The volume, jointly promoted by the Department of Classics of Sapienza University and the Institute of Sparta, intends to explore the multifaceted system of connections and interactions among ancient poleis by focusing on Sparta, which acts as an exemplary case study to understand the complex relations among Greek cities in the classical Hellenic world. The latter is indeed composed by an extended range of settlements based on specific jurisdictions, sets of laws and ethical principles, that are nevertheless connected by a common shared culture. The publication includes the Proceedings of the International Conference “International relations in Antiquity: the case of Sparta” held in Sparta in 2021 and further papers dealing with the ancient Laconian polis. The book aims to critically analyse the Spartan international network, through an open and constructive methodology, deprived of pre-arranged interpretative models. Moreover, it means to bring together scholars from different backgrounds and a variety of scientific disciplines (such as philology, epigraphy, history, archaeology, international relations) to foster a fruitful cross-sectorial dialogue, aimed at enabling a comprehensive understanding of ancient Hellas.

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This issue of “The Historical Review of Sparta”, jointly promoted by the Department of Classics of Sapienza University of Rome and the Institute of Sparta, focuses on the battle of Sellasia, which occurred in the summer 222 BC and saw the clash between the Spartans led by Cleomenes III and the Achaean-Macedonian alliance guided by Antigonus III Doson. The several papers here collected address the historical incident from different and complementary perspectives, in the attempt to contextualize it in a wider framework. Hence, the articles carry out a thorough analysis of Hellenistic Sparta, by investigating the constitutional reforms implemented during the 3rd cent. BC, exploring the political (and sometimes conflictual) relations between the Laconian polis and other emerging powers in Greece and the Mediterranean basin, and discussing the changes occurred in the governmental, economic, military, educational and religious field. Furthermore, the contributions offer an in-depth study of the military strategies and tactics implemented in the battlefield, as well as an analysis on the final impact of the catastrophic defeat of Sparta on its internal societal structure and cultural system, and a reflection on the modern reception of the historical event.

In this sweeping and deeply imagined historical novel, acclaimed classicist Victor Davis Hanson re-creates the battles of one of the greatest generals of ancient Greece, Epaminondas. At the Battle of Leuktra, his Thebans crushed the fearsome army of Sparta that had enslaved its neighbors for two centuries. We follow these epic historical events through the eyes of Mêlon, a farmer who has left his fields to serve with Epaminondas-swept up, against his better judgment, in the fever to spread democracy even as he yearns to return to his pastoral hillside. With a scholar's depth of knowledge and a novelist's vivid imagination, Hanson re-creates the ancient world down to its intimate details-from the weight of a spear in a soldier's hand to the peculiar camaraderie of a slave and master who go into battle side by side. The End of Sparta is a stirring drama and a rich, absorbing reading experience. Praise for Victor Davis Hanson: "I have never read another book that explains so well the truth that 'war lies in the dark hearts of us all' but that history offers hope."-William Shawcross on The Father of Us All "Few writers cover both current events and history-and none with the brilliance and erudition of Victor Davis Hanson."-Max Boot on The Father of Us All "Enthralling."-Christopher Hitchens on The Western Way of War

Spartans: A New History chronicles the complete history of ancient Sparta from its origins to the end of antiquity. Helps bridge the gap between the common conceptions of Sparta and what specialists believe and dispute about Spartan history Applies new techniques, perspectives, and archaeological evidence to the question of what it was to be a Spartan Takes into account new specialist scholarship and research published in Greek, which is not readily available elsewhere Places Spartan society into its wider Greek context

A companion volume to The Spartan Regime and The Grand Strategy of Classical Sparta that explores the collapse of the Spartan-Athenian alliance During the Persian Wars, Sparta and Athens worked in tandem to defeat what was, in terms of relative resources and power, the greatest empire in human history. For the decade and a half that followed, they continued their collaboration until a rift opened and an intense, strategic rivalry began. In a continuation of his series on ancient Sparta, noted historian Paul Rahe examines the grounds for their alliance, the reasons for its eventual collapse, and the first stage in an enduring conflict that would wreak havoc on Greece for six decades. Throughout, Rahe argues that the alliance between Sparta and Athens and their eventual rivalry were extensions of their domestic policy and that the grand strategy each articulated in the wake of the Persian Wars and the conflict that arose in due course grew out of the opposed material interests and moral imperatives inherent in their different regimes.

The bestselling author of the Emperor, Conqueror and The Wars of the Roses returns to the Ancient World with a gripping adventure based on an epic true story. 'HIS FINEST NOVEL TO DATE . . . THE BATTLE SCENES ARE THRILLING' SUNDAY EXPRESS ___________ In the Ancient World, one army was feared above all others. 401 BC. The Persian king Artaxerxes rules an empire stretching from the Aegean to northern India. As many as fifty million people are his subjects. His rule is absolute. But the sons of Sparta are eager to play the game of thrones . . . Battles can be won - or lost - with a single blow. Princes fall. And when the dust of civil war settles, the Spartans are left stranded in the heart of an enemy's empire, without support, without food and without water. Far from home, surrounded by foes, it falls to the young soldier Xenophon to lead the survivors against Artaxerxes' legendary Persian warriors. The Falcon of Sparta masterfully depicts the ferocity and heroism that was the Ancient World. It is a tale of warring ambition, betrayal and bravery and an extraordinary journey out of exile against the odds. 'The pace is nail-biting' THE TIMES