Their contemporaries were fascinated by the Spartans, and so are we. They are portrayed as the stereotypical heroes: noble, laconic, absolutely fearless, and indifferent to pain and hardship. What makes the study of Sparta so interesting is that, to a large extent, the Spartans lived according to this image.
However, ancient Sparta was a city of contrasts. While we admire their physical endurance and heroism, the Spartans systematically abused their children. They granted women cultural rights that were unprecedented in Europe until the modern era, while simultaneously subjecting their conquered peoples to a reign of terror. Although idealized by the Athenian contemporaries of Socrates, Sparta was almost devoid of intellectual achievements.
Philip Matyszak explores two themes: how Sparta became the unique society it was, and the rise of the city from a Peloponnesian village to a military superpower of Greece. But above all, his focus is on the Spartan hoplite, the archetypal Greek warrior who was respected and feared throughout Greece in his time and who has become a legend since. The reader gets to know the man behind the myth: who he was, how he was perceived, and the environment that produced him.
Pages: 208, Dimensions: 15.6x15.6cm
