
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


In this episode I look at how the Spartan soldier fared in battle. What advantages had they been given through the agoge and syssitia? What was hoplite battle like and how good were the Spartans? I also look at a couple of Plutarch's sayings about the Spartans in the context of war and weigh up whether they were just a later invention or if there was something more to them.
Find me on X, Instagram, Bluesky and TikTok as ancientblogger (see links below). There's my AncientBlogger YouTube channel and the Ancient History Hound subreddit. Come say hello (you can even go full old school and email me on [email protected]).
https://linktr.ee/ancientblogger
Music by Brakhage (Le Vrai Instrumental).
Reading list and sources used
Bardunias, P. Storm of spears & press of shields
Bardunias, P & Eugene Ray Jnr, F. Hoplites at War
Cartledge, P. The Spartans
Cole, M. The Bronze Lie
Echeverrrai, F. Hoplite and Phalanx in archaic and Classical Greece a reassessment
Taktike Techne – the neglected element in classical 'hoplite battles'
Rusch, SM. Sparta at War
Special shoutout to the excellent BadAncient website,the In Our Time Sparta episode and the Sparta episodes on The Ancients podcast.
By Ancient Blogger4.9
8080 ratings
In this episode I look at how the Spartan soldier fared in battle. What advantages had they been given through the agoge and syssitia? What was hoplite battle like and how good were the Spartans? I also look at a couple of Plutarch's sayings about the Spartans in the context of war and weigh up whether they were just a later invention or if there was something more to them.
Find me on X, Instagram, Bluesky and TikTok as ancientblogger (see links below). There's my AncientBlogger YouTube channel and the Ancient History Hound subreddit. Come say hello (you can even go full old school and email me on [email protected]).
https://linktr.ee/ancientblogger
Music by Brakhage (Le Vrai Instrumental).
Reading list and sources used
Bardunias, P. Storm of spears & press of shields
Bardunias, P & Eugene Ray Jnr, F. Hoplites at War
Cartledge, P. The Spartans
Cole, M. The Bronze Lie
Echeverrrai, F. Hoplite and Phalanx in archaic and Classical Greece a reassessment
Taktike Techne – the neglected element in classical 'hoplite battles'
Rusch, SM. Sparta at War
Special shoutout to the excellent BadAncient website,the In Our Time Sparta episode and the Sparta episodes on The Ancients podcast.

5,576 Listeners

3,196 Listeners

4,404 Listeners

539 Listeners

1,867 Listeners

1,855 Listeners

6,481 Listeners

4,791 Listeners

6,308 Listeners

476 Listeners

5,239 Listeners

3,358 Listeners

15,506 Listeners

1,920 Listeners

2,060 Listeners