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Aeneas Tacticus
Aeneas Tacticus | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Αἰνείας ὁ Τακτικός |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | Greek |
| Period | 4th century BC |
| Subject | Art of war |
| Notable works | How to Survive under Siege |
Aeneas Tacticus[1] (Ancient Greek: Αἰνείας ὁ Τακτικός; fl. 4th century BC) was one of the earliest 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]
According to Aelianus Tacticus and Polybius, he wrote a number of treatises (Ὑπομνήματα) on the subject. The only extant one, How to Survive under Siege (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]
- ^ The error or typo "Tacitus" instead of "Tacticus" is more frequent than expected. See "Tacticus vs. Tacitus". Google Ngram Viewer. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
- ^ Newton, David E. (1997). Encyclopedia of Cryptology. Santa Barbara California: Instructional Horizons, Inc. p. 7.
- ^ Polybius, 10.44–45
- ^ Guarnieri, Massimo (2018). "A Historical Survey of Light Technologies". IEEE Access. 6: 25881–25897. doi:10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2834432. hdl:11577/3271823. S2CID 46975329.
- ^ a b One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Aeneas Tacticus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 257.
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