The Bronze Lie - By Myke Cole.pdf

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At this time, however, since the phalanx of Epaminondas bore down

upon them alone and neglected the rest of their force, and since

Pelopidas engaged them with incredible speed and boldness, their

courage and skill were so confounded that there was a flight and

slaughter of the Spartan Peers such as had never before been seen.

PLUTARCH,

LIFE OF PELOPIDAS

CONTENTS

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