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> Sparta declined was that this severely limited the size of armies they could field. Agreed. That is a scalability problem, it does not mean they were a failu
by 29athrowaway 3y ago
> Sparta declined was that this severely limited the size of armies they could field.
Agreed. That is a scalability problem, it does not mean they were a failure at large in every aspect.
Rolls Royce, Ferrari and Lamborghini products also don't scale as much as Toyota products but many people aspire to have them.
> their military merit was, overall, rather mediocre.
Their merit is studied in military academies around the world. Those are the types of studies that actually matter and can be tested in real situations of life and death.
- brazzy 3y ago> Agreed. That is a scalability problem, it does not mean they were a failure at large in every aspect. No, but the fact that they weren't actually winning most of their battles means they were not exactly a success in the military aspect, which was kind of the only thing they had going for them, seeing as their society was otherwise pretty shit (admittedly, their upperclass women had a few more freedoms than those in other Greek states). > Their merit is studied in military academies around the world. Those are the types of studies that actually matter and can be tested in real situations of life and death. Excuse me, which military academies these days are fighting battles using spears and shields? Please tell me you're not talking about Steve Pressfield "Warrior Ethos" bullshit.
- orwin 3y agoTheir upper class women had more than 'a few more freedom', especially after their husbands died: they basically controlled merchants and foreign policy.