Sparta in Comparative Perpective, Ancient to Modern: History, Historiography and Classical Tradition

Sparta in Comparative Perpective, Ancient to Modern: History, historiography and classical tradition

Project summary

From antiquity to the present interpretations of classical Sparta have typically been infused with comparative perspectives. Classical writers frequently emphasised the distinctiveness of Sparta's customs, portraying her either as deviant from general Greek norms or as the closest approximation to an ideal polis. In the Renaissance and early modern thought Sparta was viewed as a prime exemplar within classical republican thought. Between the English and the French revolution, critics of the 'ancien regime' invoked her as a model to be emulated in constructing a new social order. Since the American and French revolutions, in contrast, she has been viewed as an atypical society, the archetypal contrast to modern political and social systems, an ancient analogue for modern totalitarian regimes such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

This long history of comparative appropriations - the 'Spartan tradition in European thought' - has had a significant distorting effect on academic interpretations of ancient Spartan society. In the 20th century, in particular, the idea of Sparta's exceptional character became deeply ingrained in classical scholarship. Only in recent years has this notion of Spartan exceptionalism been called into question, as part of the renaissance of Spartan historical research since 1980.

The rationale behind this project has been that, although comparative analogies have frequently impeded understanding of Spartan society, the search for better understandings should not abandon cross-cultural perspectives. The challenge, rather, is to develop more sophisticated comparative analyses, alert to the complex interplay of similarities and differences between Spartan social institutions and comparable institutions in other societies. Such analyses should also be informed by critical analysis of earlier scholarly analogies and of the political and intellectual influences which gave them birth.

This project has therefore combined three interrelated strands of academic enquiry typically separated in scholarly research. Its first strand has studied ancient Spartan society and institutions from the perspective of comparable institutions in other societies, both in ancient Greece and at other historical times and places. Its second strand has examined modern historical writing on Sparta from the eighteenth century to the present, focusing on the recurring tendency to interpret Sparta through analogies or contrasts with other societies. The project's third strand has examined the political and intellectual context of this modern historical writing, especially the diverse ways in which Sparta has been appropriated as a comparative model within Western thought.

The project team's research has been augmented, through the project’s 2007 conference, by contributions from international experts in ancient Greek history, classical reception and the history of modern ideas. The Sparta: Comparative Approaches volume (2009) comprises a series of studies by the project team and these external experts, examining a range of ancient Spartan institutions in comparative context. The second conference volume, Sparta in Modern Thought, will investigate the development of political, intellectual and historiographical views of Sparta from medieval times to the present.

The project has also undertaken an in-depth interrogation of Sparta's reputation as a militaristic society. The Sparta and War volume (2006), the first focused collection of essays on the subject, challenges orthodox understandings of Sparta’s military culture. A substantial monograph, Comparing Spartan Militarism, will trace the development of Sparta’s militaristic reputation from antiquity to the late 20th century and compare the role of war in Sparta and a range of other historical societies.

Looking beyond Sparta itself, in collaboration with an interdisciplinary group of 18th-century scholars, the project has produced an innovative volume¸Reinventing History (2008), examining the Enlightenment origins of ancient historical research, as essential context for re- interpreting comparative approaches to Sparta in modern scholarship.

By combining these strands within a single investigation, the project is developing a more securely based contextualisation of Spartan institutions and a more integrated understanding of Spartan history, historiography and classical tradition.