Spartan Army by Nick Sekunda: Book Review & Analysis
This book review examines Nick Sekunda's Spartan Army, part of the Osprey Military Elite Series, which details the military culture, dress, weapons, and training practices of ancient Sparta. The review analyzes Sekunda's portrayal of Spartan society as a disciplined collective state that produced some of antiquity's most formidable warriors. It considers how the author addresses Spartan conduct during the Persian Wars, the role of citizen loyalty in a non-democratic military state, Spartan education and intellectual life, and how other Greeks perceived Sparta. The review concludes with an assessment of the book's usefulness as an introductory resource for students of ancient Greek history.
- Overview of Spartan Army by Nick Sekunda: Introduction to the book's scope and subject
- Spartan Military Culture and the Persian Wars: Sparta's warrior ethos and Persian Wars role
- Spartan Intellect, Education, and Social Values: Education, aphorisms, and social conformity in Sparta
- A Critical Assessment of Sekunda's Portrayal: Critique of Sekunda's benign view of Sparta
- Usefulness of the Book for Students: Who benefits from reading this book
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- The review balances summary with analysis, clearly separating what Sekunda argues from the reviewer's own evaluative judgments.
- Specific textual evidence, including direct quotations with page numbers, grounds the review in the source material and demonstrates close reading.
- The final section provides a practical assessment of the book's audience and limitations, giving the review genuine critical value beyond mere description.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates how to evaluate an author's interpretive choices — particularly noting where Sekunda presents a "fairly benign picture" of a harsh society — while supporting that judgment with evidence drawn directly from the text. This is a hallmark of effective book review writing at the undergraduate level.
Structure breakdown
The review opens with a concise summary of the book's scope and subject matter. It then moves into a sustained analytical section that covers Spartan military conduct, citizen loyalty, the Persian Wars, education, and intellectual life. A brief critical paragraph challenges Sekunda's framing. The review closes with a practical recommendation about the book's usefulness, making the structure both logical and reader-focused.
Overview of Spartan Army by Nick Sekunda
Spartan Army by Nick Sekunda attempts to give as in-depth an account as possible of ancient Spartan society's military code of conduct and way of life. Particular detail is given to military dress, weapons, and uniforms, as well as the history and geography of this ancient Greek city-state and its methods of training citizen-warriors. Sparta was one of the major powers of ancient Greece, but unlike its ally during the Persian Wars and adversary during the Peloponnesian Wars — Athens — it did not have a democratic system of government. Rather, it was a military, collective dictatorship where young men were reared from birth to be warriors and servants of a proud and cohesive military state. Spartan women were reared to be mothers of great soldiers, and were famously said to tell their sons leaving for battle to either come back with their shields (victorious) or on their shields (dead) (29).
Works Cited
Sekunda, Nick. The Spartan Army. Osprey Military Elite Series, 6th ed. New York: Osprey Publishing (UK), 1998.
Create your account
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.