Sparta reconsidered, sources
November 28, 2010
I have found a rather interesting website, Sparta reconsidered, and an associated blog. The site makes some good points, although it is, in my opinion, somewhat naive in its brief discussion of Spartan political structure. Also, while claiming that sources critical of Sparta were motivated by animosity, it ignores the fact that all contemporary literary sources – which are invariably aristocratic – have a positive bias toward Sparta.
One useful item on the site is a list of primary sources about Sparta:
- Pausanias, Guide to Greece, 2nd century AD.
- Xenophon, Spartan Society, 5th century BC.
- Plutarch, On Sparta, 2nd century AD. [This is really three works of Plutarch: Lycurgus, Agis and Cleomenes, and Moralia. -YG]
- Herodotus, The Histories, early 5th century BC. [1, 2]
- Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 5th century BC.
The page contains a list of secondary literature as well.