A History of Ancient Sparta

Valor, Virtue, and Devotion in the Greek Golden Age

By: Prof. Timothy B. Shutt

Narrated by: Prof. Timothy B. Shutt

Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

A born teacher and lecturer, Professor Timothy B. Shutt examines the history and culture of ancient Sparta, a society renowned for military excellence and adherence to the values of courage, discipline, duty, and the overcoming of fear. Vastly outnumbered at the Battle of Thermopylae, the Spartan "300" held off an overwhelming Persian force before finally succumbing - but not without inflicting massive casualties and inspiring the rest of the Greeks with the notion that they could persevere.

In this enlightening series of lectures, Professor Shutt delves into Spartan culture, examining its origins, government, religion, and the major events that defined its history.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2009 Timothy B. Shutt (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Excellent

Really enjoyed this audio book. Professor Shutt is excellent and makes learning history enjoyable and interesting

Someone help this man

Great information about Sparta delivered by professor who is actively fighting being drowned. At one point I accidently paused it and just assumed he had died. Did you know the North American Elm tree is almost extinct? I certainly do. Those trees are not A-leet (elite).

Great overview!

An exciting though relaxed approach to Greek history. Shutt comes across as a teacher you could easily discuss Sparta over a beer at your favorite pub.

Can't get enough

Masterfully told, a true pleasure to listen to. I found myself listening to these lectures over and over again.

excellent lecture

i love hearing professor Shutt! His ability to bring past civilizations to life is astounding, and how he rarely speculates but when he does he tells you he is. An excellent read all around.

Can I get more?

This was a great listen, extremely education and in depth. My only question is where can I find more of other titles just like these.?.

Great info

I usually have it on in the truck on my way to work. I think it's facinating how much we have garbled 1000 years of history into what we think is the spartan story at Thermopylae. Worth a listen if you want to delve into what Sparta actually was in the ancient world. Even better if you have read the Iliad, Odyssey and The Histories first.

Very informative and well structured

This book did a great job of telling what is known. The author did a good job of injecting his own opinions about contested history while labeling them as that. I found the pace of the narration too slow but at 1.5x speed it was fine (I almost never use that feature).

Good Story, Poor Performance

The series of lectures was provided a good overview of, first, the way of life of ancient Sparta, and then the history of nearly a thousand years. Adequate job for the time allotted.

Shutt may be a brilliant historian, but he should definitely not be narrating books. The frequent looooonnnnnnggggg pauses, not only between phrases, but very often in the middle of a phrase, were extremely distracting. Even listening to this at 1.25x speed did not remedy this. On top of that, it sounded as if Shutt was almost always suppressing a belch or swallowing, usually followed by lip or tongue smacking. That’s fine if done infrequently or if the book was short, but almost 8 hours of it was excruciating to me. I will not be listing to any other books in which he’s the narrator.

Very informative series of lectures

This was an interesting and concise history of Sparta and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I definitely recommend.