Spartan (45 page)

I’ve attempted to set my story in this archaic and in many ways primitive society, which is nonetheless admirable for its spirit of sacrifice, its ideals and its honesty. I’ve
respected the original sources as closely as possible, seeking even in the language to reproduce the mentality and manner of living. I was inspired by the story of two survivors of the terrible
battle of the ‘three hundred’ Spartans at the Thermopylae: Pantites and Aristodemus, (Herodotus, VII, 230–2), whom I have called Aghias and Brithos in this novel, maintaining a
certain liberty in telling their story, while the figure of the protagonist, Talos/Kleidemos, is wholly imaginary. Everything that surrounds him is based on fact, however: the Persian Wars (based
on accounts by Herodotus, but also Diodorus, Thucydides and other minor authors), the habits and customs, the political institutions, the religion and rituals, the folklore and the popular
traditions of a world so distant in time and yet so close, in this age when world conflicts are being re-proposed in such dramatic terms.

P
ARTICULAR
N
OTES

The term ‘slave’ is used in the novel, when referring to the Helots, in the generic sense of ‘servant’. As we’ve mentioned, slavery per se
was not practised by the Spartans.

The term ‘regent,’ with reference to Pausanias, is often substituted by the term ‘king,’ since his function was the same and was perceived as such by the people. The
chronology of King Leotichidas’ succession is deliberately vague, since it has never been definitively established.

The chronological span of this story extends more or less from 505-504
BC
to shortly after 464
BC
, the year of the earthquake and the revolt of
the Helots in Sparta.

The two episodes of suicide in the novel are based on several dramatic pages by Herodotus. The shameful epitaph given to the survivors of the Thermopylae,
ò trésas
(‘he who trembled’) is authentic as well (Herodotus, VII, 231), as is the macabre suicide ritual of King Cleomenes I (Herodotus, VI, 75), which reflects a mysterious rite whose meaning
escapes us, reminiscent in a way of Japanese hara-kiri (although obviously not connected in any way). It may not be going too far to speculate that suicide was perhaps the only option left to a
Spartiate who had lost his honour.

The custom of ‘exposing’ disabled children on Mount Taygetus is documented by historical sources, although it is not clear for how long this went on. Parents forced to comply with
this practice must surely have suffered. In any case, inbreeding may have led to an increase in the number of children born with physical defects over the years.

Pausanias’ project of giving freedom and full rights as citizens to the Helots is documented in the sources (Thucydides I, 132,4), and it might have been a possible solution to the
fundamental problem which led to Sparta’s ruin, that is, the rigid division between its castes and the impossibility of injecting new blood.

In the final analysis, the distortions of Spartan society originate from taking a basic principle – aberrant from a modern point of view – to an extreme: that is, that the state is
more important than any of its citizens, although its original interpretation may simply have been the sacrifice of the individual for the greater good of the survival of the community. Behaviour
that still today is termed ‘heroism’.

V
ALERIO
M
ASSIMO
M
ANFREDI
is the professor of classical archaeology at the Luigi Bocconi University in
Milan. He has carried out a number of expeditions to and excavations in many sites throughout the Mediterranean, and has taught in Italian and international universities. He has published numerous
articles and academic books, mainly on military and trade routes, and exploration in the ancient world.

He has published ten works of fiction, including the Alexander trilogy, which has been translated into twenty-four languages in thirty-eight countries, and
The Last Legion
, recently
released as a major motion picture. He has written and hosted documentaries on the ancient world, which have been transmitted by the main television networks, and has written fiction for cinema and
television as well.

He lives with his family in the countryside near Bologna.

Also by Valerio Massimo Manfredi

A
LEXANDER
: C
HILD OF A
D
REAM

A
LEXANDER
: T
HE
S
ANDS OF
A
MMON

A
LEXANDER
: T
HE
E
NDS OF THE
E
ARTH

T
HE
L
AST
L
EGION

H
EROES

(
formerly
The Talisman of Troy)

T
YRANT

T
HE
O
RACLE

E
MPIRE OF
D
RAGONS

T
HE
T
OWER

First published 2002 by Macmillan

First published in paperback 2003 by Pan Books

This electronic edition published 2011 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
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Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com

ISBN 978-1-447-21133-4 EPUB

Copyright © Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. 1988

Translation copyright © Macmillan 2002

Originally published 1988 in Italy as
Lo Scudos di Talos
by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A., Milano

The right of Valerio Massimo Manfredi to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital,
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liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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