Spartan detachment on the isle of Sphacteria is a major blow to Sparta's reputation of invincibility. Part 3 introduces Alcibiades, an Athenian statesman who defects to Sparta and becomes an adviser and strategist. In particular, he suggests that Sparta takes the war to Syracuse, in Sicily, during which Athens suffers a major blow (including the capture of their entire expeditionary force). The Spartan Lysander, chief of its naval forces, begins to rise in power, and he eventually defeats the Athenian navy (which enables him to blockade Athens) and finally ends the war by successfully invading and subjugating Athens. Agesilaus, who becomes one of the kings of Sparta, finally sees Sparta become the dominant power in Greece. But decadence and corruption follow, along with a drastic reduction in the number of Spartan citizens. In time, these events lead to an irreversible decline in Sparta's fortunes, leading to war with Thebes and, in 371 BC, the end of Spartan pre-eminence after the battle of Leuctra. Home media releases The series was released on VHS and Region 1 DVD by PBS Home Video on 27 April 2004. A Region 2 version was released by Dd Home Entertainment on 13 September 2004. References Further reading External links Channel 4 webpage Transcript of Bettany Hughes online chat 'Sparta Pages' review For more about Helen of Sparta, see Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore by Bettany Hughes (2005) , and see reviews on http://www.bettanyhughes.co.uk/ 2002 British television series debuts 2002 British television series endings 2000s British documentary television series Sparta Laconia Channel 4 documentary series Historical television series 2000s British television miniseries Television series by All3Media English-language television shows