Barry S. Strauss > Quotes

“Desperate men are easy to inspire but difficult to reassure.”
― Barry S. Strauss, The Spartacus War

“Sulla said: “No friend ever served me and no enemy ever wronged me whom I have not repaid in full.”
― Barry Strauss, The Death of Caesar: The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination

“When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
― Barry Strauss, The Death of Caesar: The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination

“History is full of examples of generals done in by their own blind spots: from a willingness of the Persian fleet to sail into the Greek's trap in the Salamis straits; to the legions that marched into Arminius's ambush in the Teutoburg Forest; to the American warships and airplanes that were easy pickings for the Japanese attackers at Pearl harbor.”
― Barry Strauss, The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium

“Octavian’s patron, Apollo, the god of reason, had defeated Antony’s patron, Hercules, the symbol of might.”
― Barry S. Strauss, Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine

“Helios the Sun, who sees everything and knows the gods, is beginning his ride in his four-horse chariot, turning the sky a gauzy blue and the sea the color of widows’ tears.”
― Barry S. Strauss, The Trojan War: A New History

“One of Caesar’s most successful and long-lasting alliances was with various Jewish communities.”
― Barry Strauss, The Death of Caesar: The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination

“Among the tens of thousands of prisoners taken by Vespasian in Galilee was the rebel-appointed Jewish governor of the province, Joseph ben Matthias. He was destined to be brought to Rome and executed, but he found a way out. He prophesied to Vespasian that he would be emperor. When in turn the legions indeed proclaimed Vespasian emperor, Joseph was freed from his chains. Although some Romans considered Joseph a Jewish spy, Vespasian and Titus found him useful. After the war, he ended up in Rome living in the palace under their protection, became a Roman citizen named Flavius Josephus, and wrote a detailed history of the revolt that survives today.”
― Barry S. Strauss, Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine

“In Caesar, egotism, ambition, talent, ruthlessness, vision, populism, and revolution came together in a way that is still today best summed up in his name—Caesar. Caesar waded through rivers of blood in Gaul while Brutus carried the bloodiest dagger of Roman history, and yet each radiated personal charm.”
― Barry S. Strauss, The Death of Caesar: The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination

“As Marcus discovered, forces beyond Rome’s control offered constant danger: pressure from migrations by barbarian peoples hundreds of miles beyond the frontier and from epidemics with distant origins, as well as from the challenge of recurrent Parthian dynastic ambitions.”
― Barry S. Strauss, Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine

“If we want everything to stay the same, everything has to change.”
― Barry Strauss, The Death of Caesar: The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination

“Romans understood that winning a war sometimes means accepting losses where it hurts in order to win where it matters. That is a fundamental, and crucial, rule of war.”
― Barry S. Strauss, Masters of Command: Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, and the Genius of Leadership

“Alexander, Hannibal, and Caesar were conquerors, not statesmen. Conquerors keep on going until they and their men drop from exhaustion or die. Statesmen know when to stop.”
― Barry S. Strauss, Masters of Command: Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, and the Genius of Leadership

“States need soldiers, soldiers need support, and support costs money.”
― Barry S. Strauss, Masters of Command: Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, and the Genius of Leadership

“Romans understood that: winning a war sometimes means accepting losses where it hurts in order to win where it matters. That is a fundamental - and crucial - rule of war.”
― Barry S. Strauss, Masters of Command: Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, and the Genius of Leadership

“Timetable of Events Relating
to the Trojan War *All dates are approximate.”
― Barry S. Strauss, The Trojan War: A New History