Sparta Live!

Join us for an online programme of lively workshops themed around the history, archaeology and legacy of ancient Sparta.

Learn the facts about this fascinating ancient culture that's inspired Hollywood films, documentaries, fiction and graphic novels
Challenge misconceptions that have led to its misappropriation
Celebrate the 2,500-year anniversary of the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC)!

The programme is hosted jointly by the Centre for Spartan & Peloponnesian Studies and the City of Sparti, Laconia, Greece – the site of ancient Sparta.

Leonidas at Thermopylae, by French artist Jacques-Louis David, 1814 (oil on canvas). The work currently hangs in the Louvre in Paris, France. © Creative Commons

Sparta Live workshops

The current Sparta Live series will run on selected Thursdays from 5-6 pm (UK time).

We will be joined by international experts from the fields of Spartan history and archaeology to explore different aspects of the ancient Spartan civilisation and culture.

We look forward to meeting you!

Upcoming events

CANCELLED Xerxes and his Barbarian Horde Returns: The Battle of Thermopylae, Ephialtes, and the Cultivation of Xenophobia by the Greek Golden Dawn with Neil Bar

Date: 21/11/2024
Location:: Microsoft Teams online event
Description: Due to unforeseen circumstances, this week's Sparta Live! online talk has been cancelled. It will be rescheduled for spring. Thank you for your understanding.

What have the French scholars done for Sparta?: The French's contribution to Spartan civilization with Dr Nancy Bouidghaghen

Date: 05/12/2024
Location:: Microsoft Teams online event
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

The sacred landscape of Kythera and the peak sanctuary at Leska with Dr Mercourios Georgiadis

Date: 12/12/2024
Location:: Microsoft Teams online event
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

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Past events

Spring 2024

A Double-Edged Sword: The Profits and Perils of War for the Spartan Politeia with Ellen Millender

Date: 01/02/2024
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

Recent Far-Right Appropriations of Sparta in Europe and the USA, and their Historical Roots with Stephen Hodkinson

Date: 08/02/2024
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

The hair of Spartan youth with Marcello Lupi

Date: 15/02/2024
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

Rethinking Militarism: Why the Spartans Didn't Fight with Matthew A. Sears

Date: 22/02/2024
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

Myth articulates Territory: Spartans and Hebrews with Irad Malkin

Date: 29/02/2024
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

From Kingship to Tyranny: What did Cleomenes III do to the Spartan constitution? with Edmund Stewart

Date: 07/03/2024
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

Chilon of Sparta: Legend and Reality with Susan Shapiro

Date: 14/03/2024
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

The past of our city: The history of Sparta through its standing ancient architectural remains with Anastasia Panagiotopoulou

Date: 21/03/2024
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

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Autumn 2023

Revising the Spartan Krypteia with Selene Psoma

Date: 12/10/2023
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

17 October - Ellen Millender

Date: 17/10/2023
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

Equal contributors? Agesilaus and Lysander within Plutarch's 'Spartan Cycle'

Date: 26/10/2023
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

The Queen of Sparta - Tariq S. Chaudhry

Date: 02/11/2023
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

CSPS Annual Lecture

Date: 14/11/2023
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

Tegean oligarchy in the shadow of Sparta - Ingvar Brandvik Mæhle

Date: 16/11/2023
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

Just when was the prehistoric town of Pavlopetri drowned by the sea?

Date: 23/11/2023
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

Did the Spartans Practice Eugenics? with Timothy Doran

Date: 30/11/2023
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

Lakonian Heroic Plaques Revisited: Has Anything Changed? with Gina Salapata

Date: 14/12/2023
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

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Spring 2023

"Dorian" Civic Dining? Rethinking the Syssition on Crete and at Sparta

Date: 02/03/2023
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

The History and Archaeology of the Spartan Malea Peninsula

Date: 23/02/2023
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

Kythera and Laconia, a continuous dependent relationship

Date: 09/02/2023
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

Why did the Spartans dislike democracy?

Date: 02/02/2023
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

Spartiates, and Lakedaimonians: The Language of Identity in Archaic and Classical Sparta

Date: 26/01/2023
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

The agones for Ortheia

Date: 19/01/2023
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

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Autumn 2022

Personifications of Natural Elements and Their Representations in the Mosaics of Sparta and the Peloponnese

Date: 15/12/2022
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

Beyond Reception: Rethinking the Spartan Tradition

Date: 08/12/2022
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

Sparta Reconsidered: Countering Myths and Misinformation with Common Sense in the Novels of Helena P. Schrader

Date: 01/12/2022
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

The Mentor Shipwreck

Date: 24/11/2022
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

Kythera and Laconia, a continuous dependent relationship

Date: 10/11/2022
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

Byzantine glazed tableware from Lakedaimon: the social, economic and historical context

Date: 03/11/2022
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

Beyond the Throne: the archaic finds of the Spartan sanctuary of Apollo Amyklaios

Date: 27/10/2022
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

Neolithic Alepotrypa Cave: a reassessment of past and current research

Date: 20/10/2022
Description: Join leading academics for this week's lecture followed by a general discussion.

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Autumn 2021 series

Sparta and Athens - A Classical Love Story

Date: 02/12/2021
Description: Join the SpartaLive team for the latest free event in this exciting series of public talks.

Dedicatory Patterns at the Hero Shrines of Sparta

Date: 25/11/2021
Description: Join the SpartaLive team for the latest free event in this exciting series of public talks.

Ritual employment at (inter)regional sanctuaries

Date: 18/11/2021
Description: Join the SpartaLive team for the latest free event in this exciting series of public talks.

Spartan Women at the Eleusinion

Date: 04/11/2021
Description: Join the SpartaLive team for the latest free event in this exciting series of public talks.

Sparta's monumental commemoration of the Persian Wars

Date: 28/10/2021
Description: Join the SpartaLive team for the latest free event in this exciting series of public talks.

Thermopylae and the Spartan Military Mystique

Date: 20/10/2021
Description: Join the SpartaLive team for the latest free event in this exciting series of public talks.

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Spring 2021 series

Adapting Slavery to Spartan Society

Date: 18/03/2021
Description: Join the SpartaLive team for the latest free event in this exciting series of public talks.

Spartan doctors and medical science in Sparta

Date: 04/03/2021
Description: Join leading experts for a discussion about Sparta and medical practice, the latest free event in the exciting SpartaLive series of public talks.

Sparta and the Internet

Date: 18/02/2021
Description: Join the SpartaLive team for the latest free event in this exciting series of public talks.

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Autumn 2020 series

Warlike Spartans? Competing memories on Spartan militarism

Date: 10/12/2020
Description: Join Elena Franchi for a discussion exploring competing memories on Spartan militarism.

"My Queen!": The reception of Gorgo in 300 (2006) and 300: Rise of an Empire (2014)

Date: 26/11/2020
Description: Join Carl Buckland for a discussion about "My Queen!": The reception of Gorgo in 300 (2006) and 300: Rise of an Empire (2014).

Music in Ancient Sparta

Date: 12/11/2020
Description: Join James Lloyd for a discussion about Music in Ancient Sparta

Angry, angry Spartans

Date: 22/10/2020
Description: Join Andrew Bayliss for a discussion about the 'Angry, angry Spartans'

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Summer 2020 series

The legacy of Sparta in modern politics

Date: 30/07/2020
Description: Join leading academics for a discussion about the legacy of Sparta in modern politics

Sparta and International Relations

Date: 23/07/2020
Description: Join leading academics for a discussion about Sparta and international relations

Sparta and philosophy

Date: 16/07/2020
Description: Join leading academics for a discussion about Sparta and philosophy

The 'Spartan Mirage'

Date: 09/07/2020
Description: Join leading academics for a discussion about the 'Spartan Mirage'

Spartan art before and after the time of the '300'

Date: 02/07/2020
Description: Join leading academics for a discussion about Spartan art before and after the time of the '300'

Unveiling Spartan Women

Date: 25/06/2020
Description: Join leading academic Professor Ellen Millender for a lively discussion about Spartan women

Sparta in graphic novels: THREE

Date: 18/06/2020
Description: Join the writer and publisher of the graphic novel 'Three' that explores Spartan history and culture a century after Thermopylae.

The '300' in historical novels

Date: 11/06/2020
Description: Join Steven Pressfield for a discussion about the '300' at Thermopylae

Death and Commemoration around the time of the '300' Spartans

Date: 04/06/2020
Description: Join leading academics for a discussion about death and commemoration rituals around the time of the '300'

Before the '300'

Date: 28/05/2020
Description: Join leading academics for a discussion about the 'Lord of Vapheio' and the warriors of Bronze Age Greece

Sparta at War

Date: 21/05/2020
Description: Join leading academics for a discussion about Sparta at war

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Exciting topics we are covering include the Battle of Thermopylae, Spartan women, and the legacy of ancient Sparta in modern politics.

We are thrilled that the Mayor of the modern-day city of Sparti will be joining us to give their unique insight into these famous ancestors.

Dr Chrysanthi Gallou
Director of the Centre for Spartan and Peloponnesian Studies

Centre for Spartan and Peloponnesian Studies

University of Nottingham
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

telephone: +44 (0)115 951 4800
fax: +44 (0)115 951 4811
email: csps@nottingham.ac.uk