The Spartans
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Websites
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Ancient Spartan Society
http://alex.edfac.usyd.edu.au/BLP/websites/HOGAN/
Sparta%20Homepage/indexone.htm#index-page
Basic site on Sparta, with plenty of good maps and pictures.
The Evil Empire
http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/prm/
blevilempirea.htm
Extensive article from the History Net, covering education, government,
social system and 'self-destructive behaviour'.
Sparta, the Valley, Taygetos Mountains
www.mistraestates.gr/sparta.htm
A dozen photographs of the valley that once sheltered the Spartans.
Sparta: The Spartan spirit
www.periclespress.com/Sparta.html
Short article that includes a vivid description of the battle of Leuctra/Leuktra.
Legal Status in the Greek World
www.stoa.org/diotima/anthology/wlgr/
wlgr-greeklegal98.shtml
An article on 'The advantages of Spartan education and marriage customs',
based on Plutarch's Life of Lycurgus. Part of the Women's Life
in Greece & Rome website.
Where Helen and Alexander stopped
www.laconia.org/ny_times_art_o1.htm
New York Times article on what can still be seen of Spartan
civilisation in Sparta today.
The Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia
www.culture.gr/2/21/211/21105a/e211ea16.html
Description of the archaeological remains of the temple where young
Spartan boys were whipped by older ones.
Books
Agesilaos and the Crisis of Sparta by Paul Cartledge (Duckworth,
new ed 2000) £18
Progressing both chronologically and thematically, this reveals the principal
aspects of Spartan politics and society and appraises the possible causes
of Sparta's precipitous decline and fall.
Athens and Sparta: Constructing Greek political and social history
from 478 BC by Anton Powell (Routledge, 2nd ed 2001) £17.99
A handbook to the study of Greek history and society in the 5th century
BC.
Gates of Fire: An epic novel of the battle of Thermopylae by Steven
Pressfield (Doubleday, 1998). US edition only; available from online bookshops.
Highly acclaimed novel that makes the ultimately fatal stand of 300 Spartans
against thousands of Persians come alive.
History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides, translated by
Rex Warner (Penguin Classics, 1954) £9.99
A translation of and critical introduction to Thucydides' history of the
wars between Athens and Sparta.
Plutarch on Sparta (Penguin Classics, 1988) £9.99
Two of Plutarch's 'lives', covering the careers of the Spartan kings,
Agis and Cleomenes.
Sparta by Michael Whitby (Edinburgh University Press, 2001) £15.99
Explores Sparta's problematic early history, its social and economic organisation,
international relations, military achievements and culture, the role of
Spartan women and Spartan sexual conduct and values.
Sparta and Lakonia: A regional history 1300-362 BC by Paul Cartledge
and Hellenistic and Roman Sparta by Paul Cartledge and Antony Spawforth
(Routledge, 2001) £34.98
Revised editions in a two-volume set. The former explores both the city-state
of Sparta and the territory of Lakonia that it unified and exploited.
The latter attempts to challenge the conventional misperception of Spartan
'decline' after the loss of its status as a great power.
Spartan Reflections by Paul Cartledge (Duckworth, 2001) £14.99
A collection of 13 essays, divided into three thematic sections: 'Polity,
politics and political thought', 'Society, economy and warfare' and 'The
mirage reviewed'.
Spartan Women by Sarah B Pomeroy (Oxford University Press Inc,
2002). US edition only; available from online bookshops.
This examination of Spartan women – through an analysis of ancient
texts and archaeological evidence – reconstructs the history of these
elusive, though much-noticed women.
The Spartans: An epic history by Paul Cartledge (Pan Macmillan/Channel
4 Books, 2002) £18.99
The book of the series.
