/lit/ - Literature

>>9612004
>rather than live under... Sparta
Nobody lived under Spartan rule, though. There's the subjugation of the helots that I can't defend; but apart from that population they saw necessary to maintain their military lifestyle, the Spartans ensured the freedom and rights of all their allies. There's a reason they were seen as the leaders of the free Hellenes, when it could be argued that states like Corinth were far more powerful given their wealth and navy. But it was the Spartans who were seen as honorable, dependable, and far more capable politically than most of these brain-dead historians stuck in 19th century Anglo propaganda give them credit for.
>An old man wandering around the Olympic Games looking for a seat was jeered at by the crowd until he reached the seats of the Spartans, whereupon every Spartan younger than him, and some that were older, stood up and offered him their seat. The crowd applauded and the old man turned to them with a sigh, saying "All Greeks know what is right, but only the Spartans do it."
It's simply amazing to me how we still have """historians""" who think Athenians were the Good Guys and the smarter everything... even though they lost the war, LARGELY due to their bad policies and democratic system that broke under pressure. Don't get me wrong, I still love Athens.