Thanks for mentioning the many other Greek soldiers who were there. I've heard that the Spartans shoved the helots up front as fodder. Also, how many people ever give the Athenian fleet any glory?
Thank you for writing this Honor, it was excellent.
I love thinking about how the Greeks were very much the barbarians from the Persian perspective and how, by more objective standards, the Persians have a far better claim to being the main characters of the 5th century BC.
In particular, he Persian penchant for gardening was eminently civilized! Still, hard not to feel stirred by Thermopylae propaganda, even when transparent. Keep up the wonderful work.
I’ve read a dozen or more ancient and modern accounts. Nicely done. The critique of the misuse of the “come and take them” slogan is astute. It’s modern users would not a lasted long as hoi poloi, Spartans, or as helots for that matter.
Great write up and observations on the nature of freedom. What the West has yet to realise is that the Spartan definition of freedom precisely as you explain it, is still the way Greece self-defines today. It pervades the way we think and is key to cultural identity. It is why we’re perceived as odd renegades in European circles. The notion of the collective- national, regional, familial - is also at the core of the social structure even though that is changing, but individualism is still frowned upon, an ιδιώτης still an “idiot.” It has great sociological implications and nuances but - importantly - should not be parsed in the same way as in other countries’ misapplication of the idea.
I enjoyed reading your write up. A lot of this is known but we’re all leaves in the current of our romantic notions of freedom and heroism and reading that first opening paragraph takes all of that away and makes the story very happenstance.
I'm a huge fan of how elegantly you pack a lot of information in a small amount of words.
Oh, thank you so much - that's so lovely to hear!
Thanks for mentioning the many other Greek soldiers who were there. I've heard that the Spartans shoved the helots up front as fodder. Also, how many people ever give the Athenian fleet any glory?
Very, very true... maybe I need to do a follow up on the Battle of Salamis? Or dive into the murky waters of Sparta and the Helots?
Thanks for retelling this story.
Thank you for reading!
This is brilliantly told - thank you.
Thank you for reading!
Thank you for writing this Honor, it was excellent.
I love thinking about how the Greeks were very much the barbarians from the Persian perspective and how, by more objective standards, the Persians have a far better claim to being the main characters of the 5th century BC.
In particular, he Persian penchant for gardening was eminently civilized! Still, hard not to feel stirred by Thermopylae propaganda, even when transparent. Keep up the wonderful work.
I’ve read a dozen or more ancient and modern accounts. Nicely done. The critique of the misuse of the “come and take them” slogan is astute. It’s modern users would not a lasted long as hoi poloi, Spartans, or as helots for that matter.
Love that David painting!
Wonderful article, thank you!
This article is very interesting. Still... I love this quote:
💕"Stranger, report back to the Spartans that here
we lie, obeying their dictates."💕
Great write up and observations on the nature of freedom. What the West has yet to realise is that the Spartan definition of freedom precisely as you explain it, is still the way Greece self-defines today. It pervades the way we think and is key to cultural identity. It is why we’re perceived as odd renegades in European circles. The notion of the collective- national, regional, familial - is also at the core of the social structure even though that is changing, but individualism is still frowned upon, an ιδιώτης still an “idiot.” It has great sociological implications and nuances but - importantly - should not be parsed in the same way as in other countries’ misapplication of the idea.
I enjoyed reading your write up. A lot of this is known but we’re all leaves in the current of our romantic notions of freedom and heroism and reading that first opening paragraph takes all of that away and makes the story very happenstance.