The most important thing to remember when considering the history of the ancient Greek city of Sparta is the most complete absence of fresh source material, virtually everything we have was written by non- Spartans, and quite often its enemies.
What is certain is that Sparta was different to the other city-states. For a while, their difference made them the predominant power in Greece. After this brief time they slipped back in to obscurity. The popular filmed graphic novel 300 by Frank Miller has probably done the most to recreate the myth of Spartan austerity and invincibility.
We have a glimpse into their way of life, the military discipline and the upbringing of boys in particular. Much of the film is based on ancient sources, and although some of the speeches were verbatim words, they were in fact spoken by other Spartan generals at different battles.
The small band of citizens were full-time fighters and the rest of the time they trained and kept fit. This, in part, accounts for the Spartan success at the Olympic Games, where they dominated in running and wrestling events for more than a century. To be a Spartan soldier, you had to be a landowner able to furnish the communal barracks in which you lived with a monthly haul, by the efforts of slaves, of 45kgs of barley, 3kgs of cheese,1.5kgs of figs, some pork and 37litres of wine. You had to be able to afford your own arms and armour.
Below the citizen class were a couple of layers of people- the freed men and the slaves. The slave population, called helots, had probably the most precarious status in all Greece. They were hunted and killed by boys and young men of the citizen class as part of their military training. The idea was to remove the most dangerous of the slaves who might ferment rebellion.
In this way, the small elite band of citizen warriors were able to maintain control over a freed and slave population that was many times larger. However, as one reads the book, it becomes very obvious how preoccupied the ever dwindling number of citizens were about the threat from the ever growing non-citizen population.
Andrew Bayliss’ book chronologically traces their decline and fall. Compared to the Romans who integrated the countries they conquered into their Empire, the Spartans clung to their ideal of a small citizen band ad never expanded the membership. As their numbers dwindled after two centuries of fighting, they were no longer able to maintain dominance that they once had. In the end, their arrogance was their downfall – their need to treat anyone they thought as beneath them as they please.
While the book, 35,000 words long,- offers a lot, it has some controversies, it is nonetheless remarkably concise, covering a lot of ground in a short space. This is a fabulous primer for any ancient history lover with a basic knowledge of Sparta gleaned from other popular works.
