Cartledge Paul. Agesilaos and the Crisis of Sparta

London: Duckworth, 1987. — XII, 508 p.A fundamental study of Agesilaus' biography and of Spartan history of the end 5th - 359/8 BC.
The text is divided into four main sections: introductory, thematic, narrative and synoptic. The thematic chapters, which form the bulk of the book, have to some extent been written so that they can be read out of sequence by readers who are, for example, particularly interested in the mechanics of political decision-taking at Sparta, in Helotage, or in warfare. But the order of the chapters is initially determined by the progression of major episodes in the development of Agesilaos’ career. It is to be hoped that the repetitions inevitably entailed by this mode of exposition will not be found irksomely excessive. The narrative section cannot of course be wholly comprehended in isolation from the thematic.