The biggest problem today is that hardly anyone studies history. What little history they think they know is largely shaped by pop culture, memes and Wikipedia.
Here's an example. Nearly everyone knows who the Spartans are through the movie 300. Spartans are admired and a symbol of strength, independence, and lauded as people resisting the tyranny of a narcissistic Persian king.
Here's the reality. The reason Spartans had a totally militarized society where practically every fit male of fighting age was in the army was that everything else was run by SLAVES. Most of the slaves were defeated Messinians, an adjacent kingdom, and they were conquered and enslaved.
So, no more Spartan Races, let's castigate Gerard Butler for playing uber slave owner King Leonidis, and delete all of the This is Sparta memes from the web.
The biggest problem today is that hardly anyone studies history. What little history they think they know is largely shaped by pop culture, memes and Wikipedia.
Here's an example. Nearly everyone knows who the Spartans are through the movie 300. Spartans are admired and a symbol of strength, independence, and lauded as people resisting the tyranny of a narcissistic Persian king.
Here's the reality. The reason Spartans had a totally militarized society where practically every fit male of fighting age was in the army was that everything else was run by SLAVES. Most of the slaves were defeated Messinians, an adjacent kingdom, and they were conquered and enslaved.
So, no more Spartan Races, let's castigate Gerard Butler for playing uber slave owner King Leonidis, and delete all of the This is Sparta memes from the web.