Bust Up the Party Like It's 419 BC

Victor Davis Hanson, from the terrific A War Like No Other, on the evolution of ancient Greek war-making ability:

A society that could sculpt the Parthenon friezes and easily lift them high up on the architraves of the temple apparently had no means of tearing down a simple enemy wall during a siege.

That stagnation too began to end in the Peloponnesian War, as both sides scrambled to invent new siege techniques at Plataea, weird devices like fire cannons at Delium, and constant naval modifications at Syracuse.

The major sieges left an indelible impression on both attacker and besieged, especially when the belligerents had experimented with siege towers, flamethrowers, and elaborate circumvallation.

Say what you will about the Minneapolis police department. But the ancient Greeks had nothing on them. From the Pioneer Press, a report on siege craft and a recent crackdown on crime in the City of Lakes:

One house party on the 1000 block of Fulton Street in Minneapolis resulted in 70 underage drinking citations and the two renters being arrested. Police secured a search warrant and used battering rams to enter the house after its occupants barricaded themselves inside.

For historical accuracy purposes, I pray this was a toga party.

It's got to be rough for those students getting busted by the police during their first week at college. But the kids probably shouldn't worry too much. They've got at least 109 more arrests to go before the city really starts getting serious.