I saw a popular post in /r/TIL comparing Sparta to an ancient Greek "North Korea... more of a societal experiment than a respected kingdom." Is this an accurate representation of how Sparta's contemporaries would have seen them?

by wetforest

Post and article for reference: https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/jad20j/til_ancient_sparta_was_an_incredibly_brutal/

tombomp

While obviously there's more to be said on the specific piece and question, while you're waiting you might be interested in basically any answer on Sparta written by /u/Iphikrates, which you can access on the wiki.

Particularly his answers to:

What were other people's impression of Spartans?

Is the Military "Worship" of the Spartans Really Justified?

Why isn't Sparta considered a democracy?

Were the cultures of 5th century BC Athens and Sparta as different as they are portrayed in the popular mindset?