10 Disturbing Things Which Were Considered Normal in Ancient Sparta
Dunking Infants in Wine? The Horrifying Ways of the Ancient Spartans.
The iconic movie 300 popularised the Ancient Spartan Empire as vicious and cruel. It was a society where great men exhibited extraordinary strength, coupled with exceptional cruelty. Liberal and humanitarian philosophies indeed emerged in Greece, but myths about the horrifying ways of the Spartans are not unfounded, to say the least.
1. The Lowest Class
The Spartans had once conquered a land called Helos, whose people were essentially enslaved in Sparta. In Spartan society, serfs who worked on land owned by the state were known as Helots.
What was unique about Spartan society was perhaps not their ownership of slaves but their cruelty towards them. They had no right to mobility as the state would govern which agricultural land they were assigned to work on.
While being the backbone of the state and doing all the dirty work, they were the ones considered second-class citizens. They were given the most humiliating tasks, such as wearing a dog skin cap and wrapping themselves in skins.
To ensure they did not rebel or revolt in any manner, the Spartans ensured the Helots received a…
