About the Subject of the Lecture

Did Ajax and Achilles ever suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

In this absorbing book, Dr. Lawrence A. Tritle, Prof. of History at Loyola Marymount University, discusses the links between battlefield experiences that affect the participants and victims of war in every age. Drawing examples from sources as diverse as the Iliad, Michael Herr's Dispatches, Thucydides' account of the Peloponnesian War, and the Oliver Stone film Platoon, Prof. Tritle shows, in horrifying and thought-provoking detail, how little has changed for the infantryman from Homer's time to Vietnam. Each instance sheds light on some of the most puzzling phenomena of war and shows how warriors of epic and real-life struggles responded to battle with their own forms of "shell shock," "battle madness," and bonding. 

This memorable book is for readers who wonder about the meaning and experience of battle, about the impact of war and violence on our culture, and for anyone interested in the culture of ancient Greece.