Collections: This. Isn’t. Sparta. Part III: Spartan Women

Today, in part III of our seven part look at Sparta (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, Gloss., Retrospective) we're going to take a close look at the role of women in Spartan society, keeping in mind the Spartan social hierarchy we established last time. Sparta has a reputation - often aided and abetted … Continue reading Collections: This. Isn’t. Sparta. Part III: Spartan Women →

Collections: This. Isn’t. Sparta. Part II: Spartan Equality

This is Part II of our seven part look at Sparta (I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, Gloss., Retrospective). Last week we took a look at our sources for Sparta and then examined the Spartan child-training system, the agoge. We found that our sources look nothing like the grizzled veterans who narrate films like … Continue reading Collections: This. Isn’t. Sparta. Part II: Spartan Equality →

Miscellanea: Sparta Glossary

The following post is intended as a 'reference sheet' of sorts for any of the difficult or obscure terminology that is going to get used in the "This. Isn't. Sparta." series. As a rule, I think a good historian ought to be able to explain themselves without needing to rely on lots of jargon or … Continue reading Miscellanea: Sparta Glossary →

Collections: War Elephants, Part III: Elephant Memories

Today, in Part III of our series of war elephants, we are going to look at the place war elephants held in society through two lenses: what war elephants meant to the societies that used them and what they often mean in popular culture - as we'll see, these are connected topics. Previously in this … Continue reading Collections: War Elephants, Part III: Elephant Memories →

Collections: War Elephants, Part II: Elephants against Wolves

Today, in Part II of our three part series on War Elephants, we're going to look at the drawbacks of war elephants. Last time (here), we discussed the factors that made war elephants so powerful on the battlefield. To recap: war elephants had a strong psychological element (they are very scary) and could drastically disrupt … Continue reading Collections: War Elephants, Part II: Elephants against Wolves →