Sparta and Lakonia: A Regional History 1300-362 BC - Softcover

Cartledge, Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415262763 ISBN 13: 9780415262767

Publisher: Routledge, 2001

Synopsis

In this fully revised and updated edition of his groundbreaking study, Paul Cartledge uncovers the realities behind the potent myth of Sparta.

About this title

Review:

'The most useful history of Sparta to the end of the classical period.' - JACT Review'An important book on Sparta - the best so far, in many ways ... There are really two books here, one an exceptionally densely documented archaeological book the other a vigorous social and political history of classical Sparta.' - Simon Hornblower, Times Higher Education Supplement

Synopsis:

Sparta is one of the best-documented states of ancient Greece. Its political and social systems have fascinated and perplexed generations of classical scholars, as well as having a powerful influence on European civilization to this day. In this fully revised and updated edition of his groundbreaking study, Paul Cartledge uncovers the realities behind the potent myth of Sparta. The book explores both the city-state of Sparta and the territory of Lakonia which it unified and exploited. Combining the more traditional written sources with archaeological and environmental perspectives, its coverage extends from the apogee of Mycenaean culture, to Sparta's crucial defeat at the battle of Mantinea in 362 BC. One of the major themes examined is the relationship between the Spartans, the Perioikoi (the free but politically disenfranchised) and the Helots (unfree peoples). Cartledge demonstrates convincingly that the system of land-tenure based on the exploitation of the helots carried within it the seeds both of Spartan grandeur, and of Spartan decadence.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0415262763
• ISBN 13: 9780415262767
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 372