Review: "Spartans A New History"

Spartans A New History is a short, stimulating, information-packed book for students and other adults who enjoy ancient history or the movie 300. It is not a difficult book and there is substantial introductory information, but at times the author assumes familiarity with ancient Greek history that a beginner might not know. It's not insurmountable. The reader may find the missing information in a future chapter or by reading the listed passages from ancient historians.

Nigel M. Kennell's Spartans A New History explains how Sparta could go from "undisputed leader of the Greeks to a bit-player on the regional scene" in 30 years. Sparta's supremacy at the end of the Peloponnesian War seemed unassailable, but a single event, the Battle of Leuctra, in 371, which Sparta lost to Thebes, sent it into a downward spiral that the Macedonians under Philip II, his son Alexander, and the diadochi, followed by Roman admiration-tinged treachery finalized.

Kennell also takes on the recent research that has been done on Sparta, recent scholarship that challenges conventional wisdom (e.g., that Spartan women were better off than their Athenian counterparts), and recent media efforts to portray the Spartans. In connection with the last, Kennell addresses some of the obvious features of 300, such as the lambda-emblazoned shield, the barefoot boys, and the military costume. He also argues that the mother who told her son to return with his shield or on it (and certainly was not spoken by a wife to her husband) is improbable since the Spartan hoplites were buried at the battle site of their death, wrapped in their scarlet cloaks.

Such details as these make Spartans A New History well worth reading even if you think you know the Spartans. If you don't, you may be able to distill all you need from Kennell's book. Otherwise, you may need to refer to the citations from historians like Herodotus and Xenophon to figure out what is going on.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.