The Spartans: The World of the Warrior-Heroes of Ancient Greece

The  Spartans were a society of warrior-heroes who were the living exemplars  of such core values as duty, discipline, self-sacrifice, and extreme  toughness. This book, written by one of the world’s leading experts on  Sparta, traces the rise and fall of Spartan society and explores the  tremendous influence the Spartans had on their world and even on ours.  Paul Cartledge brings to life figures like legendary founding father  Lycurgus and King Leonidas, who embodied the heroism so closely  identified with this unique culture, and he shows how Spartan women  enjoyed an unusually dominant and powerful role in this hyper-masculine  society. Based firmly on original sources, The Spartans is the definitive book about one of the most fascinating cultures of ancient Greece.