It's not the first time we've seen such, but definitely the first one that dedicates solely to this part of history.Īncient Wars: Sparta was plagued with a few development hiccups along the way and some publishing battles post-release. Ancient Wars: Sparta seeks to tap into that potential by redefining some of the most famous battles in an action-packed video game environment. In response, Emprepes used a hatchet to slice two of the nine strings off Phrynis’ harp, admonishing the minstrel: “Do not abuse music.” Lionized for declaring war on other city-states, Spartans also went into battle for art’s sake.The history of ancient Greece sets a precedent for some epic real-time strategy games. Plutarch reports that a magistrate named Emprepes once winced to hear a harpist named Phrynis butchering a song by playing too many notes. Meanwhile, Spartans were surprisingly serious about music.
This revolutionary style would prove central to many poetic traditions, from ancient Rome to medieval France to Renaissance England and into the present. It was performed to the strumming of a lyre-hence the name. Sparta, the poet Alcman helped pioneer lyric poetry, which diverged from the epic’s celebration of war and focused instead on desire, emotion and a fascination with nature (“the birds, long-winged, who bring their omens, are now in slumber.”). Indeed, foreign poets would often go to Sparta to perform because they were assured of a warm reception.
In histories written by Plutarch, Herodotus and others, we find a picture not of stern, militaristic ascetics but of bons vivants and patrons of the arts. Granted, Spartan citizens also pursued rugged pastimes such as equestrianism, but their love of poetry and dance belies a contempt of pleasure. The city-state’s helots, or serfs, took care of agriculture, while the higher-ranking but non-citizen perioikoi oversaw crafts, military procurement and commerce. than in any other Greek city-state.įull citizens had ample time for entertainments because Spartan law forbade them to work, and there were two lower classes of people to look after their needs.
Spartans were devoted to all kinds of pleasurable pursuits, particularly the arts: It is widely believed that there were more poets in Sparta during the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. King Agesilaus II-who led the Spartan Army at the peak of its power in the fourth century B.C.-proclaimed that one of Sparta’s greatest strengths was its citizens’ “contempt of pleasure.”
0 kommentar(er)
