The Bronze Lie

Shattering the Myth of Spartan Warrior Supremacy

The Bronze Lie

Shattering the Myth of Spartan Warrior Supremacy

Myke Cole (Author)

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Description

Covering Sparta's full classical history, The Bronze Lie examines the myth of Spartan warrior supremacy.

The last stand at Thermopylae made the Spartans legends in their own time, famous for their toughness, stoicism and martial prowess – but was this reputation earned?

This book paints a very different picture of Spartan warfare – punctuated by frequent and heavy losses. We also discover a society dedicated to militarism not in service to Greek unity or to the Spartan state itself, but as a desperate measure intended to keep its massive population of helots (a near-slave underclass) in line.

What successes there were, such as in the Peloponnesian Wars, gave Sparta only a brief period of hegemony over Greece. Today, there is no greater testament to this than the relative position of modern Sparta and its famous rival Athens.

The Bronze Lie explores the Spartans' arms and armor, tactics and strategy, the personalities of commanders and the common soldiery alike. It looks at the major battles, with a special focus on previously under-publicized Spartan reverses that have been left largely unexamined. The result is a refreshingly honest and accurate account of Spartan warfare.

Preface
List of Maps

PART I: THE MYTH OF SPARTA
Introduction

PART II: THE REALITY OF SPARTA
I. Cuckold Kings and Wolves' Work: Behind the Spartan Mirage
II. Archaic Sparta at War: Early Losses, Foreign Roots
III. The Greco-Persian War: The Thermopylae Speed Bump
IV. The Peloponnesian Wars: Floundering at Sea, Surrendering on Land
V. Masters of Greece? Sparta Squanders its Hegemony
VI. The Boeotian War: What Cannot Bend Must Break
VII. The End of Sparta: Irreformable and Irrelevant
VIII. Conclusion: The Bronze Lie

PART III: TANGLING MYTH AND REALITY
IX. The “Moron Label”: The Spartans and the Political Far Right
Appendix A. Historiography and Objectivity
Appendix B. The Fundamentals of Ancient Battle

Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Product details

Published	02 Sep 2021
Format	Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition	1st
Extent	464
ISBN	9781472843746
Imprint	Osprey Publishing
Illustrations	24-page plate section in colour
Series	General Military
Short code	GNM
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

Author

Myke Cole

Following a long career in the military, intellige…

This book will have a great impact helping people put to right where the Spartan Mirage currently holds sway.

Professor Stephen Hodkinson, Emeritus Professor of Ancient History, University of Nottingham
The "Spartan mirage," as it has been termed, is one of history's greatest distortions -- a myth of Spartan strength built up over millennia, still propagated today in politics and popular culture. With a masterful array of evidence, Myke Cole lifts the curtain to show us the real human beings -- flawed, conflicted, and above all, vulnerable -- who somehow built themselves up into supermen.

James Romm, Professor of Classics and author of 'The Sacred Band: Three Hundred Theban Lovers Fighting to Save Greek Freedom'
As entertaining as it is enlightening, Myke Cole's The Bronze Lie reveals the fascinating reality behind one of the most pervasive myths of the ages. This is Sparta.

Professor Michael Livingston, The Citadel