The Rise and Fall of Sparta (Patreon)

The Rise and Fall of Sparta - From Superpower to Tourist Attraction DOCUMENTARY

Learn about the Rise and Fall of Sparta as it went from ancient Greek superpower to Roman tourist attraction! The first 100 people to go to https://www.blinkist.com/invicta are going to get unlimited access for 1 week to try it out. You’ll also get 25% off if you want the full membership. In this history documentary we recap the history of Sparta. This began long ago in the Bronze age which saw a rather glacial period of development that slowed even further in the Greek dark ages. However during the Archaic period a series of four villages eventually banded together to form a loose urban center that would later be called Sparta. They used their collective might to first dominate the local area, conquering the valley of Laconia before taking over neighboring Messenia over the course of the 8th and 7th centuries BC. During the 6th century BC it went on to undergo a series of reforms that saw the emergence of the Laws of Lycurgus and a more stark division between the citizen and non-citizen groups. This set the stage for Sparta to use its might to form the Peloponnesian League which collectively had the most powerful land army in all of Greece. Thus in the 5th century BC, Sparta was able to take a commanding role in the Greco-Persian wars and truly shine in the battles of Thermopylae and Plataea. It would then go on to win the Peloponnesian War against Athens and become the master of Greece. This would be the pinnacle of its rise to power. However this would be fatally undermined by a cratering citizen population which soon led to a dramatic fall from grace. It would take several hundred years but eventually Sparta would be able to pick itself back up, this time as a tourist attraction dedicated to its glorious past. We cover the ways in which this occurred and its a fascinating look into an otherwise forgotten part of the history of Sparta. Bibliography and Suggested Reading: “Spartans: A New History”, by Nigel M. Kennell “Hellenistic and Roman Sparta: A Tale of Two Cities” by Paul Cartledge and Anthony Spawforth “The Credibility of Early Spartan History” by Chester G. Starr “Sayings of Spartans” by Plutarch "The Spartans: The World of the Warrior-heroes of Ancient Greece" by Paul Anthony Cartledge S. Hodkinson, Property and Wealth in Classical Sparta (2000) J. Ducat, Spartan Education: Youth and Society in the Classical Period (2006) S.M. Rusch, Sparta at War: Strategy, Tactics and Campaigns, 550-362 BC (2011) E. Rawson, The Spartan Tradition in European Thought (1969) S. Hodkinson & I.M. Morris (eds.), Sparta in Modern Thought (2012) Credits: Research: Chris Das Neves Script: Chris Das Neves Narration: Invicta Artwork: Beverly Johnson #History #Sparta #Documentary