‘Kalos kagathos’ and Scholarly Perceptions of Spartan Society

Davies, Philip

Abstract

In the course of his exhaustive study regarding the development of the term kalos kagathos, Félix Bourriot has proposed a specifically Spartan usage of the term, with a narrow military meaning. Here, I critically examine his arguments for this Spartan usage, exposing a number of flaws in his analysis. Ultimately, I argue that Bourriot’s hypothesis serves as an instructive example of the detrimental effects of the un-nuanced extreme of the preconception, still held by many scholars, of Spartan society as exceptionally militarised and militaristic.

Citation

Davies, P. (2013). ‘Kalos kagathos’ and Scholarly Perceptions of Spartan Society. Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte, 62(3), 259-279. https://doi.org/10.25162/historia-2013-0013

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2013
• Deposit Date: Nov 13, 2023
• Journal: Historia
• Print ISSN: 0018-2311
• Electronic ISSN: 2365-3108
• Publisher: Franz Steiner Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 62
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 259-279
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.25162/historia-2013-0013
• Keywords: History; Classics
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/27365667
• Publisher URL: https://biblioscout.net/article/10.25162/historia-2013-0013