By the way, have you realized that the reference to Athens is almost always missing from Saint-Just's quote on hapiness? Guess why. I have an idea: because the liberal (in the European sense) popular-historiographic tradition makes us dislike Sparta as totalitarian stupid soldier-state and admire Athens as the centre of culture, intellectual life, democracy and refinement. Oh yes, let's manipulate the quotes so we don't have to face the complexity of the people's views and of the world itself. Sib.
p.s. Said that, the movie 300, that homophobic, orientalist (anti-Iranian?) propaganda glorifying Sparta as the land of real macho men fighting against the effeminate oh-so-evil Persians may change the trends :-)
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-07-23 08:11 pm (UTC)p.s. Said that, the movie 300, that homophobic, orientalist (anti-Iranian?) propaganda glorifying Sparta as the land of real macho men fighting against the effeminate oh-so-evil Persians may change the trends :-)