LogFAQs > #931648587

Vita_Aeterna posted...

Doe is right one thing, that one of the problems with military history buffs is that they glorify warrior culture, and violence without critically thinking about it. For them it's "the Spartans were stronger than other Greeks because x, y, and z." That tells us nothing significant about the Spartans. How about why, and what led them to be that way? How did their economic and ideological environment foster a military ethos unfounded in other parts of Greece? What does that tell us about other city states? Why were they different? How does their utilization of violence serve as an instrument of state policy? You can go as deep and broad as you like, ultimately you will have a question that will be an impetus for your research.

Your interests are alright. I mean certainly an interest in musical history is rare, and I'd encourage you to keep reading. If you read a pop history book, fine, but hopefully you're curious enough to want to read further and get a more in-depth understanding of the subject, and hopefully formulate your own argument about these subjects. Historians spend a lot of time debating with each other. That's really what they mostly do.

I mean some people will never have the time to do this, which is okay--fine. But don't tell me you're a history buff.
rolls eyes.

The first mistake is thinking the Spartans were a military or a warrior society at all. There's a lot of modern work by the likes of Stephen Hodkinson that have moved away from the idea that Sparta was this hardcore warrior society. Instead when looked upon a critical eye the Spartans really weren't any better than any of the other Greeks, it's all possible that they weren't all that much different than the rest of the Greeks either. They turned a disaster at thermopylae into a huge propaganda victory that still echoes to this day. I'd recommend giving this a read since it gives out a basic overview on modern scholarship's view of Sparta:

http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/32475/2/Hodkinson.%20Transforming%20Sparta%20Ancient%20History%20Resources%20for%20Teachers%2041-44%202011-2014.pdf

I know it's a bit off for a response but I'll take the opportunity to object over that statement.

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Aut viam inveniam aut faciam.
Will not change sig until the Tsar is put back in the Russian throne (July 08, 2010)