Quotes About Sparta
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Never ask a man if he is from Sparta: If he were, he would have let you know such an important fact - and if he were not, you could hurt his feelings. ~ Nassim Nicholas Taleb
A traveller at Sparta, standing long upon one leg, said to a Lacedaemonian, "I do not believe you can do as much." "True," said he, "but every goose can." ~ Plutarch
Again, wars do not really end until the conditions that started them
a bellicose government, an aggressive leader, a national policy of brinksmanship
are eliminated. Otherwise, there remains a bellum interruptum, much like the so-called Peace of Nicias, when Athens and Sparta agreed to a time-out in 421 B.C., before going at each other with renewed and deadly fury in 415 B.C. ~ Victor Davis Hanson
What is difficult? To keep a secret, to employ leisure well, to be able to bear an injury. ~ Chilon Of Sparta
I couldn't miss Percy's fifteenth birthday," Poseidon said. "Why, if this were Sparta, Percy would be a man today!"
"That's true," Paul said. "I used to teach ancient history."
Poseidon's eyes twinkled. "That's me. Ancient history. ~ Rick Riordan
It is difficult to associate these horrors with the proud civilizations that created them: Sparta, Rome, The Knights of Europe, the Samurai... They worshipped strength, because it is strength that makes all other values possible. Nothing survives without it. Who knows what delicate wonders have died out of the world, for want of the strength to survive. ~ Han From Enter The Dragon
For the record, there were no framed pictures of me around our house, and the only class portrait Dad had ever ordered was the one from Sparta Elementary in which I'd sat, knees glued together, in front of a background that looked like Yosemite, sporting pink overalls and a lazy eye. "This is classic," Dad said. "That they shamelessly send me an order form so I can pay $69.95 for prints large and small of a photo in which my daughter looks as if she just suffered a great blow to her head - it just shows you, we are simply strapped to a motorized assembly line moving through this country. We're supposed to pay out, shut up or get tossed in the rejects bin. ~ Marisha Pessl
Stay with me?" His fingers wound into my hair, and his arm tightened around me. "Always. ~ Amalia Carosella
Learn how to regulate one's own house well. ~ Chilon Of Sparta
Prefer punishment to disgraceful gain; for the one is painful but once, but the other for one's whole life. ~ Chilon Of Sparta
Ah, does my princess now want what I offer? ~ Sai Marie Johnson
I fear that I am not made for rough touch ~ Sai Marie Johnson
That city is well fortified which has a wall of men instead of brick. ~ Lycurgus Of Sparta
If you confer a benefit, never remember it; if you receive one, never forget it. ~ Chilon Of Sparta
As the touchstone tries gold, so gold tries men. ~ Chilon Of Sparta
better not bring up a lion inside your city,
But if you must, then humour all his moods. ~ Aristophanes
Sparta must be regarded as the first völkisch state. The exposure of the sick, weak, deformed children, in short, their destruction, was more decent and in truth a thousand times more human than the wretched insanity of our day which preserves the most pathological subject. ~ Adolf Hitler
Drawing his sword, he gazed down at the gleaming blade. 'I pledge you to the destruction of Sparta,' he whispered. Raising the weapon high he pointed it to the south-east and, though the city was far beyond his range of vision, he pictured the sword poised above it with the sun's harsh light turning it to fire. ~ David Gemmell
Here is what you do, friends. Forget country. Forget king. Forget wife and children and freedom. Forget every concept, however noble, that you imagine you fight for here today. Act for this alone: for the man who stands at your shoulder. He is everything, and everything is contained within him. That is all I know. That is all I can tell you.
Dienekes at Thermopylae ~ Steven Pressfield
...I'm sometimes called a reactionary. People say I want to go back to the 50s. And they're right – but it's the 650s BC I want to return to, because Sparta had the right idea about male love. You can spend all day wrestling and wanking each other off if you want to, chaps, but you still have to get married, have kids and go off to fight wars. ~ Milo Yiannopoulos
The tongue should not be suffered to outrun the mind. ~ Chilon Of Sparta
I am firmly convinced, therefore, that to set up a republic which is to last a long time, the way to set about it is to constitute it as Sparta and Venice were constituted; to place it in a strong position, and so to fortify it that no one will dream of taking it by a sudden assault; and, on the other hand, not to make it so large as to appear formidable to its neighbors. It should in this way be able to enjoy its form of government for a long time. For war is made on a commonwealth for two reasons: to subjugate it, and for fear of being subjugated by it. ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
The women of the Malesian Tales were however modelled after the lovely women of Singapore, the most urbane of the Malesian cities & the winners of the War of the Sexes.These lovely women,who belonged to a unique sub-species known as the "Singapore Girl", were spawn when the little City State imposed draconian measures in order to ensure its survival- measures covering population control, civic-consciousness, national hygiene & military preparedness- just as Sparta did during Milesian times. And thus, the Singapore girls,just as the girls of Sparta, were constantly in a state of military preparedness when it came to men.[INTRO] ~ Nicholas Chong
Where's the training ground?"
He thought he knew my reason for asking. "Oh no you don't," he said. "This isn't Sparta. You heard what Lord Oeneus thinks of women who act like men. You'll offend him."
"What offends him is women who do better than men," I said. "Don't worry, I don't want to do sword practice with any of them." I indicated the still-swaggering hunters. "If one of them beats me, he'll claim I had twelve arms, six heads, and spat poison. I just want to watch how you're all preparing for the hunt."
"Well, well, so you want to watch men exercising?" Castor snickered. "My little sister's growing up!"
I gave him a hard look. "The boar isn't the only pig around here."
That made him laugh outright. "Ah, Helen, I'm only joking. ~ Esther M. Friesner
The majority of our polities, as Aristotle says, are like the Cyclops, abandoning the guidance of the women and children to each individual man according to his mad and injudicious ideas: hardly any, except the polities of Sparta and of Crete, have entrusted the education of children to their laws. ~ Michel De Montaigne
You don't have to be rich and famous to have adventures! ~ Edmond P. DeRousse
Conversation. In Laches, he discusses the meaning of courage with a couple of retired generals seeking instruction for their kinsmen. In Lysis, Socrates joins a group of young friends in trying to define friendship. In Charmides, he engages another such group in examining the widely celebrated virtue of sophrosune, the "temperance" that combines self-control and self-knowledge. (Plato's readers would know that the bright young man who gives his name to the latter dialogue would grow up to become one of the notorious Thirty Tyrants who briefly ruled Athens after its defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War.) None of these dialogues reaches definite conclusions. They end in aporia, contradictions or other difficulties. The Socratic dialogues are aporetic: his interlocutors are left puzzled about what they thought they knew. Socrates's cross-examination, or elenchus, exposes their ignorance, but he exhorts his fellows to ~ Plato
Respect your captor, Caecelia. Learn to love your position, Caecelia. Pledge loyalty to Sparta, Caecelia. All hail Queen Caecelia of Sparta! ~ Sai Marie Johnson
The growth of the power of Athens, and the alarm which this inspired in Sparta, made war inevitable. ~ Thucydides
Only Spartan women give birth to real men. ~ Gorgo, Queen Of Sparta
O Stranger, send the news home to the people of Sparta that here we
Are laid to rest: the commands they gave us have been obeyed.
Ὦ ξεῖν', ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε
κείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.
[Epitaph of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae] ~ Simonides
A fine head of hair adds beauty to a good face, and terror to an ugly one. ~ Lycurgus Of Sparta
His tone was odd, a mixture of restraint and subtle conviction. He did not make light of the question, nor did he attempt to couch his words in chivalrous courtesy. "He wants you, Marian."
She sighed. "So he says, when it is the lands he wants - "
"No." He cut her off. "DeLacey wants you."
She grimaced. "Because of what I have - "
"Because of what you are." She scowled at him.
"What am I, then? Sir Hugh FitzWalter's daughter, ward to King Richard - "
"Marian." His face was stripped free of the mask. What she saw now was blazing, naked emotion.
"What you are is a woman he wants very badly in bed. And I think he would do anything to make sure he gets you there." Her shocked denial was instantaneous. "Oh no - "
"Oh yes." She stared at him, undone by his conviction. This was nothing she had anticipated, this brutal, male truth. "I - don't understand ..." And she didn't, not really, not fully. She was only beginning to, and it frightened her very badly.
His smile was wintry. "I am not the one to explain in elaborate detail why a man, any man, might feel as deLacey does."
Why not?"
Robin sighed. "Helen of Troy."
It baffled her utterly. "What?"
"Helen of Troy. Have you no knowledge of the classics?"
"Of course I do; I was told all the stories. Helen was married to Menelaus of Sparta, until Paris of Troy cast his eyes ~ Jennifer Roberson
We are on the path toward becoming the Sparta of the 21st century, armed to the teeth and without the capacity to care for our own people. ~ Dennis Kucinich
Remember us,
Should any free soul come across this place,
In all the countless centuries yet to be,
May our voices whisper to you from the ageless stones,
Go tell the Spartans, passerby:
That here by Spartan law, we lie. ~ Frank Miller
But let us not too hastily triumph in the shame of Sparta, lest we aggravate our own condemnation. ~ Thomas Day
If you want to know the one thing that will allow you to grow faster than anything else, it is the belief that you may be wrong about absolutely everything you believe. When you can question your beliefs at every possible turn, your opportunities for growth expand exponentially. ~ Kelle Sparta
A Spartan woman, as she handed her son his shield, exhorted him saying, "As a warrior of Sparta come back with your shield or on it." ~ Plutarch
Perhaps Zeus was king, but I was Spartan, a princess twice over, and queen of Athens besides. I knew my duty. And I would rule my own fate. ~ Amalia Carosella
And I would die for any one of mine. ~ King Leonidas
Keep the guests company, and mind your asses! Stay out of the hall before my chamber! ~ Sai Marie Johnson
It was natural for [Spartan women] to think and speak as Gorgo, the wife of Leonidas, is said to have done, when some foreign lady, as it would seem, told her that the women of Lacedaemon were the only women of the world who could rule men; 'With good reason,' she said, 'for we are the only women who bring forth men'. ~ Plutarch
Demaratus, being asked in a troublesome manner by an importunate fellow, Who was the best man in Lacedaemon? answered at last, 'He, Sir, that is the least like you'. ~ Plutarch
I felt as if Delphi herself were calling out to me: Come and know me if you can! It takes a special kind of person to learn my secrets. Are you strong or nimble enough to fight through my crowds? Are you smart enough to find your way through my streets? Are you wise enough to deal with any peril or adventure I might choose to throw across your path? I am Delphi, and I dare you to conquer me!
And I am Helen of Sparta, I thought. I'm your match, just wait and see. ~ Esther M. Friesner
Political writers argue in regard to the love of liberty with the same philosophy that philosophers do in regard to the state of nature; by the things they see they judge of things very different which they have never seen, and they attribute to men a natural inclination to slavery, on account of the patience with which the slaves within their notice carry the yoke; not reflecting that it is with liberty as with innocence and virtue, the value of which is not known but by those who possess them, though the relish for them is lost with the things themselves. I know the charms of your country, said Brasidas to a satrap who was comparing the life of the Spartans with that of the Persepolites; but you can not know the pleasures of mine. ~ Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Do not make too much haste on one's road. ~ Chilon Of Sparta
In this way, the Spartans erected a moral barrier between themselves and the helots to justify their harsh treatment of fellow Greeks. For all these reasons, the helots hated the Spartans bitterly. ~ Thomas R. Martin
In Sparta , paintings have been taken out of certain walls by cutting through the bricks, then have been placed in wooden frames, and so brought to the Comitium to adorn the aedileship of [C. Visellius] Varro and [C. Licinius] Murena. ~ Marcus Vitruvius Pollio
For the Spartans, it wasn't walls or magnificent public buildings that made a city; it was their own ideals. In essence, Sparta was a city of the head and the heart. And it existed in its purest form in the disciplined march of a hoplite phalanx on their way to war! ~ Bettany Hughes
Lycurgus the Lacedaemonian brought long hair into fashion among his countrymen, saying that it rendered those that were handsome more beautiful, and those that were deformed more terrible. To one that advised him to set up a democracy in Sparta, "Pray," said Lycurgus, "do you first set up a democracy in your own house. ~ Plutarch
Oh, my precious princess you are meant for cherishing, and ravishing like the jewel you are. ~ Sai Marie Johnson
The first time I saw your father, I'd just come home from the hunt. The forests of Calydon are thick with game, but the deer are so clever that it was the first time I'd managed to bring one down. I was so proud of what I'd done that I insisted on carrying the buck into the throne room myself and dropped it at my father's feet before I noticed we had a guest." She smiled at the memory.
"I'll bet Father thought you were Artemis herself," I said.
That made my mother laugh. "Not Artemis. You know how he feels about her. But he did say he mistook me for one of her huntress nymphs. That was just before he told me he had to marry me or die."
I made a face. "Father said that?"
"Men say many things when they want to win a woman. Whether or not they mean what they say…" She shrugged. "Your father meant it. Poor soul, it seemed like he would die, because none of my father's advisers thought I should marry him. Tyndareus came to Calydon as a landless exile; his brother had stolen his kingdom."
The story of Father's early trouble and final triumph was so well known that the palace stones could tell it. "Did you come to Sparta to marry him after he won back his crown?" I asked. "Or did he have to go back to Calydon for you?"
"Are you asking because you want to know, or because you want to distract me from what we need to talk about? ~ Esther M. Friesner
I make honorable things pleasant to children. A teacher from Sparta ~ David Brooks
Sparta has no philosophers. That's because the job of a philosopher is to understand things better, which is a form of change, so they don't want it. Another difference: they don't honour living poets, only dead ones. Why? Because dead poets don't write anything new, but live ones do. A third difference: their education system is insanely harsh; ours is famously lax. Why? Because they don't want their kids to dare to question anything, so that they won't ever think of changing anything. How ~ David Deutsch
Being asked where in Greece he saw good men , he replied, 'Good men nowhere, but good boys at Sparta. ~ Diogenes