Spartan

Spartan by Valerio Massimo Manfredi is one of the best historic novels I've read. The story is set in 500 - 450 BC, and talks about the lives of two yound heroes of Sparta. While one of them experiences the upbringing of a distinguished Spartan warrior's family, the other is cast away after being born a cripple, by the cruel laws of Sparta, and grows as a slave amongst the Helots. The good part about the book is that it chronicles some of the historic events alongside the plot such as the battle of Marathon, the story of 300 Spartans led by Kind Leonidas against a Persian army at the battle of Thermopylae, the battle of Platea against the Persians and the great revolt of the Helots in 464 BC.

A must read if you like to read a bit about the history of the Spartans!