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Rating: 
Summary: Easy to Use for People Just Wanting to Learn About Sparta
Review: For people who do not have the time to read all of Plutarch just to find out about Holy Sparta. A great book for finding out about the Ideal State. Plutarch, like most Greek thinkers hated the mob rule of Demon-ocracy, had a love-hate relationship with the warrior caste system of Sparta. He admired the Greatness of Sparta, but disliked its so called "oppressive nature", albeit, this is what made Sparta great. Plutarch preferred Spartan "oppression" over the mob rule of that other Greek city-state.
This is a great book for anyone wishing to stop the decline of the West. Sparta is the answer to the night of the living dead government of the United States of Zombies. Wyatt Kaldenberg
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent introduction to the first totalitarian state...
Review: I found this secondary source extremely helpful. The chapter on Lycurgus is brilliant -- a must-read for all Ancient History students and Sparta enthusiasts. It provided a very thorough overview of the man, or 'god', responsible for Sparta's Good Order. The footnotes are many and useful, ensuring that Plutarch's writings aren't accepted by the reader as absolute truth. Most of the text renders the facts and opinions in narrative style, which helped sustain my interest. Plutarch's prose is very readable and never intimidating. I'd recommend this book to general readers interested in Sparta, and its length (200 or so pages) makes it great for those short on time.
Rating:
Summary: Read the fine print
Review: It is with a slight reservation that I recommend this book to classical history buffs & fans of the ancient Spartans. Those (like myself) who lick their chops @ the chance to read a book about the Spartans in their prime might be a bit disappointed. The Lacedaemons were never the same after their defeat at the hands of the Thebans @ Leuctria in 371BC. A good chunk of this book (about 1/3, in fact) is spent on Agis & Cleomenes. These personages were post-Leuctria fellows who tried to resurrect the Lycurgan principles and traditions which the Spartans were so well known for. Both failed, but gave noble efforts to these ends. Basically, they represented the death-knell to the hardcore Laconian way of life. Now, both figures are certainly important to classical history; that much is not in debate. However, confronting them in a book entitled "On Sparta" by a historian the calibre of Plutarch is a bit anti-climactic. Again, I was so looking forward to reading about this magnificent culture while it was in its prime - cover to cover. On the upside, the best part of the book deals with Lycurgus. It was he who founded the famous "Spartan way of life" around the 8th century BC. It was he who contrived such innovations as the long hair on Spartan males, the Lacedamonian distaste for $$ and all things artistic (with the exception of music) as well as virtually all luxuries and comforts of life. It is because of Lycurgus that the Laconians who came after shunned all things effeminate and became such a brutal fighting force. It was also he who promoted egalitarian distribution of land - noted as his most significant reform. Here Plutarch furnishes one of the most detailed biographies of this great man that you will find. The chapter on Lycurgus alone is well worth the price of the book. In the remainder of the treatise, Plutarch displays sundry quotations of Spartan kings, warriors and women [it is ironic that in such a militaristic state that Lacedaemon women had more rights and privileges than any other city state in Greece]. There are many salient quotes that exemplify Spartan ideals quite nicely. If you're looking for a book on Sparta, you can do much worse than this one. I will continue my search for more books on Sparta during her heyday. In the meantime, I will have to settle for daydreams about Lycurgus. I will leave you with one of my favorite Spartan sayings (this one by King Agesilaus): "Courage has no value if justice is not in evidence too; but if everyone were to be just, then no one would need courage." (P. 119)
Rating:
Summary: Read the fine print
Review: It is with a slight reservation that I recommend this book to classical history buffs & fans of the ancient Spartans. Those (like myself) who lick their chops @ the chance to read a book about the Spartans in their prime might be a bit disappointed. The Lacedaemons were never the same after their defeat at the hands of the Thebans @ Leuctria in 371BC. A good chunk of this book (about 1/3, in fact) is spent on Agis & Cleomenes. These personages were post-Leuctria fellows who tried to resurrect the Lycurgan principles and traditions which the Spartans were so well known for. Both failed, but gave noble efforts to these ends. Basically, they represented the death-knell to the hardcore Laconian way of life. Now, both figures are certainly important to classical history; that much is not in debate. However, confronting them in a book entitled "On Sparta" by a historian the calibre of Plutarch is a bit anti-climactic. Again, I was so looking forward to reading about this magnificent culture while it was in its prime - cover to cover. On the upside, the best part of the book deals with Lycurgus. It was he who founded the famous "Spartan way of life" around the 8th century BC. It was he who contrived such innovations as the long hair on Spartan males, the Lacedamonian distaste for $$ and all things artistic (with the exception of music) as well as virtually all luxuries and comforts of life. It is because of Lycurgus that the Laconians who came after shunned all things effeminate and became such a brutal fighting force. It was also he who promoted egalitarian distribution of land - noted as his most significant reform. Here Plutarch furnishes one of the most detailed biographies of this great man that you will find. The chapter on Lycurgus alone is well worth the price of the book. In the remainder of the treatise, Plutarch displays sundry quotations of Spartan kings, warriors and women [it is ironic that in such a militaristic state that Lacedaemon women had more rights and privileges than any other city state in Greece]. There are many salient quotes that exemplify Spartan ideals quite nicely. If you're looking for a book on Sparta, you can do much worse than this one. I will continue my search for more books on Sparta during her heyday. In the meantime, I will have to settle for daydreams about Lycurgus. I will leave you with one of my favorite Spartan sayings (this one by King Agesilaus): "Courage has no value if justice is not in evidence too; but if everyone were to be just, then no one would need courage." (P. 119)
Rating:
Summary: A Good introduction to Spartan History
Review: This book contains Plutarch's biographies of Agis, Cleomenes, and Lycurgus. It is not exactly a linear book about Spartan history, like W.G. Forrests, but it contains a great deal of information about the society within the biographies. Like any of Penguin's translations this one is good and faithful to Plutarch's words. The book is great for the newcomer to the study of ancient Greek history, but even an experienced classics student would appreciate it, especially the section on famous Spartan quotes. The lives of the Spartan nobles are interesting and Plutarch's writing is very readable. There are some concerns about the accuracy of the information since Plutarch was writing about these people long after they died. Some scholars even doubt if Lycurgus really existed. Regardless, Plutarch is one of the only available sources of information about Sparta, a civilization that kept few records. I would recomment this book to someone desiring an introduction to Spartan history. A more advanced reader would probably want to buy a complete copy of Plutarch's lives and get the biographies in this volume with those of two other Spartans, Lysander and Agesilaus and many other classical figures. However, the chapter in "Plutarch on Sparta" containing famous quotations alone makes the book a necessity for the serious Laconiphile.
Rating:
Summary: A Good introduction to Spartan History
Review: This book contains Plutarch's biographies of Agis, Cleomenes, and Lycurgus. It is not exactly a linear book about Spartan history, like W.G. Forrests, but it contains a great deal of information about the society within the biographies. Like any of Penguin's translations this one is good and faithful to Plutarch's words. The book is great for the newcomer to the study of ancient Greek history, but even an experienced classics student would appreciate it, especially the section on famous Spartan quotes. The lives of the Spartan nobles are interesting and Plutarch's writing is very readable. There are some concerns about the accuracy of the information since Plutarch was writing about these people long after they died. Some scholars even doubt if Lycurgus really existed. Regardless, Plutarch is one of the only available sources of information about Sparta, a civilization that kept few records. I would recomment this book to someone desiring an introduction to Spartan history. A more advanced reader would probably want to buy a complete copy of Plutarch's lives and get the biographies in this volume with those of two other Spartans, Lysander and Agesilaus and many other classical figures. However, the chapter in "Plutarch on Sparta" containing famous quotations alone makes the book a necessity for the serious Laconiphile.
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