Sparta: Fall of a Warrior Nation

There was a time when Sparta was the undisputed leader of Greece (497 BC). It had a unique social system and constitution, which was configured to maximize military proficiency, and required rigorous training. One well-known laconophile (lover of Sparta’s culture) was Plato, who believed that children were the property of the state, and that “substandard” people should be eliminated from the gene pool. Matyszak chronicles the downward trajectory of Sparta over three centuries as it went from being admired to being scorned, ultimately becoming a petty and vulnerable state. He does not believe its downfall was inevitable. He looks at their downward social spiral and hard lesson in the dangers of short-sighed chauvinism, and addresses how leadership was lost, along with Sparta’s moral authority. Eventually they became focused on only one virtue: military valor. Post conquest the state went into decline, since it seems that they lacked the experience and/or ability to relax or think about anything non-military. Distributed in the US by Casemate. Annotation ©2018 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
Universally admired in 479 BC, the Spartans were masters of the Greek world by 402 BC, only for their state to collapse in the next generation. What went wrong? Was the fall of Sparta inevitable? Philip Matyszak examines the political blunders and failures of leadership which combined with unresolved social issues to bring down the nation - even as its warriors remained invincible on the battlefield.The Spartans believed their constitution and society above the changes sweeping their world, and in resisting change, they were eventually overwhelmed by it. Yet this is also a story of defiance, for the Spartans refused to accept their humiliation and – although never more than a tiny and underpopulated city-state – for many years their city exercised influence far beyond its size and population. This is a chronicle of political failure, but also a lesson in how to go down fighting. Even with the Roman legions set to overwhelm their city, the Spartans never gave up.Sparta: Fall of a Warrior Nation tells a seldom-told tale, yet one rich in heroes and villains, epic battles and political skulduggery.