The Rise and Fall of Sparta - From Superpower to Tourist Attraction DOCUMENTARY

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มิ.ย. 2024
  • Learn about the Rise and Fall of Sparta as it went from ancient Greek superpower to Roman tourist attraction! The first 100 people to go to www.blinkist.com/invicta are going to get unlimited access for 1 week to try it out. You’ll also get 25% off if you want the full membership.
    In this history documentary we recap the history of Sparta. This began long ago in the Bronze age which saw a rather glacial period of development that slowed even further in the Greek dark ages. However during the Archaic period a series of four villages eventually banded together to form a loose urban center that would later be called Sparta. They used their collective might to first dominate the local area, conquering the valley of Laconia before taking over neighboring Messenia over the course of the 8th and 7th centuries BC. During the 6th century BC it went on to undergo a series of reforms that saw the emergence of the Laws of Lycurgus and a more stark division between the citizen and non-citizen groups. This set the stage for Sparta to use its might to form the Peloponnesian League which collectively had the most powerful land army in all of Greece.
    Thus in the 5th century BC, Sparta was able to take a commanding role in the Greco-Persian wars and truly shine in the battles of Thermopylae and Plataea. It would then go on to win the Peloponnesian War against Athens and become the master of Greece. This would be the pinnacle of its rise to power. However this would be fatally undermined by a cratering citizen population which soon led to a dramatic fall from grace. It would take several hundred years but eventually Sparta would be able to pick itself back up, this time as a tourist attraction dedicated to its glorious past. We cover the ways in which this occurred and its a fascinating look into an otherwise forgotten part of the history of Sparta.
    Bibliography and Suggested Reading:
    “Spartans: A New History”, by Nigel M. Kennell
    “Hellenistic and Roman Sparta: A Tale of Two Cities” by Paul Cartledge and Anthony Spawforth
    “The Credibility of Early Spartan History” by Chester G. Starr
    “Sayings of Spartans” by Plutarch
    "The Spartans: The World of the Warrior-heroes of Ancient Greece" by Paul Anthony Cartledge
    S. Hodkinson, Property and Wealth in Classical Sparta (2000)
    J. Ducat, Spartan Education: Youth and Society in the Classical Period (2006)
    S.M. Rusch, Sparta at War: Strategy, Tactics and Campaigns, 550-362 BC (2011)
    E. Rawson, The Spartan Tradition in European Thought (1969)
    S. Hodkinson & I.M. Morris (eds.), Sparta in Modern Thought (2012)
    Credits:
    Research: Chris Das Neves
    Script: Chris Das Neves
    Narration: Invicta
    Artwork: Beverly Johnson
    #History
    #Sparta
    #Documentary

ความคิดเห็น • 1.3K

  • @InvictaHistory
    @InvictaHistory  2 ปีที่แล้ว +291

    We actually made a video tour of ancient Sparta in Assassin's Creed Odyssey with an actual historian as our guide: th-cam.com/video/joZkYwcK6ts/w-d-xo.html

    • @Intranetusa
      @Intranetusa 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Great video. However, Sparta was never a superpower. Even at the height of its power, it was more like a regional power - and even then, it still shared dominance of the region with Athens.

    • @zutrue
      @zutrue 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Yes I saw your ancient Sparta Assassin's Creed Odyssey video. The depiction of the Spartan peer drilling with sword in hand against a post was utter "whacked".
      Very little is actually known about Sparta...with certainty, but even so the glaring inaccuracy of that sword drilling depiction is glaring.
      And by the way even at the apex of Spartan power it never had anything even remotely as grand as other Greek cities. In the words of Thucydides, the look and layout of Sparta would
      never allow an observer to believe that was ever as powerful as it in fact was.

    • @beepboop204
      @beepboop204 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Intranetusa I hope someone was fired for that error

    • @AnonYmous-ob7py
      @AnonYmous-ob7py 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Actual actual actual actual actual

    • @LordOfOblivlonI
      @LordOfOblivlonI 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      If I may ask for a video topic; what are logistics of night battles? Both for attacking and defending armies and how experienced need generals be to use the cover of night to their advantage? Thank you for your time and videos!

  • @kevting4512
    @kevting4512 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2261

    Sparta then: "THIS. IS. SPARTA!"
    Sparta now: "Buy our replica spear and shield at the gift shops! Only 50 Denarii."

    • @mushroo2453
      @mushroo2453 2 ปีที่แล้ว +115

      >incoming barbarians getting ready to invade Sparta
      >Sparta selling spears and shields for citizens
      >Citizens getting to defend Sparta

    • @the_rover1
      @the_rover1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +89

      "just today, our apollo day super sale: a brand new golden apollo statue in spartan hoplite gear for your attic. get it now for the charge of earth and water!"

    • @Banzaiiii2223456
      @Banzaiiii2223456 2 ปีที่แล้ว +46

      And don't forget to stop at Capitoline Brotherhood of Millers, the only place that serves true Roman bread for true Romans

    • @kevting4512
      @kevting4512 2 ปีที่แล้ว +32

      @Aung Un'Rama tbf it fits cause Sparta would be a part of the empire, thus would be using Roman coins.

    • @kurtschmidt5005
      @kurtschmidt5005 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Disney needs to make a Spartan ride!!!!

  • @monadsingleton9324
    @monadsingleton9324 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2851

    *And, two thousand years later, Roman civilization itself is a giant tourist trap.*

    • @rahulvarma001
      @rahulvarma001 2 ปีที่แล้ว +206

      Makes you wonder how today's super powers will be, after maybe 500 years

    • @monadsingleton9324
      @monadsingleton9324 2 ปีที่แล้ว +255

      @@rahulvarma001
      America is already a giant tourist trap, but it's still a superpower.

    • @toni2296
      @toni2296 2 ปีที่แล้ว +29

      @@rahulvarma001 They are already tourist attractions.

    • @phin3303
      @phin3303 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@rahulvarma001 dead

    • @justinmartin4662
      @justinmartin4662 2 ปีที่แล้ว +126

      Yeah, some places. But it’s not otherwise extinct like Rome is, or Sparta was when Romans resurrected it.
      Some day the US might be gone and people will travel to special places to dress up in jeans, some name brand shirt, Jordans and a cowboy hat. They’ll ride horses and harleys while shooting machine guns with gangster rap blasting then have barbecues while listening to country music.

  • @junkyardjoe1419
    @junkyardjoe1419 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1794

    So Sparta essentially was the middle-aged man who spent the rest of his life trying to relive his high school football glory days?

    • @Mauther
      @Mauther 2 ปีที่แล้ว +56

      Alexios Bundy

    • @-haclong2366
      @-haclong2366 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      Alos Bundyos.

    • @ChenAnPin
      @ChenAnPin 2 ปีที่แล้ว +71

      More like the middle aged dude bro who likes to flex and talk about that one or two awesome things his granddaddy during the war (pick whichever war) and how he honors that legacy with his gucci AR and molon labe shirt.

    • @lsmmoore1
      @lsmmoore1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +47

      I would think so. In that way, Sparta's not so different from some regions of the US that try to relive the former glory of the antebellum era, when they had plantations and slaves and, in their mind, everything was "genteel" (though there was nothing genteel about the way African American slaves were treated - medieval-style punishment props and literally pouring salt into whip wounds, among other things).

    • @gaiusoctavius5935
      @gaiusoctavius5935 2 ปีที่แล้ว +31

      @A Velsen That's not racist though that is the truth whether or not you like it.
      Is the South as a whole racist? No.
      Do they want to go back to the good ol days? Yes.
      Not hard to figure out.

  • @aaronbasham6554
    @aaronbasham6554 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2169

    Perfect, now everyone knows that Sparta was the ancient equivalent of Disney Land

    • @InquisitorThomas
      @InquisitorThomas 2 ปีที่แล้ว +176

      Yes, as we all know Disney employees a secret police force to randomly brutalize their slaves so they’re too afraid to rebel.

    • @aaronbasham6554
      @aaronbasham6554 2 ปีที่แล้ว +189

      @@InquisitorThomas what do you think the walk around mascots are for?

    • @jnliewmichael4235
      @jnliewmichael4235 2 ปีที่แล้ว +60

      Wait, doesn't that make Sparta the Florida of the Greek world?

    • @InquisitorThomas
      @InquisitorThomas 2 ปีที่แล้ว +141

      @@jnliewmichael4235 Florida man kicks Iranian Ambassador down a giant hole while shouting “THIS IS FLORIDA!”

    • @jesseberg3271
      @jesseberg3271 2 ปีที่แล้ว +36

      @@InquisitorThomas water table is too high for deep wells in Florida. Don't worry, the gators will take care of him.

  • @user-ll9hb3sd8h
    @user-ll9hb3sd8h 2 ปีที่แล้ว +919

    Fun fact: Byzantine Emperor Alexios Komnenos restored the Spartan war-like tradition by creating a squadron called the "Lacedaemonians" composed of 10.000 elite warriors and if we believe Anna Komnena's Alexiad they were trained near Mystras (almost Sparta) following their traditional "agōgē"
    plus Byzantine generals at this time were encouraged to memorize the tactis of erlier Spartan kings most notable Agesilaus and Leonidas.

    • @kosmasfostinis8017
      @kosmasfostinis8017 2 ปีที่แล้ว +28

      Μην λες Βυζάντιο να λες Ανατολική ρωμαϊκή αυτοκρατορία (ERE)... Βυζάντιο μας ονόμασαν οι Γερμανοί γιατί αυτοί είχαν "Αγία ρωμαϊκή αυτοκρατορία" ....

    • @user-ll9hb3sd8h
      @user-ll9hb3sd8h 2 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      @@kosmasfostinis8017 Ήταν Έλληνες, είμαστε Έλληνες, ο κόσμος ήδη γνωρίζει πλήρως ότι ήταν οι ανατολικοί Ρωμαίοι. Πρέπει να αγκαλιάζουμε τον Ελληνισμό μας πιο συχνά.

    • @duhtoolazy6776
      @duhtoolazy6776 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Can I get source?

    • @user-ll9hb3sd8h
      @user-ll9hb3sd8h 2 ปีที่แล้ว +64

      @@duhtoolazy6776 The "Alexiad" of Anna Komnena, she tries to represent her father as a new Odysseus as the very title of her book shows.

    • @Jamarkus_Delvonte
      @Jamarkus_Delvonte 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Fun fact: black lives matter

  • @starbreeze7249
    @starbreeze7249 2 ปีที่แล้ว +288

    I always wonder how Sparta felt when Alexander was conquering the world, sending back gifts to "All the Greeks... except Sparta."

    • @dimitrisg45
      @dimitrisg45 2 ปีที่แล้ว +66

      Well I guess shit but not as shit as Thebes who got burnt to the ground for being traitors once more.

    • @comradekenobi6908
      @comradekenobi6908 2 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      @@dimitrisg45 Macedonians:
      Bring the good old salpinx, boys, we'll sing another song
      Sing it with a spirit that will start the world along
      Sing it as we used to sing it, 30000 strong
      While we were marching through Boeotia
      Hurrah! Hurrah! We bring the jubilee
      Hurrah! Hurrah! The flag that makes you free
      So we sang the chorus from Thebes to the sea
      While we were marching through Boeotia

    • @dimitrisg45
      @dimitrisg45 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@comradekenobi6908 beautiful song . And I say Thebes deserved it 😂to burn to the ground

    • @davidharris3728
      @davidharris3728 2 ปีที่แล้ว +32

      My guess is, very bitter. One of the greatest insults a former hegemon can be dealt, I imagine, is to be ignored.

    • @eleftheriosmas
      @eleftheriosmas 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      from* all the Greeks. "Alexandros and the Greeks minus the Spartans" is the literal translation to the text.

  • @miketacos9034
    @miketacos9034 2 ปีที่แล้ว +766

    Modern Greece: “We need more tourism!”
    Spartans: “I have an idea. Gimme that whip.”

    • @garywhite7886
      @garywhite7886 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Always were sick bastards , how many children had to die for their stupid shit ?

    • @alangutierrez9359
      @alangutierrez9359 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @@garywhite7886 they needed warriors not kids (this is a joke btw)

    • @garywhite7886
      @garywhite7886 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@alangutierrez9359 I hope so lol ,where will your warriors come from ? basic mathematics .

    • @notproductiveproductions3504
      @notproductiveproductions3504 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Now if only we can get giant moving gold statues in Rhodes

    • @soundslikeskrillex9799
      @soundslikeskrillex9799 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @Hernando Malinche I mean that’s true for a lot of civilizations though, “chivalry” for example was never a consistent code until after the age of knights was over and it started to get heavily romanticized.

  • @kiteracer
    @kiteracer 2 ปีที่แล้ว +131

    My roots are from Sparta, I have family that still lives in Sparta, I’ve stayed in Sparta many times, and I can unequivocally tell you that there is nothing cool going on in modern day Sparta.

    • @longyu9336
      @longyu9336 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Is there an army camp of the Hellenic Army at the very least?

    • @tavernburner3066
      @tavernburner3066 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      sparta 3.0 is the lowest-rated Sparta

    • @kora4185
      @kora4185 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I thought people were quite grumpy there but I was so excited anyway and the amount of freaking olive trees on the way there was like anything I ever seen, SO gorgeous!!!

    • @savannahforsyth2942
      @savannahforsyth2942 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Hating your own people that much uh? Pathetic.

  • @awesomehpt8938
    @awesomehpt8938 2 ปีที่แล้ว +542

    Tourists? This is Sparta!!!!

    • @sebione3576
      @sebione3576 2 ปีที่แล้ว +27

      Come, enjoy our museum. It's at the bottom of this giant hole...

    • @jinksomiabodyart3189
      @jinksomiabodyart3189 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Beginner history buffs "This, is Sparta?! 😄

    • @dubuyajay9964
      @dubuyajay9964 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Sir, this is a Wendy's.

    • @willy102073
      @willy102073 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      And eventually, This is Sparti 😶

    • @Mikko088
      @Mikko088 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I wonder how many people visit the modern town just so that they can yell that there. 😀

  • @LudosErgoSum
    @LudosErgoSum 2 ปีที่แล้ว +798

    I wanted to do the group tour to Thermopylae, but they were sold out.
    They had space for only 300.

    • @VinchenzoC
      @VinchenzoC 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Oooooooooooooooooh!

    • @NKuijlaars
      @NKuijlaars 2 ปีที่แล้ว +34

      Please say this is a true story. If they actually had trips going to Thermopylae that were limited to 300 that would be so cool

    • @rgllkendall
      @rgllkendall 2 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      They allowed 700 actors to join them though

    • @mszalans4817
      @mszalans4817 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I thought that you are talking about Efialtes ;)

    • @aurail_a4534
      @aurail_a4534 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I heard the seleucids were quite eager to re-enact there
      Though choosing romans for Persians was quite anachronistic. Well at least they lost the battle in a similar manner to sparta

  • @angela_merkeI
    @angela_merkeI 2 ปีที่แล้ว +91

    "TONIGHT YOU DINE IN HELL...as most famous restaurant for traditional Spartan dishes! Come and try our black broth! And if you celebrate your birthday here, you'll get a Leonidas figurine extra!

    • @neutronalchemist3241
      @neutronalchemist3241 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      "every guest will receive the 'earth and water' gift pack".

  • @cruzaider5339
    @cruzaider5339 2 ปีที่แล้ว +392

    "It do be like that sometimes"
    -Every civilization to ever exist

    • @nunyabiznes33
      @nunyabiznes33 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      "That will never be me..."

    • @cruzaider5339
      @cruzaider5339 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      @@nunyabiznes33 "I won't disappear and get humiliated I'm sure of it "
      -China in the 1800's

    • @arktzen
      @arktzen 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@cruzaider5339 - USA in 2021

    • @nunyabiznes33
      @nunyabiznes33 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@cruzaider5339 China: "Westerners who? They all look barbarian to me."

    • @cruzaider5339
      @cruzaider5339 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@nunyabiznes33 "All westerners are to be expelled"
      Top ten famous last words

  • @wargriffin5
    @wargriffin5 2 ปีที่แล้ว +61

    @12:50 Hey Roman parents! Do your children disrespect you? Talk back to you? Refuse to stand when you enter the room, or bring honor to the family name? Give them a one-way ticket this summer to the "Spartan Agoge for Troubled Kids!"
    (Disclaimer: The "Spartan Agoge for Troubled Kids" is not liable if your son returns slightly more gay than when he left. Prospective clients are advised: "Caveat Emptor.")

  • @KonekoEalain
    @KonekoEalain 2 ปีที่แล้ว +270

    I also had no idea that Sparta became a big mock up of itself, very interesting. The antagonistic relationship of Sparta to the rest of Greece may have been why Phillip didn't bother to conquer them, better to have the threat of them force the rest of Greece into his hegemony.

    • @coreyostrander1763
      @coreyostrander1763 2 ปีที่แล้ว +47

      My understanding was they where such a small power at the time that he just didn't think it was worth it. He did defeat them but they just didn't accept it. Sense their city was never attacked they where able to get away with it.
      They also did a revolt that got put down. Not sure if that was under phillip or Alexander tho

    • @gianniskos300
      @gianniskos300 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      @@coreyostrander1763 So essentially, it's like expecting the USA to forcibly (militarily) conquer Serbia to integrate them onto NATO, to move against Russia, for modern day context, long story short, it wouldn't go well for them.
      People tend to confuse early Macedonian hegemony of Greece, which was always carried out in an enlightened and respective spirit towards their fellow Greek city states, with the Hellenistic Macedonian rule of Greece, that was carried out in an authoritarian and forceful fashion, mostly because the Greek city states had tremendously declined by that time and they had became really weary of Macedonian hegemony, which in turn lead to revolts to assert their independence in order to make their city states "great again", which the Macedonians saw as a betrayal to their common cause (against the Persians) and really tight bonds by that time, moving to quell such revolts under the pretext of preserving the status quo, but essentially spiraling into an increasingly authoritarian way of rule to preserve their grip over the Greek city states

    • @GothPaoki
      @GothPaoki 2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      He wrote a letter to them calling them to surrender detailing what he would do to them if he conquered their city and the godamn Madmen answered him IF...
      Realistically why would he want to juke it with these madmen?

    • @thomasrinschler6783
      @thomasrinschler6783 2 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      @@coreyostrander1763 Under Alexander. He was way to the east at the time, so his regent in Macedon, Antipater, put down the revolt. When Alexander heard of it, he called it "a battle of mice".

    • @tylerdurden3722
      @tylerdurden3722 2 ปีที่แล้ว +35

      Technically, Phillip didn't really conquer Southern Greece.
      To use the word "conquer" is actually a big disservice to the true genius of Phillip.
      Phillip convinced everyone to join a an alliance (The Corinthian League). Which required some serious 5D chess skills.
      One of the methods Phillip used,was by forcefully taking and then redistributing Sparta's territory.
      Sparta had territorial disputes with everyone around them. These guys were extremely happy to receive those "gifts" for on Phillip. But, the only way they could possibly hope to defend those territories, was yo join j the League.
      Basically, everyone in Southern Greece was buttered up and made happy by Phillip at Sparta's expense (and also at the expense of Thebes). No one liked Sparta or Thebes😅.
      Even Athens was buttered up. For a short period, Phillip was so popular in Athens, that they built a huge statuein honor of him. That small windows of good favor was just enough for the Athenians to join the League competely willingly. (Athens held a vote and Phillip won by a landslide).
      Once inside the League, it was extremely difficult to leave, not because of force or threat. But because the rules of the League were very carefully crafted by Phillip.
      Phillip basically imprisoned Greece in a prison, thathad no walls and no guards. There was virtually no Macedonian military presence in Southern Greece...no forts or garrisons.
      Phillip, nor his army, never set foot on Athenian territory (this was very intentional...he needed their navy).
      Most people don't realize just how much of genius Phillip really was.

  • @fallenbirch9784
    @fallenbirch9784 2 ปีที่แล้ว +462

    Why does stealing the cheese actually sound fun

    • @beepboop204
      @beepboop204 2 ปีที่แล้ว +49

      I like stealing, and I like cheese, so it is natural that it is fun for me to steal cheese.

    • @the_rover1
      @the_rover1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +23

      did they use _cheesy_ exploits to gain access to the temple? 🤭🙃

    • @cageybee7221
      @cageybee7221 2 ปีที่แล้ว +43

      because, "take an objective on that hill and get a reward before anyone else" is an actual measured approach to training that isn't just trying to beat you into a super soldier.

    • @barbiquearea
      @barbiquearea 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      The Spartans should have adopted a mouse as their mascot. Then they would truly be the Disneyland of the ancient world.

    • @zeroibis
      @zeroibis 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      In Sparta Land 3.0 they should bring back the steal the cheese attraction. However, the how many whips does it take to get to the center of a spartan is a crowd favorite.

  • @greeses5482
    @greeses5482 2 ปีที่แล้ว +301

    Curious and greedy tourists: *appear*
    Spartans: *I can milk you*

    • @beepboop204
      @beepboop204 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      milking in the happy way?

    • @garywhite7886
      @garywhite7886 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Milking by murdering children ? Where a you from ?

    • @beepboop204
      @beepboop204 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@garywhite7886 milking in the happy way?

    • @garywhite7886
      @garywhite7886 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@beepboop204 Whats your problem ?

    • @beepboop204
      @beepboop204 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@garywhite7886 sobriety is my biggest problem (ง'̀-'́)ง

  • @CursedDepartmentEastOffice
    @CursedDepartmentEastOffice 2 ปีที่แล้ว +264

    The problem was Sparta didn't research or build the buildings required to train Horse Archers and Hellenic Cataphracts.

    • @Intranetusa
      @Intranetusa 2 ปีที่แล้ว +54

      They also built buildings and implemented policies that had a negative buff on population growth, trade, and the economy.

    • @beepboop204
      @beepboop204 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      I understood this reference

    • @DarkPsychoMessiah
      @DarkPsychoMessiah 2 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      They relied on the phalanx while everyone else had ways to beat it

    • @beepboop204
      @beepboop204 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      @@DarkPsychoMessiah They told him, "Don't you ever come around here"
      "Don't wanna see your face, you better disappear"
      The fire's in their eyes and their words are really clear
      So beat it, just beat it

    • @dimitrisg45
      @dimitrisg45 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@DarkPsychoMessiah nah during the start of Peloponnesian war they replied on phalanx only ,but after seeing the catastrophic results of the peltasts they quickly adobted it by hiring thracian mercenaries . The downfall of Sparta was due to population decrease and the unwillingness of adopting ideas and thank God for that.... Prefer Macedon or Athens over Sparta to form the hellenic league 😂

  • @jonbaxter2254
    @jonbaxter2254 2 ปีที่แล้ว +65

    Sparta: We have no walls!
    Pyrrhus: Looking in interest...

    • @barbiquearea
      @barbiquearea 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      And he still got his ass handed to him.

    • @jonbaxter2254
      @jonbaxter2254 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      @@barbiquearea He forgot his helmet that day...

  • @connorgolden4
    @connorgolden4 2 ปีที่แล้ว +321

    Crazy how quickly one can go from being on top to an irrelevant backwater at the bottom.

    • @canadious6933
      @canadious6933 2 ปีที่แล้ว +47

      Kinda like England today.
      Half joke lol

    • @northerncassowary8567
      @northerncassowary8567 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@canadious6933 they still have they Channel Islands, so not a total loss

    • @barbiquearea
      @barbiquearea 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Kinda like what happened to the Western Roman Empire and then to the Byzantines a millennium later.

    • @kosmasfostinis8017
      @kosmasfostinis8017 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Welcome to Greece 😅😅😅😭😭😭😭😭😭

    • @kosmasfostinis8017
      @kosmasfostinis8017 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @A Velsen ok dutchi what ever you say 🤣🤣🤣 careful in neighborhood 😉

  • @CG-yq2xy
    @CG-yq2xy 2 ปีที่แล้ว +145

    In between the final abandonment of the city and it's reestablishment in the 1800's, the inhabitants fled to the more fortified and mountainous peninsula of Mani. There they more or less maintained their own lifestyle isolated from the outside world. Last we hear of them is around the ~800's, where a bishop is sending them a letter to abandon their pagan ways and convert to Christianity.

    • @piotrgrzelak2613
      @piotrgrzelak2613 2 ปีที่แล้ว +40

      Maniots lived off piracy and frequently rebelled against ottoman turks, and were notable for their part in the Greek war of independence iirc

    • @vasilissirakos4090
      @vasilissirakos4090 2 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      @@piotrgrzelak2613 Mani was the only part of Greece that was never conquered by the Ottomans.It had his own 'mpei' like a local warlord who at the Greek revolution of 1821 supplied most of the guns,ammunition and manpower

    • @ReviveHF
      @ReviveHF 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Should make a video about this

    • @sikyr3329
      @sikyr3329 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@vasilissirakos4090 i think Sfakia remained unconquered as well, I might be wrong though

    • @julianmarsh1378
      @julianmarsh1378 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      The city was destroyed in the third century A.D. if I remember correctly...by barbarians. The presence of barbarians produced something of a shield that protected the Greeks of old from the Byzantines and with that, from the advent of ugly Christianity. When the Byzantines took over Greece, they soon put an end to this remnant of Greek paganism.

  • @thegermaniccoenus2525
    @thegermaniccoenus2525 2 ปีที่แล้ว +86

    16:40 I didn't realize Sellasia was that close to Sparta.
    To those who are wondering, that was the sight of the battle where the Macedonian-Achaean armies of Antigonus III Doson defeated the Spartan army (armed in a Macedonian-style phalanx) of Cleomenes III. That was also the first time where Sparta was militarily occupied by a non-Spartan general (i.e Antigonus III)

  • @matousplacek6699
    @matousplacek6699 2 ปีที่แล้ว +560

    "from a superpower to a tourist atraction" - that's pretty much any european country

    • @michaeldiekmann6494
      @michaeldiekmann6494 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Russia is in europe too. Part of it.

    • @lucaslabarca
      @lucaslabarca 2 ปีที่แล้ว +81

      @@michaeldiekmann6494 ain’t exactly the beast it used to be, now is it?

    • @piotrgrzelak2613
      @piotrgrzelak2613 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@lucaslabarca idk, why is half of the world so bent out of shape for some silly peninsula then, for the last 5 years

    • @Torus2112
      @Torus2112 2 ปีที่แล้ว +56

      @@michaeldiekmann6494 Lenin's tomb has a gift shop.

    • @lucaslabarca
      @lucaslabarca 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      @@piotrgrzelak2613 cause is a war flashpoint, still Russia is nowhere near the level of power it once had

  • @neutronalchemist3241
    @neutronalchemist3241 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    Tourist: "Where for Sparta?"
    Spartan: "THIS IS SPARTAAAA!"
    Tourist: "Ok, thanks."

    • @IDK-bq8kp
      @IDK-bq8kp 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      And the tourist is falled in the dead 😂

  • @legateelizabeth
    @legateelizabeth 2 ปีที่แล้ว +101

    It's amazing how we see even ancient cities relying on a tourist economy ultimately doom themselves but we keep doing it.

    • @beepboop204
      @beepboop204 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Elizabeth, ur pretentious!

    • @Alkis05
      @Alkis05 2 ปีที่แล้ว +28

      They were doomed way before they started relying on a tourist economy.
      Actually, what ended sparta was war, like many other communities.

    • @FirstNameLastName-tg3rc
      @FirstNameLastName-tg3rc 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      A functional tourist economy can work, but it can also fail at the same time (Butler Model).

    • @ThZuao
      @ThZuao 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      That's because they hadn't found out about Gambling yet.

    • @Alkis05
      @Alkis05 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@ThZuao They knew about gambling, but it was forbidden. Not that they didn't do it, but it would never be an official and legally accepted institution, which limited it as business.

  • @ernstschmidt4725
    @ernstschmidt4725 2 ปีที่แล้ว +60

    6:05
    other cities: so... did you to beat down athens?
    sparta: yes
    other cities: what did it cost?
    sparta: everything

    • @domanicsinger3355
      @domanicsinger3355 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      If they didn't rely so much on the phalanx and actually implemented more fighting tactics or even built fortifications for sparta they could have been a superpower for way longer than they were but they never had enough soldiers to fight rome but granted roman legions were what? 4 to 6 thousand troops nobody in Greece not even united could have held them off

    • @charlesmiv3842
      @charlesmiv3842 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@domanicsinger3355 Greece valued quality of quantity. Hordes of lowly Romans vs the highest of Greek warrior aristocrats

    • @domanicsinger3355
      @domanicsinger3355 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @Zhong Xi Na i wish they did but due to poor command and defenses they fell after giving athens the roman special beat down

  • @KTChamberlain
    @KTChamberlain 2 ปีที่แล้ว +292

    Well, Homer did describe Sparta as a land of beautiful women. That alone would make me wanna go visit Sparta.

    • @PackHunter117
      @PackHunter117 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      People have different preferences and views on beauty though. I thought the Greeks liked women with unibrows for example

    • @Csanad121
      @Csanad121 2 ปีที่แล้ว +68

      @@PackHunter117 the greek ideal of beauty can be seen in their idealised statues of the Gods and Godesses. Afaik none have unibrows

    • @PackHunter117
      @PackHunter117 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@Csanad121 They also created the dreadlocks that you don’t see on their statues either.

    • @BoxStudioExecutive
      @BoxStudioExecutive 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      @@PackHunter117 unibrows was a Roman thing

    • @temptemp4174
      @temptemp4174 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      You would only visit for the gay sex and oil wrestling

  • @miketacos9034
    @miketacos9034 2 ปีที่แล้ว +34

    Earth and water. Oh you’ll find plenty of that in SPARTALAND! Everyone’s favorite Water Park!

  • @Caseshells123
    @Caseshells123 2 ปีที่แล้ว +47

    There was no way to become a Spartan elite unless born into a family. They could not replace their loses. If they followed Rome army and allowed the best to join the ranks they be unstoppable

    • @alessandrogini5283
      @alessandrogini5283 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @Joey Wheeler agreed.. And roman empire made what alexander the great wanted

    • @Alkis05
      @Alkis05 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      That was not an intrinsic problem on itself, as long as you have an large enough population. In my view, their problem was political: the elite didn't have strong enough institutions to dominate the other classes. They were always in constant fear of rebellion. That fear influenced a lot of their policies, both internal and external.
      Besides, there were basically no self made men in antiquity in general. All elite was born into a family. That is what means to be a patrician or a noble. Competition between elites was already hard, plebeians couldn't really compete.

    • @charlesmiv3842
      @charlesmiv3842 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      That's what adds to the mystique and exclusivity of the Spartans though. They didn't let just anyone in.

    • @longyu9336
      @longyu9336 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Later in the Republic the Romans allowed any peasant or pleb to join, as they were very confident that their training could turn the lowliest farmer into a decent soldier.

  • @matiasrisatti670
    @matiasrisatti670 2 ปีที่แล้ว +55

    Idk man, a cheese stealing competition seems like more fun than an actual whipping

    • @samiamtheman7379
      @samiamtheman7379 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Yeah, but it doesn't make for as good a story as much as the idea that they were so badass that they took whippings.

    • @jackalhead7433
      @jackalhead7433 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Spartan: "Hay Romans you're a violent bunch do you wanna see some serious sh**t violence? The old Spartan way??"
      Romans: *Nod frantically*

  • @Warmaker01
    @Warmaker01 2 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    It may seem funny that Sparta became a theme park, but you do what you have to do to get by.
    Even the Romans when a general returned from a great victory or campaign, and received a Triumph: "A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting."

  • @myopinionbetter4287
    @myopinionbetter4287 2 ปีที่แล้ว +66

    Step 1 for having wider regional dominance for more than a handful of generations.
    Have more than a couple thousand citizens.

    • @DarkPsychoMessiah
      @DarkPsychoMessiah 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      Step 2, don’t send your tiny population to a decades long war of attrition against the rest of Greece

    • @kakerake6018
      @kakerake6018 2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      @@DarkPsychoMessiah step 3 incorporate more ppl into your empire through infrastructure and diplomacy

    • @kylewilliams8114
      @kylewilliams8114 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Step 4: Profit

    • @Nolaris3
      @Nolaris3 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Step 5, have some weird Italians idolize you and make you look way more significant than you actually are

  • @MMALAB
    @MMALAB ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Nice Video. My father is from Sparta, he used to take me as a kid to the archeological sites of our city and teach me its history. From the old Sparta emerged Eleutherolacones "Free Laconians", a league, southern of Sparta, at Mani Peninsula, protected by the mountain range of Taygetus and the sea, in the territories previously owned by Spartans, in the form of a league, having old Sparta as an example", which was quite impressive and transformed to the glorious "Mani" and it's fierce citizens, which served as mercenaries in all European armies -as well as pirates, which never fell to any foreign power including Ottomans until the creation of the Modern Greek State 1830s. A small but important and underatted offshoot of glorious Sparta.

  • @satnav9699
    @satnav9699 2 ปีที่แล้ว +63

    What if Caesar wasn't assassinated part 3 when ?

    • @DT-lj1wr
      @DT-lj1wr 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      👀👀👀

    • @sagagis
      @sagagis 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      This comment needs more recognation

  • @mouadchaiabi
    @mouadchaiabi 2 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    Of all the foes that could have put Sparta to rest, it was the f***ing Visigoths who did it.
    Life can be cruel.

  • @DanMcLeodNeptuneUK
    @DanMcLeodNeptuneUK 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    Thank you so much for this video! There's so much information about early Sparta and it's pinnacle, but little to no coverage of it's slow decline! Sparta's reputation lingered for much longer than it's actual political relevance.

  • @peterdewell1143
    @peterdewell1143 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Words cannot describe how much I live and appreciate your channel. As a teacher of ancient history in high school, you are the conduit between the academic world and the high school/life long learner world. May you please just bite the bullet and do a series on the Greco Persian wars, battle and peace 500-440BC : )

  • @gamerman782
    @gamerman782 2 ปีที่แล้ว +135

    "From superpower to tourist attraction". Isn't that nearly all of Europe?

    • @lama99654
      @lama99654 2 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      The people of Europe (generally) live much better lives now then they did during the age of colonial empires, so it’s for the best.

    • @zarzarbinks1705
      @zarzarbinks1705 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Modern Europe fights for resources with words and coin, rather than guns and steel. . . but things can change.

    • @eljanrimsa5843
      @eljanrimsa5843 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      Only 1 or 2 countries can be superpower at any given time. Building industry and commerce has always been the more reliable route to prosperity. Prosperity allows culture to flourish, and culture attracts tourists, that's not a bad thing.

    • @lama99654
      @lama99654 2 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      @Hernando Malinche I would like to know what made lives more meaningful in the past

    • @steelbear2063
      @steelbear2063 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      @@lama99654
      Nothing, poor and suffering people always look for every little positive thing they can find to not go crazy. I saw a video of North Korean refugees who fled to South Korea and they had the audacity to say that people in the North are happier than the southerners who chase money. Like freaking what? If you were so happy, why did you escape?

  • @CivilWarWeekByWeek
    @CivilWarWeekByWeek 2 ปีที่แล้ว +28

    I am sorely disappointed, I walked into the city in full phalanx formation and no one stopped me

  • @flightsimulatorlad6664
    @flightsimulatorlad6664 2 ปีที่แล้ว +32

    sparta is the guy who peaked in high school

  • @bobby_bretwalda
    @bobby_bretwalda 2 ปีที่แล้ว +31

    So Roman Sparta was the Legion from Fallout NV?

    • @dashiellgillingham4579
      @dashiellgillingham4579 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Yes. The writers of New Vegas were drawing on a recurring trend in human history, wherein you see anti-democratic political forces try to create these highly fictionalized past societies where people were supposedly inherently 'stronger,' forces which get more horrifying the further back in history they imagine their utopia was. Sparta was an example of this just decades after it's fall.

    • @valentinkrajzelman4649
      @valentinkrajzelman4649 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@dashiellgillingham4579 ngl thats pretty cool

    • @laisphinto6372
      @laisphinto6372 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Yeah the Legion in NV feels way more Like He combined Roman aestitcs with a Roman Spartan Tourist Guide because lets BE honest a real Fallout Caesar would have better Organisation and province Management than what the Legion in NV does.

  • @jansenart0
    @jansenart0 2 ปีที่แล้ว +51

    Modern Sparti should rebrand as Sparta, and invite Dudebros from all over Earth to come live and lift. 60% of all whey protein on Earth should be consumed there. It should be a monument to muscle, and it could be accomplished through modern marketing.

    • @windowsxp9120
      @windowsxp9120 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      This, actually might work

    • @jansenart0
      @jansenart0 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@windowsxp9120 Knowing a few actual dudebros, I cannot imagine one ever saying "no" to this, especially if the accommodations are Olympic-village level.

    • @nosupes929
      @nosupes929 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Cannot happen, were will we find the recourses to do such a thing

    • @jansenart0
      @jansenart0 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@nosupes929 I just said, marketing. You know how cheap it'll be to make training based on rocks and calisthenics? Open-air natural lifting. The idea prints its own money.

    • @nosupes929
      @nosupes929 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @Zhong Xi Na !? -4000 social credit points for zhong xina

  • @derrikl12
    @derrikl12 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Almost 1 million subs! Way to go Invicta!

  • @Larsanator
    @Larsanator 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Explaining history in this fashion makes the timeline easier to comprehend, I find; well done and thanks!

  • @paauggie
    @paauggie 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    absoloutely brilliant - thankyou for posting

  • @edgarbernalsevilla6636
    @edgarbernalsevilla6636 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    Great video, Invicta. This really helps shed light on the creation of the modern myth of Sparta, which, as many historical myths in the present day, it all starts with Roman authors.

  • @jasepoag8930
    @jasepoag8930 2 ปีที่แล้ว +92

    Why would you want to watch someone get whipped when you could watch what sounds like a potentially awesome game of cheese thievery?

    • @jasepoag8930
      @jasepoag8930 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      @Some thing seems like a display of tactics, physical strength, and agility would be more impressive. Plus I'm sure they're beating the hell out of each other with those sticks, so you'd think that would be enough for the blood thirsty. Watching torture just sounds boring once you get past it being horrific.

    • @northerncassowary8567
      @northerncassowary8567 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      This statement just proves that we are better than our ancestors

    • @ThZuao
      @ThZuao 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      I'd say it's because tourists would go "pfft, anyone can do that" with the cheese thing.
      Torturing the shit out of your own people. Now that's original. Achieves fuckall phisically or militarily for soldiers. But it was low effort enough for them to try it, so they did and the people that built the Coliseum liked it, so that's that. They found the trick that gets people to come.
      Imagine how many idiotic gimmicks they tried before settling for that one.

    • @kylewilliams8114
      @kylewilliams8114 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@ThZuao we'll see who can eat the most cheese without vomiting! We'll call it, Cheese Whipping! or maybe Reeds of Cheese... or maybe, uh, string cheese? To hell with it let's beat the shit out of someone.

    • @ls200076
      @ls200076 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@kylewilliams8114 You, with that Germanic barbarian name. Come here, you want to make some boy?

  • @Smokinlucretia
    @Smokinlucretia 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Fascinating! Thank you, Invicta!

  • @anthonypalo8191
    @anthonypalo8191 ปีที่แล้ว

    this is a great video. this is the only vid so detailed about Sparta post it's fall. Learned so so much!

  • @BroadwayRonMexico
    @BroadwayRonMexico 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Sparta's decline happened because they were a nation of athletes and soldiers with no room for eggheads and strategists. They couldn't adapt to changing warfare, and started having mostly losing battles, with even their victories being mostly Pyrrhic since they couldnt replenish their ranks like other city states could due to their strict selectiveness (Athens on the other hand, lost a third of their population at one point due to a typhus outbreak and still remained a hegemon for some time). Strong naval power also became more important in Greek warfare and that was something Sparta could never really do well, so they relied on Corinth who were shaky allies at the best of times (they simply shared a common rival in Athens, and even then, Corinth threatened to side with Athens on a few occasions if Sparta didnt help them). During their brief period of hegemony they had over all of the Greek city-states, Sparta also managed to alienate the few allies they had. By the time of Macedon's ascendancy, they were an irrelevant backwater who nobody even really cared enough about to conquer
    They were the equivalent of the popular chad who was star quarterback on the high school football team, but ended up getting fat, is stuck in a crappy dead-end job, and his only friends are the regulars at the bar who like to listen when he reminisces

  • @peenplays4219
    @peenplays4219 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    995k subs yesterday and 996k today! Keep putting out vids and we’ll get to a mil!

  • @SquirrelGrrl
    @SquirrelGrrl 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Super informative! Love this art style too!

  • @peterroberts7684
    @peterroberts7684 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    The Sparta of old ,was long diminished,well before the Roman domination of the Hellenic world,the rise of the power of Macedonia ,and it’s future God King Alexander the Great saw to that..The Spartans took Persian gold to be mercenaries for the Shah of Persia,and fought against Alexander,and in a defeat of the Spartans,Alexander sent back three hundred suits of armour back to Sparta ,as a way of saying how they had dishonoured their ancestors like that of King Leonidas ,by the Spartans siding with the old enemy of Greece..Enjoying the Channel,A👍👍👍up

  • @Restitutor-Orbis
    @Restitutor-Orbis 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    I laughed at that 300 billboard dude haha. These new animations are awesome.

  • @KhoiThai
    @KhoiThai 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    YES, another on Lakedaimon!

  • @magnemerstrand2289
    @magnemerstrand2289 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    You are by far my favorite youtuber!

  • @brittneydesormeau9936
    @brittneydesormeau9936 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank you so much for the help

  • @Ryan-wx8of
    @Ryan-wx8of 2 ปีที่แล้ว +29

    Sounds like Sparta serves as a warning against extractive economies.

    • @miguelzavaleta1911
      @miguelzavaleta1911 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Interesting take. Though the steppe hordes would pull if off with more success 1000 years later.
      Those too eventually collapsed, though.

  • @vangelisskia214
    @vangelisskia214 2 ปีที่แล้ว +32

    "GREEKS, Persians, Chinese and Japanese could be cited as examples of ETHNIC CONTINUITY since despite massive cultural changes over the centuries key identifying components such as name, customs, language and territorial association were broadly maintained and reproduced for MILLENNIA"
    Anthony D Smith, Anthropologist, Emeritus professor of Nationalism and Ethnicity

    • @asklouie
      @asklouie 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      This is true, and the Greeks and Japanese might be the only people who understand this, because their Ethnos is tied to their homogeny. If you read the history of Agia Lavra, and the revolution of 1821, you will understand that. Unfortunately, Western Europeans and Americans don't study those events.

    • @adharshmanikoth3381
      @adharshmanikoth3381 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      India too

    • @royalrajput8127
      @royalrajput8127 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      India was pioneer in this and still is

    • @vangelisskia214
      @vangelisskia214 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @@royalrajput8127 India has a huge history but according to expert scholars on nationalism studies such as Smith, there is a lack of core components in order to speak of ethnic continuity for the case of the Indians. Common language is a core component for example. Indians never spoke a single language, but hundreds of different and totally diverse languages. This is not my personal opinion. This is what expert scholarship supports.

    • @simpleman6352
      @simpleman6352 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@vangelisskia214 but they are following the same religion?

  • @prestonyannotti7661
    @prestonyannotti7661 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Best documentary's on YT

  • @omarm803
    @omarm803 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    this channel is awesome as always

  • @moblinmajorgeneral
    @moblinmajorgeneral 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Looking at it now, Romans visiting Sparta would probably have a similar reaction to people who visit places like historical Williamsburg. They could see well over 400 years in the past travelling to Sparta.

  • @ISawABear
    @ISawABear 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Man Thucydides just KNEW exactly what to say to convey a point even to modern audiences

  • @richardcharay7788
    @richardcharay7788 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Enjoyed, thanks!

  • @JunguianPhantom
    @JunguianPhantom 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Amazing documentary. I learned a lot of this "tourism" in Sparta

  • @billychops1280
    @billychops1280 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    I’m Spartan on my moms side and Macedonian on my dads so I’m Greek 100% so one thing I gotta wonder about is why are the Spartans depicted as being as dark or even darker than the Egyptians of Ptolemaic Egypt? In ancient texts there were 3 ways of describing the skin colour of people, and the ones that represented any shade of dark or tan had never been used to describe Spartans or Greeks all together in that matter in fact they were usually called fair skinned or in more specific cases “Ξανθός” (in modern day Greek meaning “blonde”) which back then didn’t have the same meaning as modern day Greek it meant white or pale compared to the Egyptians Persians and other surrounding nations and peoples. Another group of people who had the same skin colour would be those on the Italian peninsula and rarely comparisons would sometimes be made with the Celts as well although they were not nearly as common since the Celt were mostly way Paler that both Greeks and Italians/Romans.

    • @FlippableFlappy
      @FlippableFlappy 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Because Americans like to change history.

    • @omegacardboard5834
      @omegacardboard5834 ปีที่แล้ว

      What depictions are you referring to?

    • @billychops1280
      @billychops1280 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@omegacardboard5834 like the ones in the video, and in other video like the extra history TH-cam channel

  • @ZxZ239
    @ZxZ239 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I LOVE this episode, can you do one for Venice? It was once a proud power that went toe to toe with the ottoman empire, but today it feels like Disneyland museum.

  • @sirlawbringer9123
    @sirlawbringer9123 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Calling it this video will bump them to 1 mil congrats!!!!

  • @Arborist5851
    @Arborist5851 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Awsome video yet again

  • @MarvinT0606
    @MarvinT0606 2 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    Sparta was one of the last survivors of the Greek Dark Ages. Everything falls into place when you consider their existence was a response to the anarchy of that period. Athens represented not just a rival but an existential threat: Athens was the future, an all-encompassing polis that could prosper where Sparta cannot; and this is why Sparta had to fight. It won the war but became the one thing it was never meant to be: an empire.

    • @concept5631
      @concept5631 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Given that Athens is the capital of Greece and Sparti is just some city, its clear who won the rivalry.

    • @fatjellyfish9478
      @fatjellyfish9478 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      What's your source for sparta being the last survivors cause by default all of Greece were survivors of the Greek dark ages post bronze age collapse.

  • @gian0giorg
    @gian0giorg 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Actually, Sparta was never fully abandoned until 11-12th century.
    lt was the Latin occupation and the foundation of the nearby citadel of
    Mistras who contributed to the abandonment of the city. At the 1800s, after Greek independence, the newly found city of Sparta was populated by citizens of Mistras

  • @MineSlimeTV
    @MineSlimeTV 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Well I suddenly found out this place and channel, and I adore it so much!

  • @bloodandempire
    @bloodandempire 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Awesome video 🥰

  • @alaskaoalaska
    @alaskaoalaska 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I was just reading Plutarch's biographies of Agis IV and Cleomenes III and they're some of the most underappreciated characters of antiquity, especially Cleomenes.

    • @pitsinokaki
      @pitsinokaki 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      This, so much. My dream is that one day someone would make a film about him, but of course it won't happen. 😛

  • @cognitivedisability9864
    @cognitivedisability9864 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    oh im this early, 108 viewers... god damn
    edit: GOD DAMN FAM YOU ARE NEARLY AT 1 MILL, LOVE IT! been with you since 300k I think

    • @Alkis05
      @Alkis05 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Some one give this guy a freaking medal.

  • @finsfan90
    @finsfan90 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Sooo close to a million subs!! You deserve it!!

  • @HerrKendys_Kulturkanal
    @HerrKendys_Kulturkanal 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Wow I have never heard of this! Thank you

  • @lord_cataphract216
    @lord_cataphract216 2 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    Also cause a French archeiogist destroyed a large part of ancient monuments

    • @thechosenone1533
      @thechosenone1533 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Wtf really? That is so sad.

    • @Musicsage
      @Musicsage 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@thechosenone1533 yes, look up Michel Fourmont

  • @MistahFox
    @MistahFox 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    The "Cheese Stealing" tradition sounds a lot like how the Spartans from Halo trained. Maybe they took some of their methods from the real ancient Sparta and not the exaggerated mockery of itself it became.

  • @RemusKingOfRome
    @RemusKingOfRome 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Excellent Video.

  • @interestinglife934
    @interestinglife934 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Didnt know a bunch of this stuff. Thanks

  • @Lordboring1478
    @Lordboring1478 2 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    Truly amazing, that "I" could find this after 36 seconds

  • @robertwilliams-day320
    @robertwilliams-day320 2 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    So basically Sparta became a theme park.

  • @brokenbridge6316
    @brokenbridge6316 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Nicely informative video.

  • @tonygarcia-fd4sg
    @tonygarcia-fd4sg 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    AWESOME VID

  • @Intranetusa
    @Intranetusa 2 ปีที่แล้ว +57

    Sparta was never a superpower. Even at the height of its power, it was more like a regional power - and even then, it still shared dominance of the region with Athens.

    • @jimmyandersson9938
      @jimmyandersson9938 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Regional power is a much better discription, but it seems to be a must to allways exaggerate when it comes to Spartan history.

    • @pedrosabino8751
      @pedrosabino8751 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      If i'm not wrong, Sparta couldn't be a greek superpower due to the fact they shouldn't be far from home for long times, since they needed to back home to the harvest and to guarantee a slave rebelion didn't happens.

    • @notisttt1240
      @notisttt1240 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      They did defeat Athens at the third peloponisian war, leading to them becoming a super power for a while.

    • @jimmyandersson9938
      @jimmyandersson9938 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      @@notisttt1240 If Sparta was a super power with just controlling a chunk of greece, what would you call Rome or the Persians? Super hyper ultra power?

    • @notisttt1240
      @notisttt1240 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@jimmyandersson9938 that's like asking "if you call ancient Rome a super Power, what do you call USA, a ultra godly hyper power?". For its time, it was considered a superpower, which, after the peloponisian war, had control over the Greek world for a time, until Thebes became a thing (and a bit later, Macedonians)

  • @thomasconstant9354
    @thomasconstant9354 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Great vid that gives a lot to think, like capitals of former great European nation slowly turning into touristic attraction for Chinese (the Roman of this century).
    Also, talking about Roman imperial propaganda, depicting the Spartan with African looking icons is a great example of our own modern Imperial propaganda.

  • @180Floridalife
    @180Floridalife 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Welcome to Las Sparta… sounds like fun🤩. Great channel, excellent history thanks

  • @chrisdjernaes9658
    @chrisdjernaes9658 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Really Great Stuff 👍💪

  • @bilbomirkwood2157
    @bilbomirkwood2157 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    “Make Sparta great again”.

  • @aslanlovett4059
    @aslanlovett4059 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Constantine the Last's brother Demetrius was in control of a city near the ruins of Sparta(Mystra) before the final fall of the Roman empire in the east.

  • @angrylion66
    @angrylion66 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Perfect I literally just started a Sparta campaign on Rome 2 👌👌

  • @markisaac3550
    @markisaac3550 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank for info

  • @gbarberis7402
    @gbarberis7402 2 ปีที่แล้ว +23

    Its so sad that Sparta lost her prestige,even in modern times Athens is the capital and Sparta is just a regional capital.

    • @natetwehues2428
      @natetwehues2428 2 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      Given how Sparta raised people, I'm more than happy to see it relegated to the back hall of history.

    • @infinity8543
      @infinity8543 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@natetwehues2428 Agreed.

    • @Demicleas
      @Demicleas 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@natetwehues2428 so you prefer the city that was filled with phedophiles and sexism over the militaristic but not phedphilic and sexist city instead? I'd much prefer Sparta be the captial over a city with such a evil legecy oh yeah also they commited gencioide the Athenians I mean they loved gencioide and war crimes and inslaving other Greeks.

    • @andreidanilov9925
      @andreidanilov9925 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Demicleas bro you’re arguing over things that havent been relevant for like 2000 years, chill

    • @jtlol5
      @jtlol5 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Demicleas Your profile picture/name does not at all match the things you say.

  • @nunyabiznes33
    @nunyabiznes33 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Did they also set up brothels and casinos like Venice when it collapsed?

  • @Marastife
    @Marastife 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    It's crazy that all we remember is their military prowess at that brief height of their time. Although I guess it does go to show if you're really good at something you get remembered for it and for the time that they were good at it they were damn good at it.

  • @stealthboy5767
    @stealthboy5767 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I appreciate your informative commentary, And subtle ways or comedy (welcome to fabulous Sparta, what is your profession? LMAO. )
    You don't force it down my throat like other TH-camrs, it's a crime I haven't subbed to you yet. Which has been fixed rn.

  • @tigertankerer
    @tigertankerer 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    From superpower to tourist atraction without importance in international relations - this is history not only of Sparta, but entire Greece.

    • @jasondelrosario5523
      @jasondelrosario5523 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Who in modern times even really thought of Sparta being a powerful nation of supersoldiers that trained in childhood EVEN WHEN THE ROMAN EMPIRE FINALLY CONQUERED ALL OF GREECE?!!
      I just thought that they're "supersoldier training" was already gone when Rome conquered all of Greece.

  • @MCorpReview
    @MCorpReview 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Yo I just read your Carthage other wars recently. Rome is the biggest Sparta fanboy but they built something much more impressive

  • @paulthegaull
    @paulthegaull 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    amazing dude