Angry, angry Spartans

Bronze figure of a warrior, 6th c. BC.

Join Andrew Bayliss for a discussion about the Angry, angry Spartans

When we think of Spartan behaviour we often think of the usual stereotypes.

They might be positive, like Spartans bravely fighting to the death in obedience to Spartan law, Spartan boys resolutely enduring the lash during the upbringing, or Pausanias piously sacrificing to the gods before the Battle of Plataea.

The stereotypes might also be negative, like the Spartans’ alien acts, or the seemingly countless Spartan sayings rudely dismissing foreigners as wordy windbags, or even Thucydides’ famous characterisation of the Spartans as slow to act.

But one Spartan quality that appears very frequently in our sources – anger – is often overlooked. This paper will go beyond the stereotypes and explore the portrayals of Spartan anger in context.

All are very welcome. Free to attend. 

Discussants:

• Dr Andrew Bayliss (University of Birmingham)
• Dr Petros Doukas (Mayor of Sparti)
• Dr Chrysanthi Gallou (University of Nottingham)

The event will be hosted on Microsoft Teams via a link that will be shared here prior to the event. Simply follow the link to join the event. 

Link to the Microsoft Teams live event (activates on the day of the event)