ARE THEY SINGING IN SPARTA? consists of four parts: Part I – A Schoolmaster From Attica, Part II – The Scourge of Messenia, Part III – Widow of A Hero, and Part IV – Monuments of Flesh. 

In Part I, we are introduced to Tyrtaios, a lame schoolmaster from Attica who is chosen by the Oracle to go to Sparta to lead the Spartan army even though he has no military training. Reason would indicate that he is chosen to lead them to defeat. Reluctantly he departs for Sparta on a fast warship. Xenodikos, a helot, is assigned to teach him Spartan ways and they become friends. On reaching Sparta, his attention is drawn to a lovely widow, Alethia, then he is tormented by two youths, Bullis and Agetus. For their disrespect to Tyrtaios, who is now known as the Supreme Polemarch of the city, they are taken to the pits and severely punished by being publicly flogged. 

Part II is taken up by Agesandros, a Spartan officer who is son of Medon. In this part we are introduced to the way of life of a typical Spartan family. Agesandros remembers his own father as being very abusive and would like a wife and family but his life as an officer seems to prevent that from happening.

Agesandros is opposed to the appointment of the Polemarch as the Polemarch has displayed nothing but incompetence. Agesandros would like to lead the army himself. 

Part III introduces us to Alethia, widow of Euryanax. She is laying awake from yet another sleepless night. Her worries are many and she wishes she could stay in bed and not have to face another day. To add to her worries, her son, Anaxandridas, has shamed himself when being punished for tormenting the lame Polemarch. There was no way around it – it was her fault. She should have remarried to give the children a father. It seemed only fitting that she should go in person to apologize to the Supreme Polemarch. 

On reaching the palace, Alethia was informed that the Polemarch was not expecting visitors and needed a little time to prepare. While waiting for the audience, Alethia’s memories drifted back to her childhood. She remembered the period of time she had lived in Athens. She remembered her marriage to Euryanax and his death. On meeting the Polemarch, Alethia was astonished to hear that he felt the boys were only doing what was natural and that he regretted their punishment. In his conversation with Alethia, she explains the Spartan way of life and a bond of friendship between them is formed. On learning of his desires to lead a quiet life so he could write poetry and set it to song, she invites him to live in her kleros. 

In Part IV, Tyrtaios awakens in a comfortable bed in Alethia’s kleros and hearing song, realizes that his appointment by Apollo was not to lead the Spartan army into defeat but to heal their grief. As Part IV progresses, the main characters in the book are brought together in a great climax worthy of the best historical stories. 

All in all, ARE THEY SINGING IN SPARTA? Is one of the greatest historical books I have ever had the pleasure to read. My only regret was that it was an ebook and difficult to read. I’ll need to get the hard cover edition and read it again, it was that good.