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Virtual Macedonia Bookstore - The Spartan Army (Elite)
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List Price: $17.95
Our Price: $10.30
Your Save: $ 7.65 ( 43% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Osprey Publishing
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 355
EAN: 9781855326590
ISBN: 1855326590
Label: Osprey Publishing
Manufacturer: Osprey Publishing
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 64
Publication Date: 1998-11-11
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Release Date: 1998-11-11
Studio: Osprey Publishing
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Good Pamphlet
Comment: This book has good information, but is small. I would actual only consider it a pamphlet. Was expecting a little more but overall it is a good basic review of the Spartans with a few good illustrations.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Beyond Thermopylae
Comment: This title takes the reader past the infamous Battle of Thermopylae and examines the whole Spartan military system from its gradual birth in the 8th Century BC until its decline in the 4th. It captures numerous interesting details-like the poems of Tyrtaios and the brutal treatment of the helots. The 12 color plates are good, but would have looked better if by Angus McBride or Christa Hook. Overall it is a good source on this brutal warrior society and the state they fought to maintain for centuries.
Customer Rating:
Summary: ????
Comment: "At some point during the 5th Century...the Lakedaimonian army decided to discard their cuirasses.... In due course other Greek armies followed the Lakedaimonian lead and abandoned their heavy body armour. This situation continued into the 360s...." (p. 28)
Well, that's news. If anyone out there can confirm by appropriate citations (there are none in this pamphlet)that Greek hoplites did not wear armor in, say, the 2nd Peloponnesian War, or at Cunaxa, please let me know, will you? Until I get some confirmation for this amazing statement, I will regard it as one of the biggest bits of nonsense I have ever read.
I find equally astonishing the view that the Spartans, unlike all the other Greeks, continued to wear the muscle cuirass, not segmented armor. "It must be admitted we are dealing with a rather small sample of evidence" says the book. Maybe common sense could occasionally play a part as well, dear author??
This book now has an honored place in my local landfill.
Customer Rating:
Summary: great reference material
Comment: I use these books when making historically based drawings. As reference material they are generally excellent. The illustrations are by no means top notch but the gritty little details of everyday life make them great for both Artists and Reinactors but the skimpy text makes them too light for historians. The greek hopolite book is the better of the two editions.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Short and Fragmented Source of Information
Comment: The Spartan Army was my first read in the Osprey series. From the posted reviews I expected something more thorough and written with a style typically found in historical references. What I discovered was a picture book with a very small amount of supporting text. Outside of a brief description of the territory, the military organization and fashion (yes that's right I said fashion) of the period I found little useful information in this book. An example of the paucity of information would be how the book detailed the organization of the military into divisions, but failed to mention even the most famous of the Spartan division leaders or Generals. The book spoke of the weapons used to fight, but did not describe any battles. I also think the organization of the book is somewhat confusing leading to disconnected passages and topics as opposed to drawing a history from beginning to end. The illustrations and photos, while nice, are captioned in a way to make it confusing at times whether the items are Spartan authentic or just general for the period. As opposed to my original expectation for a thorough treatment of Spartan history, I think the book is best used as a supporting set of pictures and illustrations for a more comprehensive treatment of the Spartan army.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Although Sparta's early history is not clear, by the end of the 8th century most of the other cities of Lakedaimon had been reduced to subject status. The Lakedaimonians were the only full time army in ancient Greece and were thus truly an elite force. The institutions of the state and the system of education were organised with a view to creating superbly trained soldiers. Nick Sekunda examines this unique military machine in this book describing the organisational systems of the Spartan army through the Hellenistic period, how they were trained, the battles they fought, and the society that produced them.
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