Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion

I thought I would add a Sparta folder and I figure a link to the Wiki article would be handy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparta#C...

Yeah sure. Why not. :-)

Let me be the first....

I have two books to add here to start this folder off,
by Valerio Massimo Manfredi which I have mentioned in another folder already and by Victor Davis Hanson.

Oh, and another one I found as well.... by Nicholas Nicastro

I beat you! Like the Spartans at the Hot Gates...I beat you...for a little while..:-)

Anyone interested in Sparta may also want to check out the Greco-Persia war thread for some Spartan action in the 5th century BC.
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...

It was that extra 20 seconds I took to preview........or I could have been first. :)

Lol! Yep. 20 seconds is all it takes for me to slip past and plant my flag.

I forgive you, it's a good book to have first anyway. :)

True. :-)

I think by Steven Pressfield would also fit in here. I haven't read it but the summary says, Peloponnesian War--the twenty-seven-year civil conflagration between the Athenian empires, Sparta, and the Peloponnesian league.

It does fit, yes. :-)

There was a number of Spartans in the march of the Ten Thousand

I could have sworn I added that, must have been another thread and I forgot to put it here. Thanks Alex. :)

I could have sworn you added like three of his books! And then I posted a comment directing people to the Curtis Ford thread if they wanted more books by him.
What thread did that happen in then??

That was the Roman thread.....that explains it. :)

Ohh. Roman. Tee hee. :-) Feather brains.

Does this folder have to be called 'Sparta'? If the period is related to one state, surely it would be Athens...

And I write about little Plataea...

Yes, the thread has to be called Sparta. lol

Here, let me explain...
Your Long Wars series is mentioned in the Greco Persian thread, Chris.
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8...

I have just finished 'Leonidas of Sparta : A Heroic King' and have given it five stars. It is absolutely fantastic, like all Helena's books on ancient Sparta. Well researched, well written and peopled with wonderful characters, whom you come to love. I have to admit dragging my feet through the last bit of it not wanting it to end. Helena's description of the battle of Thermopylae is the best I have read about this famous battle. It was an overwhelming read. Highly recommended!

I have added this video to the group videos. It was added to the group videos because we are reading Gates of Fire this month (December 2012). Thought I may as well add the link to this Sparta thread as well.
http://www.goodreads.com/videos/34062...

Gates of Fire

I am mighty glad I'm not Spartan, I would fail on every count! :)
8 Reasons It Wasn’t Easy Being Spartan

http://www.history.com/news/history-l...

Good grief.

Dawn and Terri,
Actually, if you lived in Ancient Greece and were female, the only place you probably could have survived is in Sparta. Being female in the rest of Ancient Greece was rather like being female in Afghanistan under the Taliban. In Sparta, in contrast, you would be allowed to go out of your house, have fresh air and exercise, would be allowed to eat the same things your brothers ate, would be allowed to get an education, and would not be forced to marry a stranger at the age of 14 or 15 so you could die in childbed before reaching the age of 30.

Steven Pressfield is a great novelist, but he is not a historian. His portrayal of Spartan life is evocative -- but very wrong in many key aspects.

Helena wrote: "Dawn and Terri,
Actually, if you lived in Ancient Greece and were female, the only place you probably could have survived is in Sparta. Being female in the rest of Ancient Greece was rather like be..."

Although, Helena, there's some new thinking on some of this issue of women's roles in Athens and elsewhere in the Classical Greek world. More power and freedom than the thinking when I was in college. Have you read Portrait of a Priestess: Women and Ritual in Ancient Greece? A somewhat revised view from Goddesses, Whores, Wives and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity which was the new view when I started studying this stuff. Pomeroy is still right on a great deal, but the view is widening a bit, is maybe a good way to think about it. Not the Taliban, surely!

Terri, Darcy,
Coming off my GR review of Lost ArmyThe Lost Army to which I only awarded 2 stars, from the local library website is a review from Booklist [a library magazine] on Spartan Spartan
the only Manfredi our library has, and which I enjoyed:

Booklist Review
"Capitalizing on the success of his hugely popular Alexander trilogy, Italian archaeologist and novelist Manfredi has crafted another compelling saga set in ancient Greece. Born with a crippled foot, a baby is reluctantly abandoned by his aristocratic parents in accordance with Spartan law. Rescued by a Helot shepherd, young Talos grows to manhood, unaware of his noble roots. When destiny intervenes and Talos is brought face to face with his brother Brithos, a brutal Spartan warrior, the two engage in a puzzling contest of strength and wills. Eventually discovering the truth of his birth, Talos is torn between the Spartan blood coursing through his veins and the Helot pride instilled in him by his adoptive father. Plenty of action, passion, and drama underscore this authentically detailed historical adventure." --Margaret Flanagan Copyright 2003 Booklist

There was another review from Publisher's Weekly, but PW reviews are always positive, even if the book may not be...

Jane wrote: "Terri, Darcy,
Coming off my GR review of Lost ArmyThe Lost Army to which I only awarded 2 stars, from the local library website is a review from Booklist [a library magazine] on Spartan Spartan
th..."

Hi Jane I read Spartan some years ago and found it entertaining and a good lightweight read. No need for the greater concentration I had to use when reading his books on Alexander.

Those I'll have to try someday.

Gave me chills....
300: Rise of Empire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zqy21...

Terri wrote: "Gave me chills....
300: Rise of Empire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zqy21..."

I want to see it! It may be just a graphic novel (again), so what? Please, entertain me!! :)

Chris F wrote: "Jane wrote: "Terri, Darcy,
Coming off my GR review of Lost ArmyThe Lost Army to which I only awarded 2 stars, from the local library website is a review from Booklist [a library magazine] on Spart..."

Concentration, you say? I don't anything can beatThe Death of Virgil for concentration!
I am enjoying it though, but it's going slooooowly!

Spartan reconstruction projects are a go!

http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspo...

Darcy wrote: "Spartan reconstruction projects are a go!

http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspo..."

Very interesting thank you Darcy.

Terri wrote: "Gave me chills....
300: Rise of Empire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zqy21..."

So ridiculous, and yet sooo cool! :)

mixal wrote: "Terri wrote: "Gave me chills....
300: Rise of Empire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zqy21..."

So ridiculous, and yet sooo cool! :)"

That WAS an odd trailer! I really couldn't tell what it was about, except a lot of gruesome death and destruction!

Its another switch off your brain, and enjoy movie. Lols

Mark wrote: "Its another switch off your brain, and enjoy movie. Lols"

Sounds like a reasonable explanation despite your lols! Maybe someday when it comes on tv, I'll watch it to pick up ANY kind of a story. :)

I expect the trailer was probably aimed at those who saw the first film, which doesn't do much to lure new viewers I must agree.

Jane wrote: "mixal wrote: "Terri wrote: "Gave me chills....
300: Rise of Empire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zqy21..."

So ridiculous, and yet sooo cool! :)"

That WAS an odd trailer! I really couldn't te..."

You are right, it is very comic-book-like visual movie, sequel to this one: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416449/ . It is ridiculously inaccurate, but I think that old Greeks might actually like it (at least from what their art looks like :) ).

Darcy wrote: "Spartan reconstruction projects are a go!

http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspo..."


Now there's a great story to read first thing in the morning. (well, maybe not first thing here now..it is mid morning actually, but I have only just gotten back to the house from working out on the farm so it is technically my morning reading). :)

My review of Are They Singing in Sparta?:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Great thread! My current WIP is a time-slip involving a Spartan who ends up 'trafficked' to the future and has to survive here, so I'm at the hoovering up everything I can stage to see how other people write Spartans - this is proving invaluable! I've got Zeus of Ithomeon my list so far, and for anyone who enjoys graphic novels, can I recommend Three as a great antidote to the gung-ho heroism of three hundred! Thanks for giving me all these recommendations, everyone!

Hi Louise,
We have a thread where members can add their recommendations for Graphic Novels. I am sure your rec would be welcome there if you'd like to share. :)
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I certainly will -the costuming made a welcome change from the leather underpants of 300...

Nothing wrong with garments (or lack of them) in 300, I say... :P

I'm with Simona, I quite liked the garments in 300!!

Simona wrote: "Nothing wrong with garments (or lack of them) in 300, I say... :P"

Hear, hear!

Simona wrote: "Nothing wrong with garments (or lack of them) in 300, I say... :P"

Absolutely - I can handle the heroic nudity just fine. It's just the stupid underpants! They're just so... UN-Spartan!!! Give me a hoplite in full panoply with a Corinthian helmet anyday - those boys make skirts look sexy!

You're right. Let's remove the underpants!