Ironboots
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 893 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 31/12/2001 at 09:09 PM |
First off, I want to say that I am not supposed to write an essay on this
for school; this is not an assignment, and Iīm not going to plagarize it!
Its just that Iīve always pondered this...
Which is
better, in the social, economic, and military senses, to be like an ideal
Sparta (militaristic, industrial, and the best-of-the-best-sir) , or an
ideal Athens (humanistic, environmental, and democratic)?
Iīm not sure which is best yet, as they both have their admirable
traits... ____________________ Piggy's got the Conch! |
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Dolorosa
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 856 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 1/1/2002 at 01:46 PM |
Sparta was badass, but I could never imagine living that sort of life,
trust me, military life sucks...Athens, too sissy for me...way too sissy.
Iīd take Pompeii any day... ____________________ In the valley of the Goats, the Goat Fucker is King |
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chameleon
Member Posts: 83 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 1/1/2002 at 09:02 PM |
Arenīt we dismal, wanting to live in crumbling Pompeii? What a question
though...
They both could collapse easily, but I
honestly think that Athens would be destroyed, or at least have more
problems, first. You know, now that Iīm thinking about it, Japan would be
an interesting place to live in in medieval times. A code of honor in
court as well as on the battlefield...
____________________ The perfect mind is like a mirror. It grasps nothing. It expects nothing.
It reflects but does not hold. Therefore, the perfect man can act without
effort.
~Chuang Tsu |
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Dolorosa
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 856 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 1/1/2002 at 11:09 PM |
Japan...depends, if you were born into the higher castes, samurai or
shojen-gaki or something, then yeah it might be cool...until you slit your
own belly. If you were born a commoner, forget it...Iīm here now, they
still have that same code of honor...and itīs a frighteningly cruel thing.
Pompeii on the other hand...no worries there, a nice vacation spot, sunny,
beachside...and the most awesome fireworks displays...yeah, thats the
stuff. ____________________ In the valley of the Goats, the Goat Fucker is King |
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Ironboots
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 893 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 2/1/2002 at 07:11 AM |
Yep, thatīs the jip... If we ever invent time machines and are able to go
back in time and live in our fantasy world, it wonīt be so great...
Especially the medieval times. Why do you think they made so many fairy
tales about it? To cover up the dirt, thatīs why! Hopefully time
machines arenīt one way trips
But Sparta, with its rigid system, is a well-oiled
machine, and (taken care of properly) can conquer anything. They would be
superior.
But Athens is more humane, and follows a
more flowery path. Art and culture flourish. It would be a paradise. But is
it better than Sparta? Is Sparta better than Athens?
And you silly Chameleon, changing the subject like that! And if you
could decide on what social class you would live in, nearly any time or
place would be cool. And weīre not talking about living in it! Weīre
talking about an external perspective of Sparta or Athens!
Sheesh :roll: ____________________ Piggy's got the Conch! |
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Arthegarn
Member Posts: 79 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 2/1/2002 at 04:14 PM |
Phough. Define "ideal", for starters. An ideal Athens would have no
military problems, so Iīd go there... But actually Iīd rather be in Assur,
Pi-Ramses or Tebas, or even Rome. Where Iīd never go is to Sparta. Hell, I
wouldnīt have survived my first week there! ____________________
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chameleon
Member Posts: 83 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 2/1/2002 at 07:39 PM |
Its not really changing the subject, when you are thinking about how you
want to live and whether you want to be conquered or not, but yes, I did
change the subject.
Ok, externally, to answer your
question, I wouyld prefer Athens. If it got too boring, I could always
start somehting, and Pompeii would be nice too, but only before the
eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.
And Dolorosa, since you
seem to live in Japan, tell me more about what is one of the most
intriguing places for me. ____________________ The perfect mind is like a mirror. It grasps nothing. It expects
nothing.
It reflects but does not hold. Therefore, the perfect man can act
without
effort.
~Chuang Tsu |
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Dolorosa
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 856 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 4/1/2002 at 04:08 AM |
Alright...when all is said and done, Iīd have to choose Athens. Iīm living
the well-oiled military machine right now...thereīs up and downs...but, in
all honesty, Iīd take Athens...pleasure over functionality any day, Iīm
essentially a hedonist. To Chameleon, I donīt seem to live in
Japan...I do, Okinawa specifically. If your white, black, spanish or
whatever, youīre considered lesser. In all honesty, Japanese, old school
ones at least are incredibly racist. It is beautiful, very ancient, very
spiritual...and for the young, smacks of a strange americanism. But in the
end, this place is far older than anything weīre familiar with. By all
means come here and satisfy some of the wanderlust...just act the
part...Gaijin means Barbarian, and thats exactly what we are. ____________________ In the valley of the Goats, the Goat Fucker is King |
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Schizo
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 897 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 6/1/2002 at 02:56 PM |
My best friend is going to live in Japan this month. Boohoo! Sheīs going
to marry a Japanese.
As for the Sparta/Athens
question, I would certainly rather LIVE in Athens, but I wouldnīt mind
having some Spartans around to protect me. I think they both have their
place. Intellectual prowess isnīt much if your head gets splattered by
invading marauders, yet at the same time, I would never want to live just
to know how to kill or endure pain. Neither place has balance. An ideal
city would have itīs brains working to produce an Athens, and itīs brawn
working to produce a Sparta, and the in-betweens just working to do the
normal every-day stuff like making shoes and food and stuff.
____________________ "You can tell by the scars on my arms and the cracks in my hips and the
dents in my car and the blisters on my lips that I'm not the carefullest of
girls." - Dresden Dolls, "Girl Anachronism" |
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Dolorosa
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 856 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 7/1/2002 at 01:30 AM |
In theory a good idea...a perfectly balanced society...unfortunatly, in
reality...that works out into something like Communism...yeech. ____________________ In the valley of the Goats, the Goat Fucker is King |
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Ironboots
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 893 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 10/1/2002 at 10:14 PM |
yes... a utopia by another name would collapse just as readily... to
paraphrase a phrase.... ickk.... ____________________ Piggy's got the Conch! |
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bettie_x
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 1570 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 14/1/2002 at 07:58 PM |
sparta *whomp*
____________________ Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas. |
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Dolorosa
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 856 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 16/1/2002 at 09:02 AM |
Whomp? ____________________ In the valley of the Goats, the Goat Fucker is King |
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Ironboots
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 893 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 17/1/2002 at 06:54 AM |
Was that the sound of Sparta collapsing? Or was it a whoop/cheer for
Spartaīs professional _______ team? ____________________ Piggy's got the Conch! |
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Anonymous
Posts: 116 Registered: 14/4/2002 Status: Offline
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posted on 19/1/2002 at 03:30 PM |
I think that Athens was better because in the end all war does it kill you.
It isnt even as though the Athenians had an awful millitary ( yes yes... i
know they were artsy not millitaristic) but if you consider the battle of
marathon... Also they were alot more respectable I find, they didnt signal
out the weak to die.. thought woman had relitivly no place at all in
society :evil: They helped other people instead of just themselve as the
Spartans let down the Athenians many times... and thats my er.. thoughts on
that. :roll: ____________________
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Dolorosa
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 856 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 20/1/2002 at 06:14 PM |
All war does is kill you? Thats a decidedly uneducated way to put it...I
agree, Warīs suck...a lot, but they happen for a reason, and it isnīt just
to kill everybody. But yeah...definately Athens, for numerous reasons...And
what the heck did the Spartanīs play back then? Jungle rules soccer? I like
to think chess...with brass knuckles. ____________________ In the valley of the Goats, the Goat Fucker is King |
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bettie_x
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 1570 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 21/1/2002 at 02:11 AM |
The "whomp" was the sound of a spartan hitting something with a stick,
goofball. Iīm for sparta, now whereīs my goddamned stick?!
____________________ Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas. |
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Dolorosa
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 856 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 21/1/2002 at 05:19 AM |
Then to your whomp...I say *biff* for this goofball already has your
stick...ha ha! Go Pompeii! ____________________ In the valley of the Goats, the Goat Fucker is King |
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Ironboots
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 893 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 21/1/2002 at 11:59 AM |
Mmmm... chess with brass knuckles... hee hee...
Thatīd
teach Eric to stop beating me... hee hee *goes off to challenge him* ____________________ Piggy's got the Conch! |
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bettie_x
Extreme Fanatic Posts: 1570 Registered: 31/12/1969 Status: Offline
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posted on 23/1/2002 at 02:29 AM |
*snicker* oh how something so simple degenerates so quickly itīs too easy, too fun. Oh
hell, like I have anything BETTER to do with my time... ____________________ Trapped in time. Surrounded by evil. Low on gas. |
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