3 ms·
> the Spartan aristocracy operated like a modern-day cult "Cult" isn't the word I'd use for it. The main point of that particular post is comparing the written
by jcranmer 5y ago
> the Spartan aristocracy operated like a modern-day cult
"Cult" isn't the word I'd use for it. The main point of that particular post is comparing the written sources' description of Spartan agoge to modern child soldiers... and our sources' description of the Spartan agoge read rather like how someone would write about modern child soldiers if they thought it were a good thing.
- mannykannot 5y agoInteresting - I have a strong recollection of someone making a comparison of the agoge to the methods of modern cults (I do not think it is something I would have come up with myself) and I thought it was somewhere in this series, but I see it is not. Maybe I heard it from Dan Carlin? Not that you have to agree with the comparison, of course!
- dustintrex 5y agoBy and large ancient sources seem to also have thought that the Spartans were nuts. There are virtually no sources where Spartans write about themselves though, since they were not exactly keen on intellectual pursuits.