A compelling account of the extraordinary people of Sparta, destined to become the definitive book on Spartan history, from the world's leading expert.
The Spartans: An Epic History
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Send the SAS to pick flowers and the Marines to knit mittens, because the Spartans could have 'em for breakfast. In The Spartans: An Epic History, the book of the Channel 4 series, Paul Cartledge paints a vivid picture of one of the most extreme civilisations ever known--one whose ethos married the highest levels of societal and philosophical advancement with the most repressive and warlike of regimes. These ancient Greeks lived, breathed and slept "hard". They also happened to influence much of subsequent Western civilisation.
The perfect warriors, they lived to fight, and when they weren't fighting, they were training to fight. Their male children were brutally raised, and weak or deformed infants were mercilessly cast from cliff tops. Yet they were unusually egalitarian in their treatment of women, and embraced an intensely partisan social ethic. They enslaved much of the rest of Greece, yet provided the spark for Athenian Democracy. It is this apparently contradictory duality that continues to fascinate and that has since engendered concepts as diverse as Hitler's system of negative eugenics and Thomas More's notion of Utopia.
The Spartans, though accessible, is an accomplished academic work--you'd hardly expect anything else, Cartledge having already written 20 books on the subject. But without the window dressing of the TV show's stunning Grecian locations and its thinking-man's eye-candy presenter Bettany Hughes, this can seem a little dry--anyone expecting the latest glossy picture-filled Time Team-style coffee-table book is likely to be disappointed. If you're partial to a bit of accessible erudition, however, then it would be foolish to look this gift horse in the mouth. --Paul Eisinger --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
The Spartan legend has inspired and captivated subsequent generations with evidence of its legacy found in both the Roman and British Empires. The Spartans are our ancestors, every bit as much as the Athenians. But while Athens promoted democracy, individualism, culture and society, their great rivals Sparta embodied militarism, totalitarianism, segregation and brutal repression. As ruthless as they were self-sacrificing, their devastatingly successful war rituals made the Spartans the ultimate fighting force, epitomized by Thermopylae. While slave masters to the Helots for over three centuries, Spartan women, such as Helen of Troy, were free to indulge in education, dance and sport. Interspersed with the personal biographies of leading figures, and based on 30 years' research, The Spartans tracks the people from 480 to 360 BC charting Sparta's progression from the Great Power of the Aegean Greek world to its ultimate demise. "Cartledge's crystalline prose, his vivacious storytelling and his lucid historical insights combine here to provide a first-rate history of the Spartans, their significance to ancient Greece and their influence on our culture" Publishing News
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
41 of 44 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
An interesting book on the history of Sparta and its role in ancient Greek history. It's not too scholarly, and not too populist, but rather maintains a balance that allows the author to discuss the subject in some depth without baffling the casual reader.
Much of the book is made up of biographies of leading Spartans inserted into gaps in the main body of the text. Although it's good to have a couple of pages to summarise the lives and careers of the main figures in Spartan history, these asides tend to repeat the information in the main text, and in some cases can damage the sense of chronological flow. I think these would have been far better placed in an appendix.
Also, the author wanders off into a study of the parallels between ancient greek hunting and modern fox hunting at the end of the book, debunking the myths that link present day hunting with that of the ancient past. For those of us that aren't passionate about this issue (as the author clearly is), this is a rather anticlimactic ending to a good book. It doesn't teach us anything more about the Spartans than has already been covered, and is really a debate for another place.
However, these two points aside, this is a thoroughly engaging book for anyone with an interest in ancient history. It's well written, accessible and gives a real insight into the way that Spartan society functioned. Perhaps the social relationaships between the Spartans and the Helots could have been explored more than it was, but the main interest for most readers is undoubtedly the military contribution to history made by Sparta, which is very well covered.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By Moon Cheese
Format:Paperback
This is an entirely readable, not to say enjoyable account of Spartan history, it explains their origins, development and culture in a simple way without any `dumbing down', and thus is very accessible to the reader unfamiliar with the people of the period.
I would counter the previous reviewers comment on the book as a `thesis draft': Cartledge has taught a Cambridge since the 70's and has honorary Spartan Citizenship for his contribution for telling it's history. So although not going to great lengths to give a highly detailed day to day chronological account of the minutiae of Spartan life for 400 years, it has indeed avoided dates upon dates, and used other sources in it's narrative - it is a scholarly work clearly intended primarily for the general reader with an interest in this era.
Read also Cartledge's `Thermopylae' for THE story of Spartan battle, or the fantastic `Persian Fire' by the brilliant Tom Holland.
I would counter the previous reviewers comment on the book as a `thesis draft': Cartledge has taught a Cambridge since the 70's and has honorary Spartan Citizenship for his contribution for telling it's history. So although not going to great lengths to give a highly detailed day to day chronological account of the minutiae of Spartan life for 400 years, it has indeed avoided dates upon dates, and used other sources in it's narrative - it is a scholarly work clearly intended primarily for the general reader with an interest in this era.
Read also Cartledge's `Thermopylae' for THE story of Spartan battle, or the fantastic `Persian Fire' by the brilliant Tom Holland.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By dave.P
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you want a good overview of the following ...
- The Spartan military machine
- The society
- The famous figures
- The famous events and battles (Thermopylae)
... then this is a good foundation. The book reads easily, and despite what other reviewers have said I dont find it poorly laid out, just a little thin on details in some places, which doesn't help the narrative as it has to jump around to gain context.
I found that after reading this book, I was able to read further more scholarly books on the sub-subjects (Leonidas for example) far more easily as I had a broad understanding of the key details.
Start here and continue ...
- The Spartan military machine
- The society
- The famous figures
- The famous events and battles (Thermopylae)
... then this is a good foundation. The book reads easily, and despite what other reviewers have said I dont find it poorly laid out, just a little thin on details in some places, which doesn't help the narrative as it has to jump around to gain context.
I found that after reading this book, I was able to read further more scholarly books on the sub-subjects (Leonidas for example) far more easily as I had a broad understanding of the key details.
Start here and continue ...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
Reading this book was like stepping into a lecture theatre to be bathed in Cartledge's brilliance. The kind of experience one wishes to repeat.
Published 4 months ago by John Mayer
3.0 out of 5 stars
Brief, general account of Sparta
This, at 288 pages, is a relatively short history of Sparta. As such, to include 'An Epic History' in the title is perhaps a bit misleading. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Matthew Turner
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent general account; perhaps not for total beginners
I studied ancient history at university but 20 years on, needing to teach something to my pupils on Sparta, I was concerned I had forgotten some details about Spartan history and... Read more
Published 9 months ago by MC
4.0 out of 5 stars
Longevity...
You will return to this book many times. A great overview of Spartan history that does not skimp on the details. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Flopot
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Spartans Review
An interesting book that seems to suffer from a tendency to lurch from one biography to another and winds up repeating information we've already read, and read and read. Read more
Published on 24 Oct 2010 by Alastair Rosie
3.0 out of 5 stars
Presentational irritants do not do justice to fascinating content
This is an irritating book in that Cartledge seems to be at pains to conform to contemporary postmodern presentational fetishes: approaching things obliquely, interspersing the... Read more
Published on 4 Jan 2010 by Martin White
1.0 out of 5 stars
shoddy, repetitive, boring
I was quite excited about reading this book: I'd read quite a lot of popular classical history and I wanted to know more about the Spartans. Read more
Published on 9 Jun 2009 by A. J. McGowan
4.0 out of 5 stars
Informative but poorly edited
Once again Paul Cartledge is let down by his (possible lack of) editor. This is a very informative book and brings together in a short paperback basically all extant information on... Read more
Published on 29 Feb 2008 by N. Lott
1.0 out of 5 stars
History was never so boring as this
I bought this book as a Christmas present to myself and after an enjoyable festive feast settled down in my favourite chair for a good read. Read more
Published on 25 Dec 2007 by Peanut
2.0 out of 5 stars
seems like a thesis draft
Although this book does contain much nice detail on the history of Sparta and the Spartans, it seems like a first (and crude) draft of a thesis ... Read more
Published on 28 Dec 2006 by D. Forster
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