The Spartans

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring The myths surrounding Sparta are as old as the city itself. Even in antiquity, Sparta was a unique society, and considered an enigma. The Spar ...

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring The myths surrounding Sparta are as old as the city itself. Even in antiquity, Sparta was a unique society, and considered an enigma. The Spartans who fought for freedom against the Persians called themselves ''equals'' or peers, but their equality was reliant on the ruthless exploitation of the indigenous population known as helots. The Spartans'' often bizarre rules and practices have the capacity to horrify as much they do to fascinate us today. Athenian writers were intrigued and appalled in equal measure by a society where weak or disa