Spartan Scytale and Developments in Ancient and Modern Cryptography

This book offers a comprehensive review and reassessment of the classical sources describing the cryptographic Spartan device known as the <i>scytale</i>. Challenging the view promoted by modern historians of cryptography which look at the <i>scytale</i> as a simple and impractical 'stick', Diepenbroek argues for the <i>scytale's</i> deserved status as a vehicle for secret communication in the ancient world.<i> </i>By way of comparison, Diepenbroek demonstrates that the cryptographic principles employed in the Spartan <i>scytale </i>show 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, <i>scytale </i>encryption 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 <i>scytale </i>as an actual cryptographic and steganographic tool in ancient Sparta in order to illustrate the relative sophistication of the Spartan <i>scytale </i>as a practical device for secret communication. This helps to establish the conceptual basis that the <i>scytale </i>would, in theory, have offered its ancient users a secure method for secret communication over long distances. <i></i>