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Ancient Writers

Ancient Writers . What do they think of Sparta ?. The Spartan Mirage . Rome, Macedonian and even modern cultures have adored the Spartan civilisation. Herein lies a problem. On one hand, ancient and modern scholarship concerning Sparta has always been consistently prolific.

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Ancient Writers

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  1. Ancient Writers What do they think of Sparta ?

  2. The Spartan Mirage Rome, Macedonian and even modern cultures have adored the Spartan civilisation. Herein lies a problem. On one hand, ancient and modern scholarship concerning Sparta has always been consistently prolific. BUT, the way that Sparta has been portrayed, especially in ancient sources is biased and reflects the values of the context rather than historical accuracy.

  3. Greek Writers All Greek writers, from whom we draw most of our knowledge about Sparta, were writing after the height of the Spartan civilisation. These writers tended to glorify the military aspects of Spartan civilisation and tend to discredit or ignore other aspects which didn’t fit into their idealised version of the civilisation. The role of History in Greece was to provide a moral education to the population and to instil values into students.

  4. shrews No culture illiteracy Spartan Mirage brutality Xenophobia Extreme superstition

  5. Alcman & Tyrtaeus • The only Spartan writers that have survived. • Poets • Poems usually about military sacrifice or romantic longing • Poetry as a source?

  6. “I were to see whether perchance she were to love me. If only she came nearer and took my soft hand, immediately I would become her suppliant”

  7. Aristotle not Socrates …. - “Criticisms of the Spartan Constitution” - Writing in late 3rd century AD - Hates everything, especially Spartan women - Obvious Athenian bias

  8. Xenophon “Constitution of Lacedamonia” Writing in 4th century BC (contemporary of Thucydides) Political in nature, yet the reliability of his statements is questionable.

  9. Thucydides “History of the Peloponnesian War” 4th century BC Access to prominent figures and records Admirable agenda However, unintentional military bias

  10. Herodotus “The Histories” 5th century BC Focus on the Persian Wars, so the prominence of Sparta’s military is obvious Anecdotal quality of his work maybe a benefit or a disadvantage

  11. Plutarch First century AD Methodology is pretty thorough and complex Access to a wide range of ancient texts Mrs Dennelly’s Favourite 

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