseus web site is accesible to the general public. Some of the materials, however, are restricted for copyright reasons. The entire utexas.edu domain should have access to all the materials, so if you are accessing Perseus from on campus or using a dial-in connection to UT's telesys system, you shouldn't have any problems. But if you use another internet service provider, you'll have a certain amount of restriction on your access.

In addition to the web version of Perseus, linked above, there is also a Macintosh-based local version of Perseus which the UT Department of Classics has made available on a local server. In most cases, the web version is superior to the local version, but the local version can do a few things that the web version can't, and it can do others a bit more conveniently. If you have a Macintosh with an internet connection, or have access to one on campus, you can connect to our departmental network to use this version of Perseus. If you wish to do so, e-mail me for more information.

2. Start to familiarize yourself with the geography of the ancient Greek world.

Geography will obviously be very important for the kinds of things we're going to look at this semester. Unfortunately, for most people it isn't the kind of thing that can be absorbed in one intense session.

For now, spend a little while looking at the maps in your texts and in the course reader. Try to get a general sense of the layout of the Greek world, and familiarize yourself with the names of the major regions. Throughout the semester, you should be sure to try to locate any place-names you come across in your readings, to add some detail to your knowledge of Greek geography. Gradually, you'll find yourself needing to consult the maps less and less, or at least spending less time trying to locate places on them.

Perseus has a very useful and comprehensive atlas that will allow you to plot specific sites. It also contains satellite images and other maps useful for studying topographical features (some of which is only available on the local version).

3. Readings:

Required: Sage pp. x-xxvii; Hanson pp. xv-xx, 3-51. These will give you an overview of some of the important issues in the study of Greek warfare, and discuss the nature of our sources of information.

Further Suggestions: John Keegan's The Face of Battle (D 25 K43 1976 PCL Reserves) has been an important influence on the study of military history (ancient and otherwise) since its publication in 1976. The first chapter (pp. 13-77) provides a useful overview of the 'history of military history' and outlines principles for some new approaches.

A useful reference that you may want to familiarize yourself with and refer to during the course of the semester is the Oxford Classical Dictionary, third edition (DE 5 O9 1996 Reference PCL UGL Classics). This is a good place to start for basic information on just about any subject relevant to the ancient world. Entries include basic information, references to ancient sources, and basic bibliography of modern works on the subject.