Sparta in Modern Thought (Sparta and Its Influence)

Images of ancient Sparta have had a major impact on Western thought. From the Renaissance to the French Revolution she was invoked by radical thinkers as a model for the creation of a republican political and social order. Since the 19th century she has typically been viewed as the opposite of advanced liberal and industrial democracies: a forerunner of 20th-century totalitarian and militaristic regimes such as the Third Reich and the Soviet Union. Yet positive images of Sparta remain embedded in contemporary popular media and culture. This is the first book in over 40 years to examine this important subject. Eleven ancient historians and experts in the history of ideas discuss Sparta's changing role in Western thought from medieval Europe to the 21st century, with a special focus on Enlightenment France, Nazi Germany and the USA.



Images of ancient Sparta have had a major impact on Western thought. From the Renaissance to the French Revolution she was invoked by radical thinkers as a model for the creation of a republican political and social order. Since the 19th century she has typically been viewed as the opposite of advanced liberal and industrial democracies: a forerunner of 20th-century totalitarian and militaristic regimes such as the Third Reich and the Soviet Union. Yet positive images of Sparta remain embedded in contemporary popular media and culture. This is the first book in over 40 years to examine this important subject. Eleven ancient historians and experts in the history of ideas discuss Sparta's changing role in Western thought from medieval Europe to the 21st century, with a special focus on Enlightenment France, Nazi Germany and the USA.

Stephen Hodkinson is an internationally-recognised authority on the history of Sparta and her modern reception. Author of numerous influential studies in Greek history, his book Property and Wealth in Classical Sparta (CPW, 2000) is the leading work in its field. He has recently edited Sparta: Comparative Approaches (CPW, 2009). Professor Hodkinson is Director of the Centre for Spartan and Peloponnesian Studies at the University of Nottingham. He has been made an Honorary Citizen of modern Sparta for his contributions to the global understanding of Spartan history
Ian Macgregor Morris is a specialist in the History of Ideas of the early modern period and the classical tradition, fields in which he has published extensively. He has been AHRC Research Fellow at the Centre for Spartan and Peloponnesian Studies, University of Nottingham