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By continuing to use this site, you consent to the use of cookies. We value your privacy. This article was written for teachers and students of the 'Spartan Society' option within the New South Wales, Australia, Higher School Certificate syllabus; but it is relevant to anyone studying teaching or studying Sparta at secondary or tertiary level.
Its main purpose is to communicate and analyse a number of radical new approaches which have transformed academic understandings of Spartan society over the last generation. The article has three parts. Part 1 outlines how Spartan historical studies have developed since World War II and why they are currently in an exciting state of debate. It also discusses the academic and institutional context of the transformation of Spartan studies.
Part 2 the longest part examines the details of the radical new understandings of classical Sparta mentioned above, focussing on new approaches to the ancient literary sources and on new insights into diverse aspects of Spartan society.
Finally, in Part 3, I look at a further new and growing feature of Spartan studies which can enliven teaching and learning in the classroom: I conclude with a few words about the recent graphic novel Three , the product of collaboration between a comics author and an academic aimed at creating an authentic fictional representation of Spartan society.
