EPISODE 28 THE BRONZE LIE WITH MYKE COLEI had the honour, pride and privilege of sitting down with author Myke Cole for this instalment of the Spartan History Podcast.His recently released book, the Bronze Lie: Shattering the myth of Spartan warrior supremacy, tackles the often ill conceived appropriation of the Lacedaemonian story in it&apos;s most mythical and fantastical form.  Often being used to promote ultra nationalist movements, fallacies surrounding the Spartan legend can be particularly pernicious in the current polarised political climate.  Myke crystallises the Spartan mirage into an easy to understand concept and then proceeds to dismantle it piece by piece, leaving his readers with a fair and unbiased representation of the real Spartan story.We discuss his premise in detail and go through the work in relatively broad strokes to outline his propositions. It was an invigorating and vibrant discussion that I thoroughly enjoyed and I trust you all do to. Links for Myke and his work are all listed below and I can&apos;t recommend the Bronze Lie enough for anyone looking to peer behind the glare of Sparta&apos;s mystique. The below handles and links are where you can find Myke and his work.Website   - https://mykecole.com/Email          - myke@mykecole.comBook           - https://www.amazon.com.au/Bronze-Lie-Myke-Cole/dp/1472843754/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Twitter      - https://twitter.com/MykeColeFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/mykecoleBelow is the link for Prof. Livingstone who was mentioned during the show and assisted Myke with his work in the role of friend and mentor.https://www.michaellivingston.com/https://www.spartanhistorypodcast.com/https://www.facebook.com/spartanhistorypodcasthttps://twitter.com/Spartan_History

Spartan History Podcast

028. The Bronze Lie with Myke Cole

EPISODE 27 HEAVY METAL SPARTANS WITH DR JEREMY SWISTWe&apos;re shifting gears a little with this episode as I&apos;m joined by Dr Jeremy Swist, lecturer and classicist at Brandeis University in Massachusetts. Dr Swist is an expert in the field of classical reception within the genre of Heavy Metal Music. This style exhibits a very particular type of Laconophilia or, affection for Sparta. In our discussion we go back to the beginnings of Laconophilia and trace its transcendence through time to the current era. Classical reception itself is a fascinating field and we take a look at its traditions and various facets along with the burgeoning study of it within fields a little more eclectic. The concepts of duty, defiance and dedication are ones easily associated with Sparta and in turn, lend themselves to Heavy Metal which was born out of governmental tyrannies, real and perceived of the early 1970s.  This episode was the most fun I&apos;ve ever had on the show since its inception and I wholeheartedly thank Dr Swist for his time and expertise. So, put your index and pinky finger up proudly and enjoy the latest from Spartan History Podcast.The below link is for Dr Swists playlist of Spartan inspired Metal, aptly named the Spartan Metal Mirage.https://open.spotify.com/playlist/40hV5kdSEkhXYIA9EKnYoz?si=63f86a30c5f2425d   Dr Swist can be found on twitter @metalclassicist and his blog link is the following https://heavymetalclassicist.home.blog/Anyone interested in the 2021 Symposium being hosted by Classical Wisdom can find tickets here, https://classicalwisdom-symposium-2021.eventbrite.ie The event runs on August the 21st and the 22nd with an amazing line up of speakers including, Paul Cartledge, Edith Hall and many, many more.https://www.spartanhistorypodcast.com/https://www.facebook.com/spartanhistorypodcasthttps://twitter.com/Spartan_History

027. Heavy Metal Spartans with Dr Jeremy Swist

EPISODE 26: THE SPARTAN REGIME WITH PROFESSOR PAUL RAHEAuthor, classicist and historian Professor Paul Rahe was kind enough to sit down with your host for this instalment of Spartan History Podcast.Paul has authored several books on the Lacedaemonians and his work, the Spartan Regime, is incredibly poignant to our current narrative. Focusing on the archaic formation of the Spartan institutions and character, it has been a great help to me as I&apos;ve tried to reconstruct the various elements of what would constitute the classical Sparta so heavily romanticised.The Professor takes us back to the bronze age briefly, and we work through the consequent dark age and into the early period of the Dorian migration into Laconia. It is, I hope, a great summarisation of our journey so far and hope you all enjoy the conversation  as much as I did.I&apos;m very grateful for Paul&apos;s time and if anyone is interested in his work links will be listed below for the E titles of his books. Take good care.https://www.amazon.com/Paul-A.-Rahe/e/B002FPL25U%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_shareThe Spartan Regimehttps://www.spartanhistorypodcast.com/https://www.facebook.com/spartanhistorypodcasthttps://twitter.com/spartan_history

026. The Spartan Regime with Professor Paul Rahe

EPISODE 25: SPARTIATESWelcome back folks to the Spartan History Podcast. Stepping back into the solo format to once again put another facet of pre-classical Sparta under the microscope. This time it is the ruling class, the Homoioi or Spartiates as they referred to themselves. This section of society, dedicated entirely to the pursuit of warfare, were propped up by the helot class who managed their vast land holdings. There was a complex system of land tenure within Sparta which was designed to provide for each the cost of his citizenship, that is the monthly contribution of produce to the dining halls every Spartiate was obliged to dine at.We&apos;ll break down the system of land ownership and how it relates to the mess halls. Along with this I&apos;ll describe in brief the marital practices within the upper echelons of the Spartan world.Famed for their equality, we&apos;ll finish this episode by looking at the massive differences between the individual Homoioi and see why that word is better translated as &apos;similars,&apos; rather than &apos;equals.&apos; I hope you all enjoy and take good care.https://www.spartanhistorypodcast.com/https://www.facebook.com/spartanhistorypodcasthttps://twitter.com/spartan_history

025. Spartiates

EPISODE 24: PART 2 OF A COLABRORATION WITH CASTING THROUGH ANCIENT GREECE PODCAST.For something a little different this month&apos;s release is part 2 of a collaboration podcast I was fortunate enough to record with Mark from Casting Through Ancient Greece.  For those who haven&apos;t listened to part 1, you can find it at the following link, or at any of the various hosting services out there.  https://castingthroughancientgreece.com/collaboration-episode-part1-featuring-spartan-history-podcast/Mark&apos;s show is an exceedingly well researched program, taking a broad overview of ancient Greek history coupled with high resolution looks at all of the popular and pivotal moments therein. For part 1 of our collaboration we discuss our entries and influences into the ancient world in a conversational format. Mark rounds out that section with a discussion about the Athenian democracy&apos;s formation.In this, part 2, I start off discussing the possible veracity of the Lycurgus myth and we finish with an analysis of Spartan and Athenian contributions to the Greeks ultimate victory in the Persian wars. I hope you all enjoy, and take good care.https://castingthroughancientgreece.com/https://www.facebook.com/castingthroughancientgreecehttps://twitter.com/CastingGreecehttps://www.spartanhistorypodcast.com/https://www.facebook.com/spartanhistorypodcasthttps://twitter.com/spartan_history

024. Collaboration episode: featuring Casting Through Ancient Greece, Part 2.

EPISODE 23 : HOPLITES AND THE SPARTAN WAR MACHINEThis time around folks it is my great honour to have Professor Paul Bardunias as my guest on the show. Paul is a co-author of the book &apos;Hoplites at War: A comprehensive analysis of heavy infantry combat in the Greek world - 750 to 100 BCE.Fittingly we discuss just that, developing the concept of Hoplite warfare in Greece from its advent in the mid-8th century through to the eve of the Persian wars.  Paul takes us through his 3 fundamentals of war during this time period: the men, the tools and the group. Painting a detailed picture of hoplite traditions, arms, armour and tactics for both the non-Spartan and Spartan warriors during the period.We finish with a mock battle between Spartans and Argive troops to get a feel for two armies at war on the plains of the Peloponnese.  I hope you all enjoy, and take good care.https://www.spartanhistorypodcast.com/https://www.facebook.com/spartanhistorypodcasthttps://twitter.com/spartan_history

023. Hoplites and the Spartan War Machine

Hello again dear listeners, this month we're back with episode 22, Raising Spartans. The treatment of Spartan children by their society has often been sensationalised by modern depiction, but these conceptions started in the ancient world where the Sparta of peoples imaginations, the mirage, was the predominant view point.This episode takes an in depth look at how children of both sexes were raised in Sparta's state sponsored and compulsory education system. From the cradle these children were set apart from those of other city-states, raised to become the most fierce warriors and the most capable mother's of warriors the ancient Greek world knew.I'll set their upbringing not only against that of their Athenian rivals but also take a look at the prevailing external views of the time to see what other Greeks made of this unique civilisation that took root along the banks of the Eurotas river.A warning of sorts, this episode deals with topics that may be unsavoury to people, pederasty, misogyny and child abuse are all covered with little regard for sensibilities. History must be viewed warts and all lest we commit the same mistakes as the ancients.I hope you all enjoy what is one of my favourite episodes to date. Take good care.https://www.spartanhistorypodcast.com/https://www.facebook.com/spartanhistorypodcasthttps://twitter.com/spartan_history*No article this week but I have updated some photos on the website.

022. Raising Spartans

EPISODE 21 GOVERNING SPARTANSWelcome back folks and to the first of what will be a series of episodes designed to explain the different facets of the Spartan world in the lead up to the Greco-Persian wars.This time its the governmental structures of Sparta that we'll be focusing on to see the various bodies responsible for Spartan law-making in action.It's popularly believed that Sparta was an oligarchic state, and to be fair by the time Xenophon and Aristotle penned their constitutions of the Lacedaemonians the city had indeed become one. However, the secret to its stability and success in the 6th and 7th centuries was the result of a stable government that embraced elements of Monarchic, Aristocratic and Democratic rule.They had their kings, descended from Heracles whom were bound by Apollo's word to a council of elders. This council forwarded proposals to a sovereign citizen assembly for ratification. Fulfilling the executive function of government was an annually elected board of 5 Ephors whose members came from the Demos. This system was designed to give everyone their fair share of rule, to check any one element from growing to preponderant. I'll break down the cities god given constitution and various organs of state to hopefully build a picture how they operated together, and sometimes against one another.I hope you all enjoy, and take good care.https://www.spartanhistorypodcast.com/https://www.facebook.com/spartanhistorypodcasthttps://twitter.com/spartan_history*A new article is up on my website for members only. Not a member? Not a problem, sign up for free at https://www.spartanhistorypodcast.com/ This one is on the Athenian council of the Areopagus.

021. Governing Spartans

EPISODE 20 THE SPARTAN YOKEHappy new year folks, welcome back to the Spartan History Podcast, the only podcast called the Spartan History Podcast. We&apos;re turning 20 with the release of this episode and I couldn&apos;t be more pleased to be back behind the microphone. I hope you all had a safe holiday season.This time we&apos;re taking the Spartan story into the 7th century as the city consolidates her hold on the recently acquired Messenian territories.  First though, we look at the post war settlement within city and see if the aggressive land grab, that was the first Messenian war, satisfied the citizenries desire for land and enfranchisement.Successful wars brought great wealth to the victors, the Spartan&apos;s tithed some of that wealth in honour of the gods with the construction of two important temples. These sacred places were to be a fixture within the city for centuries to come.The freshly indentured Messenian Helot&apos;s, of proud and mighty stock in their own right, weren&apos;t sitting idle beneath the yoke of their masters. Quietly biding their time for insurrection, a crushing defeat of the Spartans by the men of Argives provides just enough impetus for the push to freedom. The subsequent uprising, known as the 2nd Messenian war, would be a fight to the death with the winner taking all. The famous archaic Spartan poet, Tyrtaeus was contemporary with the conflict and his works are largely believed to have helped turn the tide in Sparta&apos;s favour. We finish with a look at what remains of his corpus. I hope you all enjoy, and take good care.https://www.spartanhistorypodcast.com/https://www.facebook.com/spartanhistorypodcasthttps://twitter.com/spartan_history

020. The Spartan Yoke

EPISODE 19 THE EXPANSION OF SPARTAThe time has come to let Sparta out of the box, so to speak. Trapped as I&apos;ve kept it since this series began, my aim was to explain the myths and early traditions of this city before moving on to it&apos;s inexorable dominance of ancient Greek battlefields. This episode sees the beginnings of that supremacy as in the space of a mere century it&apos;s horizon&apos;s expand from a loose collection of 4 villages on the right bank of the Eurotas, to a real Peloponnesian powerhouse.Join me, as I take a look at that expansion in detail. The period for the Greeks was one of migration due to increased populations. With advent of iron forged agricultural tools new lands became viable for the harvests and with the extra food supplies came a flourishing populace. Whilst other Greek cities resorted to state sponsored colonisation of the Mediterranean and Black sea coasts to ameliorate the burden of over-population, the Spartan&apos;s aggressively increased their holdings at the expense of their neighbours. Winning for themselves the largest tract of land controlled by any city-state in antiquity, and in the process indenturing an entire people to work it&apos;s fields.We&apos;ll take a look at the individual factors contributing to Spartan policy, and follow it through it&apos;s natural evolution into regional hegemony within Laconia and Messenia. Finally, we&apos;ll step through the 20 year conflict known as the first Messenian war. A bitter entanglement that saw one culture emancipated from manual labour and set down the path of life on a permanent war footing, and another submitted to the oppressive yoke of slavery.I hope you all enjoy the episode and take care.https://www.spartanhistorypodcast.com/https://www.facebook.com/spartanhistorypodcasthttps://twitter.com/spartan_history 

019. The Expansion of Sparta

EPISODE 18 JASON AND THE GOLDEN FLEECE, PART 4.Welcome back to the Spartan History Podcast, the agenda for this episode will be the conclusion to my retelling of Apollonius of Rhodes&apos; Argonautica.With the challenge set for them by King Aeetes successfully completed, the Argonauts are celebrating their efforts. However, in the king&apos;s palace, Aeetes is plotting their collective doom, unwilling to part with the fleece.Medea, who in no small part aided the Argonauts knows it&apos;s only a matter of time before her father discovers her perfidy. Stealing out in the night she forsakes her homeland and joins the Argonauts for better or worse. Helping Jason steal the fleece in the dead of night, she sails with the Argo out of Colchis, pursued by her fathers fleet. Following a circuitous route, the Argo eventually makes its way back into the Mediterranean and homeward bound. An act of fratricide will see them cursed by Zeus and go on to endure much hardship towards a home that seems never within reach. Eventually, with the help of the gods and Medea the Argonauts return to Iolcus where Apollonius finishes his tale short of what I deem to be its natural conclusion. Therefore, I finish this episode with a thorough look at the main characters fates, post Argonautica and with a few parting observations made over the time I&apos;ve spent studying the narrative. I hope you&apos;ve all enjoyed this retelling, thanks for listening.https://www.spartanhistorypodcast.com/https://www.facebook.com/spartanhistorypodcasthttps://twitter.com/spartan_history 

018. Jason and the Golden Fleece. Part 4

EPISODE 17, APOLLO'S FAITHFUL.Welcome back to Spartan History Podcast, we're back on the Spartan narrative this time and taking a look at the early religious practices of the city's inhabitants.Although often understated, the Spartans were an incredibly pious people, even by the standards of piety set by the ancient Greek world of the day. Herodotus recorded in his histories that they placed more faith in the words of the gods than they did in those of men. I'll be stepping through all of the major festivals and celebrations of their religious calendar, paying special attention to the dualistic nature of varied deities revered to tease out the origin stories buried within the holy rites. Still in the very early part of the archaic phase, the fast solidification of the Olympic Pantheon supplanted the many forms of indigenous worship that were there before. Rather than discard and abandon ancient practice, the Spartans' in many instances amalgamated it with the more popular and homogeneous Olympian deities. Lastly, we'll see the largely reciprocal relationship had between the Delphic oracle and Sparta, one that stretches back to the very beginning of Spartan dominance in the Peloponnese.I hope you all enjoy and take care.*No special content this time, photos for website updated. **If you hear lightning and thunder during the episode it isn't just Zeus' rage at being left out of the story, its been thunderstorming most of the week here and I couldn't squeeze a record in between lightning strikes. It adds a foreboding feel to it all which was kinda fun. :)https://www.spartanhistorypodcast.com/https://www.facebook.com/spartanhistorypodcasthttps://twitter.com/spartan_history  

017. Apollo's Faithful

EPISODE 16, JASON AND THE GOLDEN FLEECE  PART 3.Welcome back to the Spartan History Podcast, this time around we&apos;ll be working through part 3 of my retelling of the Golden Fleece myth. Apollonius begins book 3 of the Argonautica by, in true epic fashion, invoking the muses and their eternal wisdom. I begin this episode by taking a look at the tradition of the muses and their significance to epic oral poetry. Following that we pick up the narrative with Jason and his Argonauts lingering on the river Phasis, within Colchis, plotting their next move. The ultimate goal of the golden fleece is now in reach but, after having travelled so far and witnessed so many dangers the greatest threat lies ahead. Luckily for the crew of the Argo, Hera and Athena are looking out for them and contriving assistance in their own way. We&apos;ll meet some colossal figures of Greek mythology along the way, King Aeetes of Colchis and his daughter, Medea. The latter in particular will play a pivotal role in the outcome of the quest.Central to this section is the love between Jason and Medea. A tainted thing that nonetheless provides us with perhaps the greatest story of passion to come out of ancient Greece. It will be the manipulation of that love that leads to all the tragedy that came after.We finish with Jason facing down the challenge handed him by King Aeetes, bulls of bronze who breath fire and earthborn giants spawned of dragon&apos;s teeth. I hope you all enjoy and take care.https://www.spartanhistorypodcast.com/https://www.facebook.com/spartanhistorypodcasthttps://twitter.com/spartan_history

016. Jason and Golden Fleece. Part 3

EPISODE 15, LYCURGUS, THE WOLF WORKER.Welcome back to the Spartan History Podcast, this time we return to the Spartan narrative and sink our teeth into the most mercurial being of their legend, Lycurgus.A liminal figure, striding over the threshold of the dark and archaic ages, the Spartans of the classical period were unsure of his status, divine or otherwise. An early Delphic oracle was even recorded expressing similar doubts as to his position between the world of man and Olympus. Regardless, the attributions assigned to his life and his policy of reform weighed heavily on Spartan law and custom for centuries.I'll be starting with a biography of his life and take a detailed look at some of his greatest achievements as lawmaker. Then, breaking down the sources I'll look to debunk some of the more outlandish events tied to his legend and set them in their proper place chronologically. Finishing with my own hypothesis relating to the creation of his myth and hopefully leaving a well rounded picture of his acts, deeds and their significance to classical Spartan history.I hope you all enjoy and take care.*Special content this month is a small article on the life of Plutarch, available free to members. Not a member? No problems, click on the website link below and sign up for free.https://www.spartanhistorypodcast.com/https://www.facebook.com/spartanhistorypodcasthttps://twitter.com/spartan_history

015. Lycurgus, the Wolf Worker

EPISODE 14, JASON AND THE GOLDEN FLEECE PART 2.Welcome back to the Spartan History Podcast. This time around it&apos;s back to the story of Jason and his quest for the fleece. I begin with a digression into the evolution of the story itself and take a look at possible eastern influences along with a quick look through it&apos;s references by pre-Apollonian authors.Picking up the mythical thread where it was previously left, book 2 of Apollonius&apos;s Argonautica covers the Argo&apos;s voyage from the southern entry of the Bosporus channel through to the eastern edges of the Black sea. I follow suit and describe the various stops the Argonauts make along the way and obstacles they faced in detail. We&apos;ll learn about the poor hygiene practiced by the Harpies, what made Amazons such good archers and why you should always ask somebody their name before challenging them to fight.I hope you all enjoy and take care.*This is the special content so nothing extra. I&apos;ll have another article up with the release of the normal episode on October the 4th.https://www.spartanhistorypodcast.com/https://www.facebook.com/spartanhistorypodcasthttps://twitter.com/spartan_history

014. Jason and the Golden Fleece. Part 2

Presenting a chronological history of the ancient Spartan peoples. Beginning with their earliest mentions in the epics of Homer, the Iliad and Odyssey, right through to the collapse of Spartan dominance in the 4th century BCE.

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Spartan History Podcast

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