Beneath the gleam of Spartan bronze and the myth of the perfect warrior society lies a raw, brutal, and often erased reality: child soldiers, enslaved populations, state-sanctioned murder, and a society built on paranoia and violence. The Spartan Saga pulls back the curtain on the “300” myth and exposes the blood, propaganda, and psychological warfare that built the legend.
From the trauma-forged boys of the agoge to the secret killings of the Krypteia, from the silenced voices of the Helots to the quiet suffering of the Perioikoi, this is not your sanitized Hollywood Sparta. This is the real shit. We bring you battle cries and broken backs, Spartan wives holding communities together while boys are brutalized into killers, and the enemies who watched in horror as Sparta turned itself into a machine.
We cover it all—from the rise of Spartan militarism and the founding of its dual-kingship to the lead-up and eruption of the Peloponnesian War. This is history for the sleepless, the curious, and the fed-up. Told in rants, riffs, and raw first-person perspectives.
NOTE FROM CULLEN:
A lot of my material doesn’t come from just dusty old books—though those matter too. I’m a long-haul trucker. That means I’ve got hours, and I mean hours, to listen, absorb, and overthink. Audiobooks? Essential. Historical podcasts? Daily bread. YouTube documentaries? Background noise with fire insights. I dive into it all: lectures, debates, independent history channels, weird little academic corners of the internet. Google Books and Kindle books from Amazon? Yep—I pay for a lot of that out of pocket. This is a labor of love. I don’t care. I like history. My sources are layered and loud. Just like this podcast.
Academic Books / eBooks / Google Books / Kindle:
Cartledge, Paul. The Spartans: The World of the Warrior-Heroes of Ancient Greece. Vintage.
Hodkinson, Stephen. Property and Wealth in Classical Sparta. Classical Press of Wales.
Powell, Anton. Athens and Sparta: Constructing Greek Political and Social History from 478 BC. Routledge.
Kennell, Nigel M. The Gymnasium of Virtue: Education and Culture in Ancient Sparta. University of North Carolina Press.
Pomeroy, Sarah B. Spartan Women. Oxford University Press.
Audiobooks (Audible / Google Play):
The History of Ancient Sparta – Charles River Editors.
A Short History of the Ancient Greeks – P.J. Rhodes.
History of the Peloponnesian War – Thucydides (Multiple audio translations available).
In Search of the Greeks – James Renshaw.
Documentaries / Lectures / YouTube Sources:
Sparta: The Fall of the Warrior State – History Hit.
The Real Spartans – Timeline Documentaries.
Krypteia Explained – ToldinStone YouTube Channel.
The Brutal Reality of Spartan Life – Extra Credits History.
Fall of Sparta – Kings and Generals (YouTube Channel).
Helot Rebellions and Spartan Control – Ancient Recitations.
Podcasts:
The History of Ancient Greece – Hosted by Ryan Stitt.
Hardcore History – Dan Carlin (Especially relevant comparisons on societal militarism).
History Extra – BBC History Magazine Podcast (Spartan-focused episodes).
The Spartan History Podcast – Focused entirely on Sparta’s history and mythology.
Specific source for Helots being killed for exercising:
Cartledge, Paul. The Spartans — He notes Spartan authorities viewed any Helot showing strength or initiative (such as physical training or prideful behavior) as dangerous. These Helots were often targeted for elimination via the Krypteia.