Originally published on November 4, 2020 (Episode 184)
Introduction
Ὦ ξεῖν’, ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε κείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.
Stranger, tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here, obedient to their words.
So read, according to Herodotus, the inscription on a memorial commemorating the Spartans who died at Thermopylae, fighting a Persian army that vastly outnumbered them. It has become perhaps the best-known battle of the ancient world. Napoleon, it must be said, never understood why; after all, he pointed out, it was a defeat.
But who were these people, who seem to have willingly committed suicide by fighting against overwhelming odds? What was the society into which they were born, the culture that shaped and directed them? What did they love? What did they hate?
These and other questions are the focus of Andrew Bayliss’s new book, The Spartans, which summarizes, synthesizes, and assesses a mass of scholarship to give us a vision of what Sparta truly was.
About the Guest
Andrew Bayliss is Senior Lecturer in Greek History in the Department of Classics, Ancient History, and Archaeology at the University of Birmingham. A lifelong student of Sparta—he first encountered the story of Thermopylae at age twelve—he specializes in ancient Greek history and culture. His latest book is The Spartans (Oxford University Press, 2020).
For Further Investigation
Andrew Bayliss, The Spartans (Oxford University Press, 2020)
Paul Cartledge, The Spartans: The World of the Warrior-Heroes of Ancient Greece
Paul Cartledge, Thermopylae: The Battle That Changed the World
Jennifer Roberts, Historically Thinking conversations:
Episode 116: The First Historian (Herodotus and the Persian Wars)
Episode 121: The War Between the Greeks (The Peloponnesian War)
Tom Holland, Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West
Tom Holland, Herodotus: The Histories (translation)
Listen & Discuss
What do you think Thermopylae reveals about Sparta—and why does its story still resonate today? Share your reflections in the comments, and pass this episode to a friend who loves ancient history.
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