What are the most common misconceptions or falsehoods people think they know about Spartans and Sparta? What are the things that are interesting that they should know but don't?
We only think of Sparta as a martial, austere, warrior-society, so how could a classically educated man like Xenophon reside there culturally, and did Sparta have any "soft power" then, or in our minds now?
Students of public school in the USA during the 1980s dutifully copied down our teacher's wisdom comparing and contrasting Sparta and Athens. In general, Sparta was rigid and militarily focused while Athens was"democratic" and the cradle of all good modern thinking. How accurate are these caricatures and, even more important, how useful are they for understanding societal organization and success?
What are the most common misconceptions or falsehoods people think they know about Spartans and Sparta? What are the things that are interesting that they should know but don't?
We only think of Sparta as a martial, austere, warrior-society, so how could a classically educated man like Xenophon reside there culturally, and did Sparta have any "soft power" then, or in our minds now?
Students of public school in the USA during the 1980s dutifully copied down our teacher's wisdom comparing and contrasting Sparta and Athens. In general, Sparta was rigid and militarily focused while Athens was"democratic" and the cradle of all good modern thinking. How accurate are these caricatures and, even more important, how useful are they for understanding societal organization and success?