Spartans : A Very Short Introduction (Record no. 51619)

MARC details
000 -LEADER
fixed length control field 02207 a2200193 4500
005 - DATE AND TIME OF LATEST TRANSACTION
control field 20251011201444.0
020 ## - INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BOOK NUMBER
International Standard Book Number 9780198787600
082 ## - DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION NUMBER
Classification number 938.9 BAY
100 ## - MAIN ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME
Personal name Bayliss, Andrew J
245 ## - TITLE STATEMENT
Title Spartans : A Very Short Introduction
260 ## - PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC. (IMPRINT)
Name of publisher, distributor, etc Oxford University Press
Place of publication, distribution, etc Oxford
Date of publication, distribution, etc 2022
300 ## - PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Extent 145
440 ## - SERIES STATEMENT/ADDED ENTRY--TITLE
Title Very Short Introductions
520 ## - SUMMARY, ETC.
Summary, etc The myths surrounding Sparta are as old as the city itself. Even in antiquity, Sparta was a unique society, and considered an enigma. The Spartans who fought for freedom against the Persians called themselves 'equals' or peers, but their equality was reliant on the ruthless exploitation of the indigenous population known as helots. The Spartans' often bizarre rules and practices have the capacity to horrify as much they do to fascinate us today. Athenian writers were intrigued and appalled in equal measure by a society where weak or disabled babies were said to have been examined carefully by state officials before being dumped off the edge of a cliff. Even today their lurid stories have shaped our image of Sparta; a society in which cowards were forced to shave off half their beards, to dress differently from their peers, and who were ultimately shunned to the extent that suicide seemed preferable. The legend of Sparta was even perpetuated by later Spartans, who ran a thriving tourist industry that exaggerated the famed brutality of their ancestors.<br/><br/>This Very Short Introduction separates myth from reality to reveal the best—and the worst—of the Spartans. Andrew Bayliss explores key aspects of Spartan society, including their civic structure, their day-to-day lifestyle, and traditions such as the krypteia, a brutal rite of passage where teenagers were sent into the countryside and ordered to eliminate the biggest and most dangerous helots. Alongside this, Bayliss also sheds light on the many admirable qualities of ancient Sparta, such as their state-run education system, or the fact that this society was almost unparalleled in the pre-modern world for the rights given to Spartan women.
650 ## - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM
Topical term or geographic name as entry element Spartan Society
650 ## - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM
Topical term or geographic name as entry element Greece--History
650 ## - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM
Topical term or geographic name as entry element Ancient Greek Society
942 ## - ADDED ENTRY ELEMENTS (KOHA)
Koha item type Book
Source of classification or shelving scheme Dewey Decimal Classification

No items available.