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The Walls of Sparta is a marvelous new telling of an ancient story that offers fascinating insights into Sparta's martial culture and its use of the agoge, the institution that raised young men to be elite warriors often amid the exchange of amorous same-sex experiences. But outside forces encroach even here and the king must consider the threats of Thebes, as well as intrigue at home.
Agesilaos was Sparta's most famous and most influential ruler in the time around 400 BCE. He assumed power at the apex of the city-state's prosperity and military domination. Eros between men fascinates this king - his own lover puts him on the throne. A royal matchmaker, he surrounds himself with numerous pairs of lovers. They fight by his side in horrific battles, and one of his protégés, the most beautiful man of his generation, wages war nude versus awe-struck Thebans. Yet the king's own love is a striking Persian boy. A marvellous new rendition of an ancient story written with fascinating insights into Sparta's martial culture and its use of the agoge, the institution that raised young men to be elite warriors, often amid the exchange of sexual and amorous experiences. But outside forces encroach even here and the king must consider the threats of Thebes and Corinth, as well as those at home.
Author: Charles Llyod
Paperback Published September 2020, 394 pages
"At last, the homoerotic epic set in ancient Greece I have long been waiting for since my days devouring Mary Renault's historical tales." - Jeff Mann, author of award-winning novel Salvation
"The stories of these interconnected lives combine into a comprehensive portrait of Spartan society under Agesilaos's rule, dense with historical detail and lyrical love scenes." - Publishers Weekly
"An entertaining, if heavy-breathing, re-creation of classical Greece at its manliest." - Kirkus Reviews