The Persians were an extremely advanced people, involved in science, math, and architecture, to name a few disciplines. But the Spartans were militaristic and the Greeks were expansionist, just like the Romans after them. Were they expansionist and militaristic? Sure. The Persians were not a horde or barbarians or anything of the sort.

Also, let’s just say that Leonidas’s comment about Athenians being “boy-lovers” would be pointless and disingenuous, to say the least, considering some of Sparta’s traditions. Spartans did not fight semi-naked, they had armor. Leonidas was also not the direct heir to the throne, which is why it is most likely true he went through the agoge, like regular Spartan male citizens, as the comic shows. The whole “ You see, old friend? I brought more soldiers than you did,” titbit is approximate to reality, but from a different point in history and not involving King Leonidas, who by the way was not a strapping fifty-year-old, but a very much active and militant sixty-year-old man upon his death (probably). RELATED: 10 Best Comic Book Movies Ever Made If they are so freedom-loving, why does every man have to do the exact same thing, which is survive training, complete it, serve Sparta, and ultimately die for Sparta? Is freedom interpreted as being subjugated by your state, while your state itself is free from invaders?

Spartan society was cruel and merciless, not freedom-loving and governed by logic, which is a clear contradiction that Miller himself entraps into in the story. They had many slaves, then called helots, and quite a few of them were murdered as part of Sparta’s brutal military training. Sparta had not one, but two kings and they despised the democratic system of the city-state of Athens (an extremely flawed democracy by today’s standards, but still). So, let us get some things cleared up, both accuracies and inaccuracies: Spartans were not all about freedom.

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