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 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...