: 1) Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece. (think this has been said
: already...)
: 2) Your social description is relatively accurate. The Spartans WERE the
: badasses of ancient Greece--because they lived for war: At birth, babies
: were "culled"--those with disabilities or sicknesses were left
: in the wilderness to die. Spartan citizens were taken from their parents
: at a young age and put in boarding schools. There they were organized into
: social units of around 100 in number. These units were kept intact
: throughout their training all the way to the battlefield. The men in the
: Spartan phalanx had known and worked with each other from their
: childhoods. Food was tough but nourishing--heavy bread with a thick, dark
: bean soup-like thing. The food adolescents were given was just below
: sustenance level, with the intent that these trainees would learn to
: forage, steal, and scrounge their survival. Interestingly, the assumption
: was that they would steal, but punishment for stealing was harsh. For that
: fact, all punishments were harsh in ancient Sparta--so much so that during
: Roman times Sparta became a bit of a tourist magnet, with rich Roman
: citizens coming to the city to see flailings and other such cruelties.
: Homosexuality developed out of the "mentorship" institution--where
: Spartan late adolescents/young adults graduated from their childhood
: boarding houses and prepared to enter Spartan society. They found
: themselves a respectable Spartan citizen and developed deep, paternal
: relationships with them; learning all aspects of life in general and
: Spartan life in particular. Homosexuality wasn't the rule, but neither was
: it exceptional. In fact, it was officially deemed honorable to have a
: homosexual relationship with your mentor. It was after their mentorships
: that they were voted into the clans--usually their mentor's clan.
: A final interesting note is that the Spartan society was built on slave
: labor. The original inhabitants of the area were enslaved when the
: Spartans moved in and built their city; these original inhabitants became
: a slave majority called the "helots." The helots were the
: workforce which provided the food supply for the citizen Spartans--who
: spent their time training for war, as described above. This was partly out
: of necessity, because the helots were always ready to revolt. In fact,
: part of Spartan training involved letting the trainees run wild and
: terrorize/kill/maim/rape the helot population.
: 3) Although the Spartans were excessively cruel to others (e.g. the helots)
: it has been noted that this cruelty was applied even to their own
: population. I guess it could be said that they were... intense people. I'd
: hardly say that your "mass murdering marine" is an accurate
: portrayal of either the ancient Spartans or the Master Chief. I haven't
: got TFoR but I believe that the SPARTANS are being trained for war, not
: genocide. There is a marked difference between training someone to be the
: ultimate soldier and training someone to be a psychotic killer. And as far
: as the ancient Spartans...one must remember the times in which they lived.
: Alot of what we now view as barbaric was then within honorable conduct,
: especially during war.
: 4) On a similar note, I believe Bungie is trying to communicate the rigorous
: training regime and social values of the ancient Spartans in their choice
: of names. These SPARTANS have been severed from normal social ties and in
: place given a total institution, run by the government(?). Just like their
: ancient namesakes, the SPARTANS probably place the State above their
: Lives.
: There's the famous story of the second Persian invasion by the Persian
: emperor Xerxes. Xerxes sent ambassadors to all the Greek city-states with
: demands of earth and water--the symbolic representation of submission on
: land and sea. Athens treated their envoy with tirades and speeches and
: sent them back. The ambassadors who were sent to Sparta were not so lucky.
: They were thrown down a well with the remark that at the bottom they would
: find plenty of both earth and water. The resulting invasion led to
: Thermopolye (sp?).
: --hero
: I have been Roland, Beowulf, Achilles, Gilgamesh.
: I have been called a hundred names and will be called a
: thousand more before the world goes dim and cold.
: I am hero.
8===> Spartans have a penis!
