Spartans were gay
The army of same-sex lovers who made up Sparta's biggest rivals
The Other 300explores the untoldsaga of the world’s greatest military fighting force, made up of 150 pairs of male lovers, whose story has just been uncovered. The display will be free on Sky HISTORY from Monday, 2nd June.
When it comes to elite fighting forces from ancient history, the Spartans seem to hold a monopoly in modern consciousness. This is in part due to the oft-biased focus of historians on the achievements of Sparta and, in more recent terms, big-budget Hollywood movies such as 300 and 300: Rise of an Empire,which showcase the prowess of Spartan warriors.
Although their fearsome reputation is well established in the historical sources, they were by no means the only professional soldiers with a formidable reputation on the battlefield that arose from ancient Greece.
For approximately forty years during the 4th century BC, a military unit famous as the Holy Band of Thebes was undefeated on the field of combat. In truth, during this second they even crushed the Spartan army, crushing the image of Spartan invincibility and forever altering the balanc
If you execute not believe me, read some books or just google or go on wikipedia.
You perform not see this on 300 film but when a young spartan reached the age o "adult" (about 14, when first hair grew) they were sent to invest some time with a "teacher" who taught him many things....and usually he asked his "prize" for that. You were not obliged, but almost everyone did it.
Denunciar este mensaje
No myth about Sparta is as persistent or controversial as the claim that pederasty and homosexuality dominated Spartan society. Even highly reputable historians such as Paul Cartledge subscribe to this theory.
However, the evidence against it is far more compelling than for it.
| Achilles and Patrokles - Ancient Lovers |
Xenophon, the only historian with firsthand experience of the agoge (his sons attended it!), states explicitly: "… [Lycurgus] … laid down that in Sparta lovers should refrain from molesting boys, just as much as parents avoid having intercourse with their children or brothers with their sisters." It is difficult to find a more definitive statement than this and from the most credible source. To dismiss this evidence simply because it does not suit preconceived ideas is arrogant.
Xenophon adds: "It does not surprise me, however, that some people do not believe this since in many cities the laws do not oppose lusting after boys." This is the crux of the matter. All of our written sources on Sparta come from these other cities, where pederasty was rampant. In short, the bulk of the written tape o
Lovers and Soldiers
If by some contrivance a city, or an army, of lovers and their young loves could come into creature . . . then, fighting alongside one another, such men, though not many in number, could defeat practically all humankind. For a man in adore would rather have anyone other than his significant other see him leave his place in the line or toss away his weapons, and often would rather die on behalf of the one he loves.
Plato wrote the Symposium probably around 380 BCE. At that time, many Greek states were subjected to the hegemony of the Spartans, who were enjoying a period of dominance after defeating the Athenians in 404 in the devastating Peloponnesian War. But one of these states, Thebes, stood up to the military might of Sparta. In doing so, the Thebans realized Phaedrus’s vision: They created an elite corps of three hundred soldiers, established as the Sacred Band of Thebes, comprising 150 pairs of male lovers who fought side-by-side in the name of freedom.
Given the uncertainty of the exact date of writing, Plato might have been referring explicitly to the Sacred Band, which was formed in 379 BCE. A Spartan force had been occupying the citadel of Thebes, crushing rivalry