Tag Archives: Herodotus

The Helots: Slave Warriors of Ancient Sparta

By Ḏḥwty, Contributing Writer, Ancient Origins The ancient Greek city-state of Sparta had a social hierarchy that was different from many of its neighbors. The top of the social pyramid was occupied by the two kings, whose powers were checked by a ‘council of elders’. These elders were chosen from the next class, the Spartiates.

Written on May 10, 2022 at 12:01 pm, by Sean Kelly

1 Comment

Categories: Places

Tags: helots, Herodotus, Messenian Wars, Spartans, Thucydides

Sparta and… Scotland? Laconic wit through the centuries

By Andrew Rattray When you think of Sparta, what’s the first thing that jumps to mind? I’m willing to wager that you’re picturing immoveable, impenetrable warriors, the infamous black broth, or perhaps the often-brutal agoge. These things are certainly what first come to mind for me. After all, modern day depictions of Spartan culture portray

Written on July 13, 2021 at 7:27 pm, by Programmer

No Comments

Categories: Culture, Places, Quotes, Uncategorized

Tags: Herodotus, Laconic, Phillip II, Scotland, Sparta

Classics Rock Star

NB**Today is the LAST DAY you can get tickets to our Inaugural Symposium, as well as all the recordings of the event…You can get the Two Day Pass for only $22.50 (that’s less than 2 movie tickets!) See below for details. You will want to watch because we have a genuine Rock Star of the

Written on October 23, 2020 at 4:40 pm, by plato

No Comments

Categories: Dialectics

Tags: Alexander the Great, Dying Every Day, Ghost on the Throne, Greek Plays, Herodotus, How to Die, James S Romm, Seneca at the Court of Nero, Symposium

Wine as pharmakon: Persian drinking in the Histories

Written by Ronan McLaverty-Head, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom Herodotus tells us that the Persians were “very partial to wine,” something he illustrates with the following anecdote: “If an important decision is to be made, they [the Persians] discuss the question when they are drunk, and the following day the master of the house where the

Written on October 7, 2020 at 1:54 pm, by KristinD

No Comments

Categories: Symposium

Tags: Ancient greek, Herodotus, Persia, wine

Sparta: The Warrior State?

Written by Meghan McKenna, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom Sparta, home of Ancient Greece’s most brutal warriors, trained from their youths to become capable hoplites. It is an image that has become a staple of our thoughts when thinking about how Spartan society may have been. But is this the case or is this a force-fed

Written on August 21, 2020 at 6:13 am, by Alex Barrientos

No Comments

Categories: Military History

Tags: Agoge, Ancient Greek Military History, Education, Herodotus, Lycurgus, Plutarch, Sparta, Spartan women, Spartans, Xenophon

How do we know what’s TRUE?

It looked like we were on a popular game show… but then again, it was a surprise birthday pub quiz zoom party… so I guess we sort of were? After your editor won for all intents and purposes (my only real rival wrote one round of questions), the conversation, like all others happening the globe

Written on April 27, 2020 at 7:28 pm, by plato

1 Comment

Categories: Dialectics

Tags: Aristotle, Covid, Fake News, Herodotus, Thucydides, Truth

« Older Entries