Started a book called The Spartans by Paul Cartledge. It will be interesting. I have read books about greece and its classical period before but they are almost always centered on Athens. Sparta was just as powerful and probably more so. It won the 27 year long war between them and it controlled a more than three times bigger area than Athens. It will be interesting to hear the story of this time told from a spartan point of view.
(ironically, in spite of Athens being famous for its democracy, it was in Sparta that the position of the women was far better than in Athens. In Athens they were suppodsed to make and mend clothes, cook food and take care of the children and not be seen by other people than family and husband. In Sparta they owned land, influenced politics, participated in the olympics, and got an education which all were totally unthinkable in Athens.