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Rating: 
Summary: An extensive history of Sparta
Review: Paul Cartledge of the university of Cambridge is arguably the foremost authority on ancient Sparta in the entire world. His erudition of this culture is unmatched and the bibliography of this book is quite a read in-itself.In this work Cartledge undertakes the massive task of tracing the history of Lacedamon from 1300-362BCE. In other words, right around the time of the mythical / quasi-historical Trojan war (1283BCE) down to the time of the decisive Spartan defeat @ the battle of Leuctra (371BCE). The reader should be advised that the opening stanzas of this book are difficult to follow. Cartledge casually alludes to endless archeological digs all over Laconia at such a rapid pace that it's apt to make the reader feel like it's information overload. While grad students in archeology and anthropology might feel right at home, the rest of us may feel a bit lost. When Cartledge arrives in the more familiar historical territory of Herodotus and Thucydides the book seems to improve a great deal. At least for me, anyway. The exegesis of historical records has always been easier for me to comprehend than the interpretation of pre-literate societal structures. One of the highlights of the book is Cartledge's discussion of the 3 classes of Spartans (Homoioi, Perioikoi & Helot). I had some degree of knowledge of the Homoioi & Helots before reading this work, but virtually no understanding of the Perioikoi. Thanks to his chapter on these people I now have a much better comprehension. I would recommend this book only to those who have an ambitious yearning to understand the history of the Spartans. For those who would rather have a more concise and slightly more reader-friendly work I would recommend A HISTORY OF SPARTA 950-192 by W.G. Forrest (ASIN: 0393004813). Forrest's book also goes a few hundred years past Leuctra while the present book does not. Also, it is imperative that prior to reading the present text that the reader first peruse Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon & a little Plutarch mixed in wouldn't hurt. I do not think it prudent for someone to undertake the present work without at least a working knowledge of the primary sources.
Rating:
Summary: An extensive history of Sparta
Review: Paul Cartledge of the university of Cambridge is arguably the foremost authority on ancient Sparta in the entire world. His erudition of this culture is unmatched and the bibliography of this book is quite a read in-itself. In this work Cartledge undertakes the massive task of tracing the history of Lacedamon from 1300-362BCE. In other words, right around the time of the mythical / quasi-historical Trojan war (1283BCE) down to the time of the decisive Spartan defeat @ the battle of Leuctra (371BCE). The reader should be advised that the opening stanzas of this book are difficult to follow. Cartledge casually alludes to endless archeological digs all over Laconia at such a rapid pace that it's apt to make the reader feel like it's information overload. While grad students in archeology and anthropology might feel right at home, the rest of us may feel a bit lost. When Cartledge arrives in the more familiar historical territory of Herodotus and Thucydides the book seems to improve a great deal. At least for me, anyway. The exegesis of historical records has always been easier for me to comprehend than the interpretation of pre-literate societal structures. One of the highlights of the book is Cartledge's discussion of the 3 classes of Spartans (Homoioi, Perioikoi & Helot). I had some degree of knowledge of the Homoioi & Helots before reading this work, but virtually no understanding of the Perioikoi. Thanks to his chapter on these people I now have a much better comprehension. I would recommend this book only to those who have an ambitious yearning to understand the history of the Spartans. For those who would rather have a more concise and slightly more reader-friendly work I would recommend A HISTORY OF SPARTA 950-192 by W.G. Forrest (ASIN: 0393004813). Forrest's book also goes a few hundred years past Leuctra while the present book does not. Also, it is imperative that prior to reading the present text that the reader first peruse Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon & a little Plutarch mixed in wouldn't hurt. I do not think it prudent for someone to undertake the present work without at least a working knowledge of the primary sources.
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