International Sparta Seminar

In 1986, Anton Powell organised a series of seminars for the London Classical Society on the theme of ancient Sparta. These resulted in the 1989 volume Classical Sparta: Techniques behind her Success. This was followed in 1991 by a conference held in Cardiff, organised by Anton Powell and Stephen Hodkinson, which resulted in the  volume The Shadow of Sparta (1994), and which may be considered the first meeting of the International Sparta Seminar. Since then, a total of fifteen conferences on Sparta have occurred either as meetings of the ISS, or in association with it. These have resulted in thirteen volumes of published research, with at least two volumes usually being in production at any given time. These volumes have been edited by members of the ISS, most notably longtime collaborators Anton Powell and Stephen Hodkinson.

Anton Powell passed away in 2020. His legacy includes the Celtic Conference in Classics and the Classical Press of Wales, both of which have long associations with the ISS, and the International Sparta Seminar itself, which continues to facilitate and disseminate new and original research on the history, society, culture, and representation of ancient Sparta.