Ancient Sparta Was A Dumpster Fire (Episode 141)

06/10/24 • 44 min

The mythology of ancient Sparta is that of peerless warriors, un-defeatable soldiers who defended democracy and resisted those who would conquer Greece.

The reality is... a lot different.

We're going to take a look at what ancient Sparta was actually like, why it was like that, and whether or not their Spartiates were actually that good at war.

The mythology of ancient Sparta is that of peerless warriors, un-defeatable soldiers who defended democracy and resisted those who would conquer Greece.

The reality is... a lot different.

We're going to take a look at what ancient Sparta was actually like, why it was like that, and whether or not their Spartiates were actually that good at war.

Previous Episode

The Altamont Free Concert (Relative Disasters Episode 140)

It was intended to be "Woodstock West", a celebration of music in a free concert in California. It was intended to have a fun lineup of some of the biggest rock bands on 1969, headlined by The Rolling Stones.

It ended with four people dead, hundreds injured, and is often pointed to as the death of the 1960s peace & love / counter-culture movements.

Next Episode

The Collapse of the Bronze Age (Episode 142)

It was one of the largest collapses of human civilization, arguably bigger and more important to history than the fall of Rome... so why do we know so little about it? Well, it's only recently that theories about how the major empires of the Bronze Age fell have found corroborating evidence in the archaeological record - so join us as we talk about the empires of the day, how they fell, and what we can learn from the whole mess!