The Spartans: The World of the Warrior-Heroes of Ancient Greece
by Paul Cartledge
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Book Summary Information
Author: Paul CartledgeEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2004-08-10
ISBN: 1400078857
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Vintage
Book Reviews of The Spartans: The World of the Warrior-Heroes of Ancient Greece
Book Review: A mediocre primer.
Summary: 2 Stars
The mythology of the Spartans, from their political and cultural organization, to their warrior-bred-and-born image to their women, have always ignited a sort of romanticism that is both well earned and deserved, as well as blown out of proportion.
For all the hype of the author himself, this book is not exactly the most scintillating or the best structured. His writing style is dull and unimaginative and often times, I wonder if he took grammar and syntax as seriously as the British are shrewdly known for. The way he has organized the chapters is haphazard and meandering, often times digressing then repeating in later parts. It was, in many places, frustrating and difficult to get through. And I really wanted to.
An extensive Timeline at the beginning was thorough and much appreciated, as well as several maps, including a sprawling map of the Classical Greek world, Sparta, its environs, the Peloponneses and a couple maps of the most important battles fought by the Spartans. There are some representative pictures that tell more than what Cartledge himself failed to convey and for that, it made reading the book, a bit more manageable and really brought the Spartans to life.
The book itself is divided into three parts:
-Part I is the foundation tale of Sparta and their Laws leading up to the Persian Wars of 480-479. This includes the establishment of the Spartan code of warrior-making as well as the staunch and pious beliefs of the Spartans themselves.
-Part II focuses on the mythology of the Spartan, including women and religion and especially the civil war that erupted between Athens and Sparta. This is straight-laced and straight forward and lacks any real git that this war ignited. He merely hashes numbers, battle and political machinations that comes off awfully sedate and little vividness.
-Part III delves into the aftermath of Persia, the Peloponnesian (Athenian) War and eventual decline of Spartan hegemony that includes the modern perceptions of Sparta and her people. There's a lot going on and all done cursory and without much detail.
Within each part and chapter, were headings that focused on specific moments, people and battle profiles. Brief, somewhat thrown together and wandering. While it would be difficult to not bring in other elements that will be discussed further later on, Cartledge would change subjects entirely, then repeat it again in other places, due to the fact that the headings were too closely linked together. Sometimes he'd have a small section on particular subjects with little reason other that he found it interesting because it didn't always seem relevant to the point at hand.
There is an appendix on Hunting in Spara is more of an academic philosophizing and rather, not very interesting or insightful. The short Bibliography is a rich source but everything else, lackluster and not very helpful. Especially the index, which doesn't direct you to much other than that name or word is somewhere in there, but not as to what its referring to, and at times, merely alluded to.
I have a fair amount of knowledge in Greek history, as well as Spartan, and for someone who is not familiar with the terms and general events going on behind the scenes, like with Persia or Athens and minor Greek city-states (though they are somewhat...expanded upon) or the generalities of Spartan civilization, you might throw this book down in disgust. The battles and how they were fought were good enough to get the general idea, though read the original sources, or at least, a better one than Cartledge's, for a better account. For a history book meant to expand your knowledge with the ease promised by such a short book with large print, you might be working a lot harder than you should. Even if you do know what he's talking about.
In general, Cartledge manages to get the major points across, though remembering them or piecing them together could get rather tedious. A good thing about this book was that he pretty much touched on not just the major parts but the minor ones as well, especially the profiles on mentionable Spartans, though like I said, sometimes they're just exegetic tid bits of info rather than essential. He doesn't pigeon hole the Spartans as one thing or the other other, like too many are taught to do. Also, he is both fair and cites both sides of the story without taking a side and I think his point of view is both respectful and takes into account the failures and the success of a fascinating and singular civilization. I think that the cold and sterile reputation that the Spartans have always is less endorsed in this biography, which I appreciate. When compared to the Athenians, all cities seem to pale, but Sparta was able to maintain a stability that at times, rivaled her sister state with as much intelligence as ease as Athens. Ultimately and rightly, Cartledge shows a people proud, unwavering in their beliefs and their stalwartness, but at the same time, human and as flawed as everyone else was.
Summary of The Spartans: The World of the Warrior-Heroes of Ancient Greece
The Spartans were a society of warrior-heroes who were the living exemplars of such core values as duty, discipline, self-sacrifice, and extreme toughness. This book, written by one of the world's leading experts on Sparta, traces the rise and fall of Spartan society and explores the tremendous influence the Spartans had on their world and even on ours. Paul Cartledge brings to life figures like legendary founding father Lycurgus and King Leonidas, who embodied the heroism so closely identified with this unique culture, and he shows how Spartan women enjoyed an unusually dominant and powerful role in this hyper-masculine society. Based firmly on original sources, The Spartans is the definitive book about one of the most fascinating cultures of ancient Greece.Greece Books
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