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A History of Ancient Sparta

Valor, Virtue, and Devotion in the Greek Golden Age

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A History of Ancient Sparta

By: Prof. Timothy B. Shutt
Narrated by: Prof. Timothy B. Shutt
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A born teacher and lecturer, Professor Timothy B. Shutt examines the history and culture of ancient Sparta, a society renowned for military excellence and adherence to the values of courage, discipline, duty, and the overcoming of fear. Vastly outnumbered at the Battle of Thermopylae, the Spartan "300" held off an overwhelming Persian force before finally succumbing - but not without inflicting massive casualties and inspiring the rest of the Greeks with the notion that they could persevere.

In this enlightening series of lectures, Professor Shutt delves into Spartan culture, examining its origins, government, religion, and the major events that defined its history.

©2009 Timothy B. Shutt (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC Ancient Ancient History
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Found this to be a informative and enjoyable listen..Gives a great insight into all aspects of Spartan life.Definitly would recommend to all with an interest in this history period

excellent overview

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Well researched and with a good combination of fun anecdotes and historical narrative this book is a good sign posting exercise for ancient Sparta from the legendary descendants of Heracles; their role at troy; the ever famous Thermopylae to the Pellipolesian wars and eventual subject to Rome.

The performance could have done with much more direction and editing as there is a lot of dead air and the lecturer stops in mid sentence or quote making you wonder if the book had stopped.

There isn't a discussion of the controversy about if the Spartans killed any young that were considered unfit but I'm not sure if this was a recent discussion.

As pop history goes there are a number of references to historical fiction Gates of Fire (Pressfield) which whilst enjoyable I understand uses a lot of fictional creations where history is not forthcoming.

Dry overview of Spartan history.

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