What's your opinion on Ancient Sparta? Do you agree with a recent opinion that they were like the North Korea of Ancient Greece?
Never heard that one before but no I don’t agree, because the circumstances in which Ancient Sparta and North Korea “flourished” were entirely different.
North Korea is a complete totalitarian regime in a time and age where the world has moved on to more democratic systems (btw I don’t know who needs to hear this today but 99% of the democratic systems nowadays are just elected oligarchies - thinking we truly have democracy is the biggest myth that has been fostered in the last two centuries).
Ancient Sparta was an extremely disciplinary society and culture and it was not a regime enforced on people. The Spartans were raised into that system and the vast majority had developed the mindset to genuinely support it - there is no indication that most wished to escape it, except for a few war deserters. In fact, Spartans frowned upon everyone else and viewed themselves as superior exactly because of their lifestyle. They were just a peculiar culture of antiquity, in a time when most of the other city-states and the rest of the nations were ruled by kings, emperors or tyrants. So, it wasn’t a matter of an unprecedented oppressive ruling system in the case of Sparta, it was a culture that was inherently militaristic, stoic, kinda eugenic but at the same time very proud and more progressive regarding its women.
BTW Sparta had a unique governing system that mixed several political systems in one. It had a dual kingship, meaning two simultaneously reigning kings from different dynasties who were able to check each other, an oligarchical council of elders but also an assembly of the Spartan male citizens.
It should also be noted that the strange militaristic culture developed in Sparta did not have as an aim to control and oppress Spartans themselves, as it happens in North Korea, where the central government has accumulated all the power and ensures it by suffocating its own people. In Sparta the rulers were often subjected to strict examination and the laws were equal for most Spartan citizens regardless of income and social class. Sparta was so militaristic because it was founded on the former lands of the helots (none other than the Messenian Greeks), whose living conditions under the Spartan rule were so bad that they revolted all the time, and Spartans had to be alert at any moment to suppress their revolts. This is why they cultivated this very war-oriented sentiment in themselves.
Last but not least, it should be noted that Spartans could enjoy themselves as well, aside from their insane training and dedication to war. They had festivals, cultural and religious celebrations and the like. Surely they were not as indulgent as in other regions of Greece but they were not completely absent either. Meanwhile, most celebrations in North Korea are about worshipping the presidency of the country, the foundation of the pseudo-Communist Party, the military industry and the few cultural ones are secondary compared to these.
Having said that, I would definitely not want to live in Ancient Sparta.
