Famous throughout history for their doomed stand at Thermopylae, and immortalised by contemporary Athenian writers who viewed them as the exotic other, the Spartans, and their brutality and bravery, both fascinate and appal us. Andrew Bayliss reveals the best and the worst of this harsh society, sep...

Famous throughout history for their doomed stand at Thermopylae, and immortalised by contemporary Athenian writers who viewed them as the exotic other, the Spartans, and their brutality and bravery, both fascinate and appal us. Andrew Bayliss reveals the best and the worst of this harsh society, separating myth from reality.