Sparta vs. Greece

Many, women more often than men, feel that being a warrior means being an oppressor. History, however, does not necessarily bear out this idea. In Sparta, the strongest warrior culture that the Greeks produced, the woman had the most freedom of any Grecian woman of the time. The women, received much the same education as the young men, and shared a life with their men far closer than did the women of Athens.

In sexual matters, the Spartans, true to their nature, seem to have had the highest rate of monogamy in all of Greece. They held their woman in high esteem and Spartan women had greater equality than their Grecian sisters who were treated according to the more Oriental standards towards women of the rest of Greece.

The Spartans were also renowned for their virtue and being the most pious of all Greeks. There is a story told by Plutarch about the Spartans at one of the Olympiads. In the crowded throng at the Olympic games, an old man was looking in vain for a seat from which to watch the events. His stumbling attempts to find one were noticed by many Greeks from other states, who mocked him for his age and difficulty in finding a seat. When, however, he came to the section where the Spartans were seated, every man among them rose to his feet and offered him their seats. Somewhat abashed, but nevertheless admiringly, the other Greeks applauded them for their behavior. "Ah," the old man is reported to have said with a sigh, "I see what it is. All Greeks know what is right, but only the Spartans do it.'"

Woman also fared well in other warrior societies. Viking woman owned their own property and could divorce their husbands if they were mistreated. The Celts of Britannia often had women as rulers and many tribes were matriarchal. It is false to think that because men are warriors that it follows that they look down on women.

Peace and pacifism are not congruent with each other. Albert Einstein realized the 1930's that his pacifistic approach to Nazi Germany would not work.
"He experienced that the ultimate ethical values, on which all human existence is based, must, as a last resort, be defended even by force and with the sacrifice of human lives..."
Max Born on Albert Einstein's realizations prior to the Second World War.

How can we forget the courage and sacrifice of those that have gone before us in providing us with freedom and plenty. How can we not take up the torch to provide this same freedom to those who come after. We should honor all who have given of themselves with the ultimate sacrifice that provides us with what we not enjoy, even if this sacrifice was long ago and far away.

"Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here, according to her laws we lie."
Epitaph written by the poet Simonides at the ancient monument celebrating Spartan courage and sacrifice at Thermopylae that was instrumental in holding off the Persians under Xerxes and preserving the concept of democracy for the world to come.

Virtue must be taught and practiced; it must be nurtured and passed to each generation. Freedom must be taught and practiced as well. If not, it easily perishes. Virtue and freedom go hand in hand. Not to cherish the one is not to cherish the other. A society that looses the warriors' virtues is the poorer for it and will soon be a society whose freedoms are lost. The male has a genetic prime directive-a service to life-to protect and defend. In this service he is historically more expendable than the female and the children. Every man is responsible for defending every woman and every child When the male no longer assumes this role, when he no longer has the courage or moral responsibility, society will cease to value honor and virtue. Neither laws nor government can replace this personal caring and commitment. In the absence of the warrior-protector, the only way that a government can protect a society is to remove the freedom of its people. And in such a society, the sons and daughters of lions become sheep.