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The Spartans Andrew J. Bayliss (Senior Lecturer in Greek History, University of Birmingham)

The Spartans By Andrew J. Bayliss (Senior Lecturer in Greek History, University of Birmingham)

Summary

Famous throughout history for their doomed stand at Thermopylae, and immortalised by contemporary Athenian writers who viewed them as the exotic other, the Spartans, and their brutality and bravery, both fascinate and appal us. Andrew Bayliss reveals the best and the worst of this harsh society, separating myth from reality.

The Spartans Summary

The Spartans by Andrew J. Bayliss (Senior Lecturer in Greek History, University of Birmingham)

The image of Sparta, and the Spartans, is one dyed indelibly into the public consciousness: musclebound soldiers with long hair and red cloaks, bearing shiny bronze shields emblazoned with the Greek letter lambda. 'This is Sparta!', bellows Leonidas on the silver screen, as he decides to lead his 300 warriors to their deaths at Thermopylae. But what was Sparta? The myths surrounding Sparta are as old as the city itself. Even in antiquity, Sparta was a unique society, considered an enigma. The Spartans who fought for freedom against the Persians called themselves 'equals' or peers, but their equality was reliant on the ruthless exploitation of the indigenous population known as helots. The Spartans' often bizarre rules and practices have the capacity to horrify as much they do to fascinate us today. Athenian writers were intrigued and appalled in equal measure by a society where weak or disabled babies were said to have been examined carefully by state officials before being dumped off the edge of a cliff. Even today their lurid stories have shaped our image of Sparta; a society in which cowards were forced to shave off half their beards, to dress differently from their peers, and who were ultimately shunned to the extent that suicide seemed preferable. Equally appalling to us today is the brutal krypteia, a Spartan rite of passage where teenagers were sent into the countryside armed with a knife and ordered to eliminate the biggest and most dangerous helots. But the truth behind these stories of the exotic other can be hard to discover, lost amongst the legend of Sparta which was even perpetuated by later Spartans, who ran a thriving tourist industry that exaggerated the famed brutality of their ancestors. As Andrew Bayliss explores in this book, there was also much to admire in ancient Sparta, such as the Spartans' state-run education system which catered even to girls, or the fact that Sparta was almost unparalleled in the pre-modern world in allowing women a clear voice, with no fewer than forty sayings by Spartan women preserved in our sources. This book reveals the best and the worst of the Spartans, separating myth from reality.

The Spartans Reviews

With a succinctness worthy of his subjects - whose 'linguistic austerity' inspired the word 'laconic' - Bayliss distils extensive research to offer an engaging, lucid insight into this unique society. * Madeleine Finney, The Mail on Sunday *
A new history of these extraordinary and often terrifying people, which is both scholarly and highly entertaining. * Christopher Hart, Mail Online *
A readable, informative, excellent survey. * Brian Maye, The Irish Times *
Anyone interested in Sparta should read it, and every school library should own it. * David Stuttard, Classics for All *
[A] thematic and scholarly treatment. * Paul Cartledge, author of The Spartans: An Epic History *
With deceptive ease, [Bayliss] guides his readers not just across well-trodden ground but sometimes to unexpected vantage points from where he can challenge orthodox views... The Spartans punches above its weight, and with 14 black-and-white illustrations (including two maps), references, suggestions for further reading and an index, it's a knockout. Anyone interested in Sparta should read it, and every school library should own it. * David Stuttard, Classics for All *
Throughout the book, Bayliss never shouts. Yet, in his quiet, succinct way, he has produced a book that can with some justice claim, 'This is Sparta.' * Alastair Brans, Australian Book Review *

About Andrew J. Bayliss (Senior Lecturer in Greek History, University of Birmingham)

Andrew J. Bayliss is a Senior Lecturer in Greek History at the University of Birmingham. He has published extensively on Sparta and Ancient Greece, including After Demosthenes: The Politics of Early Hellenistic Athens (Bloomsbury, 2011) and Oath and State in Ancient Greece (De Gruyte, 2012), which was co-written with Alan H. Sommerstein. He has completed commentaries on the fragments of the lost Spartan authors Sosobius, Molpis, Nicocles, Hippasus, Phaestus, and Polycrates for Brill's New Jacoby Online, and is currently working on a database of ancient references to Spartan emotions, actions, and attitudes.

Table of Contents

1: Go tell the Spartans 2: Sparta's civic structure 3: The Spartan lifestyle 4: Raising a Spartan 5: Spartan women 6: Helots 7: The Later Reception of Sparta Further reading Index

Additional information

GOR011254680
9780198853084
0198853084
The Spartans by Andrew J. Bayliss (Senior Lecturer in Greek History, University of Birmingham)
Used - Very Good
Hardback
Oxford University Press
2020-07-09
192
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

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