Hello,

1. Since the spartan culture was rather independent of other nations, and furthermore looked down upon writing and other forms of rhetoric, artifacts pertaining to my thesis were hard to find. Consequently, I had to improvise and will use these three statues to answer a three part thesis. The first shows a Spartan officer on guard. The Second shows a hoplite in battle. The third depicts an athlete who is a girl.
2. The first two images were taken from The Spartans: The World of The Warrior-Heroes of Ancient Greece by Paul Cartledge, page 68. The third was taken from Spartan Reflections by Paul Cartledge, page 180.
3. The Spartans were a dominant force in ancient Greece. They were fierce warriors and implemented values and morals that should be applied to todays society, for example, respect for women. When compared with the rest of ancient Greece, the Spartan culture contained many similar types of forward thinking/”democratic.” This, along with their regional might, and the ironic fact that their downfall came through refusal to change, the Spartans must be studied to understand the impact of that rhetorical success and failure can have on a nation.
4. I personally selected this topic, and these statues because, based on what I know now, the Spartan culture is one to admire. I respect their ferocity on the battlefield, I admire the discipline they had as a nation, and I long for their beliefs regarding women to be applied to today’s society. There was good and bad with the Spartans, but if studied correctly, and looked at through the correct context and thesis, I believe I can become more aware of the Spartan lifestyle, implement it in my own life, and therefore hopefully impact society in some way, and change some things for the better.

1.  2.  3.