The Spartan Scytale and Developments in Ancient and Modern Cryptography

By: Diepenbroek, Martine

This book offers a comprehensive review and reassessment of the classical sources describing the cryptographic Spartan device known as the scytale. Challenging the view promoted by modern historians of cryptography which look at the scytale as a simple and impractical 'stick', Diepenbroek argues for the scytale's deserved status as a vehicle for secret communication in the ancient world.By way of comparison, Diepenbroek demonstrates that the cryptographic principles employed in the Spartan scytaleshow an encryption and coding system that is no less complex than some 20th-century transposition ciphers. The result is that, contrary to the accepted point of view, scytaleencryption is as complex and secure as other known ancient ciphers.

Drawing on salient comparisons with a selection of modern transposition ciphers (and their historical predecessors), the reader is provided with a detailed overview and analysis of the surviving classical sources that similarly reveal the potential of the scytaleas an actual cryptographic and steganographic tool in ancient Sparta in order to illustrate the relative sophistication of the Spartan scytaleas a practical device for secret communication. This helps to establish the conceptual basis that the scytalewould, in theory, have offered its ancient users a secure method for secret communication over long distances.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 135028131X
• ISBN13: 9781350281318
• Release Date: May 2025
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.1" x 9.2"