The Spartan Dagger: A Novel
3.5/5
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About this ebook
Ancient Sparta comes to life in The Spartan Dagger, Nicholas Guild's vivid tale of murder and vengeance.
On a cold night, at the outskirts of a peasant village, two Spartan youths wait to perform an ancient rite of passage. A family--father, mother, and their son--approaches, unarmed and defenseless. The young men step into the moonlight and claim their manhood by killing the adults. The boy escapes.
The Spartans have no idea how terrible an enemy they have called forth. Nothing could have prepared them for the boy, Protos, whose name means “destined,” whose cunning and inborn skill with weapons renders his enemies almost defenseless, and whose heart knows no pity. The Spartans have oppressed his people for centuries, and to break their power is to free all those they hold in subjection. As Protos grows to manhood, he begins to understand that his private war against his parents’ murderers is also a struggle for liberation.
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Reviews for The Spartan Dagger
3 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A gripping, easy to read novel set in the 4th century BC for a period of about 20 years against the backdrop of the war of Thebes against Sparta in which Spartan power and grip of its subject people the helots began to weaken. Two twin Spartan brothers, members of the krypteia, the secret organization which keeps tight control on helots and to which the most promising future military leaders are admitted, seek out and kill the family of Protos, a helot. Protos kills one brother and takes his xuele knife: the "Spartan dagger" of the title. He and the other brother, Eurytus, want to take revenge on each other. Protos has a natural affinity for knife-throwing and escapes Spartans sent after him. He meets an Egyptian "witch" and healer, Nebit, who, throughout his life with her, guides him with her dreams and prophecies. He meets Epaminondas, a Theban general, and together with Pelopidas and their men, set off to destroy Sparta. He conceives the desire to free his people. The Thebans first weaken Sparta at Leuctra, where Epinamondas' unusual oblique formation is used successfully against the Spartan phalanx. Leuctra was given short shrift in this novel; for a detailed fictional description I recommend Hanson's [The End of Sparta]. This battle puts steel into the Thebans' spines and they know they can defeat the Spartans--maybe not right away, but eventually. Much of the novel is either battles or is a cat-and-mouse game between Protos and Eurytus. Sometimes the two are forced by circumstances to be temporary allies. But there is a final duel between the two; Eurytus has lost his left hand earlier. The character development was outstanding; each of the main characters grew in maturity. For Protos, it was from vengeance to the larger goal of freeing his people and for Eurytus, in spite of his fear, shame, and doubt, although badly injured, fighting in spite of them to restore his honor. I wondered at the mention of Pelopidas with **nothing said** of the Sacred Band. Historically, they were pairs of male lovers under his command. Although Protos seemed too perfect and learned the techniques of war as well as reading and writing quickly, he did suffer one wound where he lay near death and did take a long time to recover. This was logical. Usually similar novels have the hero be wounded and recover miraculously quickly. Highly recommended.