This is not only an excellent preparation for examinations in Ancient History, but also a very readable and entertaining account of the main periods in the history of ancient Greece.This book provides an original and challenging answer to the question: 'Who were the Classical Greeks?' . Thomas J. Figueira is here the editor of sixteen papers; fifteen are new, the other is newly translated from the French. However, the Spartans refused to join the Macedons, led first by Philip II and later by his son, Alexander the Great, in an alliance against the Persians, which led to the eventual fall of the Persian empire.When Rome entered the scene, Sparta assisted it in the Punic Wars against While the city was founded in the 8th or 9th century B.C, the golden age of Sparta lasted roughly from the end of the 5th century – the first Persian invasion of ancient Greece – until the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE. All spoke Greek, but each had its own dialect, which was the primary means of distinguishing each one.They shared many cultural and linguistic norms, but tensions between the groups were typically high, and alliances were often formed on the basis of ethnicity.During Mycenaean times, the Achaeans were the most likely the dominant group. Yet when he did, he set out to punish the Greek city states who had helped the rebels. We learn about the institutions that distinguished Sparta from other city-states, including its religion, education process, degree of literacy, secret service, unusual system of servitude, and institutionalized pederasty. This brought the total Greek force at Thermopylae to around 7,000, as compared to the Persians, who had around 180,000 men in their army. Many within the Spartan leadership, including Lysander, argued for burning it to the ground to ensure there would be no more war. Although it’s true that Sparta helped Athens remove a tyrant and restore democracy, the two Greek city states were rapidly becoming the most powerful in the Greek world, and the outbreak of war with the Persians would further highlight their differences and eventually drive them to war, a series of events that defines Spartan and Greek history.The fall of Lydia (the kingdom that controlled much of modern-day Turkey up until the Persians invaded) in c. 650 BCE, meant the Greeks living in Ionia were now under Persian rule. And while these may be exaggerations of what life was really like in Spartan history, it’s difficult to overstate Spartan significance in ancient history as well as the development of world culture.There are three different ways you can cite this article. This was not their war, but it showed that Athens was still interested in picking a fight with Sparta.Another important event, or series of events, that took place in the years leading up to the final stage of the war was Athens attempts to expand. The treaty was meant to last 50 years, and it made Sparta and Athens responsible for controlling their allies and preventing them from going to war and initiating conflict. However, Sparta was delegated the responsibility of making sure the terms of the peace treaty were honored, and they used this power to immediately break up the Boeotian League. For instance as a member of the state at age twenty, Spartan men were allowed to marry, but they would not share a marital home until they were thirty or older. Modern understanding of Sparta has been altered and enriched by careful analysis of archaeological evidence and by trends, such as women's studies, that cast new light on this intriguing ancient society. --Kirkus Reviews "A polished and informative work that will be useful for general readers and students." The city of Sparta was founded by Dorians, and they worked to construct a myth that credited this demographic change with an orchestrated invasion of the Peloponnese by Dorians from the north of Greece, the region where it is believed the Doric dialect first developed.However, most historians doubt whether this is the case. Spartan women were seen as the vehicle by which the city of Sparta constantly advancedOf course, as compared to the world we live in today, these freedoms hardly seem significant. Cartledge demonstrates 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.Political activity and political thinking began in the cities and other states of ancient Greece, and terms such as tyranny, aristocracy, oligarchy, democracy and politics itself are Greek words for concepts first discussed in Greece. Spartan Reflections will be an important source on the most significant issues in Sparta scholarship today as well as a fascinating look at this culture for general readers. Cartledge brings us up to date on what is known about the most important and intriguing aspects of Sparta: its military development, questions of gender and sexuality, and the difficult problem of artistic and literary aspects of Sparta.