SOURCE: “The Ars Tactica of Arrian: Tradition and Originality,” in Classical Philology, Vol. 73, No. 2, 1978, pp. 117-28.

In the essay below, Stadter examines the use Arrian made of traditional tactical manuals in composing his Ars Tactica, arguing that even though his work is a close reflection of his sources, Arrian made a significant contribution to tactical writing through his discussion of contemporary Roman experience.

The sense of tradition and the rhetorical principle of imitatio were so fundamental to Greek literary production in the imperial period that it is frequently difficult to determine the contribution of an individual writer. Such is the case with Arrian of Nicomedia. Arrian's major work, the Anabasis, is heavily influenced by literary models, such as Herodotus and Xenophon, and is immediately dependent on the historical writings of Aristobulus and Ptolemy. How much can we expect Arrian to have modified the presentation and point of view...