The writing of Spartan history for long involved gliding - sometimes seamlessly - between the evidence of very different ancient sources. Now, a short series conceived by The Classical Press of Wales will examine closely and individually each of the principal sources and its relationship with classical Sparta. The first volume deals with Xenophon, to whom we owe a very large part of our image of the Lacedaemonians. Uniquely among surviving writers, Xenophon campaigned with Spartan commanders in the field. His 'Agesilaos' is a eulogy of a Spartan king he knew personally, his 'Constitution of the Lacedaemonians' an intimate document of a different sort. Here, internationally-recognised authorities on Sparta examine Xenophon's close - arguably too close - relation with the most powerful Greek state of his day. Contents include: Sparta and the Cyropaedia (Vincent Azoulay); Did Xenophon write for Spartans? (Gianluca Cuniberti); Xenophon and the myth of Lycurgus (Ephraim David); Xenophon and the selection of the Hippeis (Jean Ducat); Xenophon and the Spartan economy (T.J.

Figueira); Xenophon and Spartan law (Vivienne Gray); The 'Agesilaos' and the genre of encomium (Noreen Humble); Foxes and lions: Spartan commanders in the 'Anabasis' (Ellen Millender); Xenophon, Sparta and Phleious (Pierre Pontier); Sparta in the 'Hellenica', the 'Lac.Pol.' and the 'Agesilaos' (Giovanna Daverio Rocchi); Xenophon and Sparta's binary logic (Anton Powell); Sparta as model in Xenophon's non-historical works (Nicolas Richer); Spartans in the 'Anabasis' (Christopher Tuplin).