"Hi ! Oh, don't be afraid. I won't hurt you."
"You appear out of thin air and tell me not to be afraid…Stay Away!"
"My name is Luis."
"Stay away."
"I'm here as a visitor. All I want to know is things about your life-everything, well about Greece."
"Then you'll leave?"
"Of course."
"Okay! Well, since we're going to talk for a while, lets be formal. My name is Antiny. I am 75. Very old. I live here in Sparta. My ancestors were the Dorian invaders. I was born in Corinth. I am a perioeci. I sell spices and salts. The Spartans took over my land. I m free but many other Corinthians become helots in Sparta. Helots are slaves."
"Do all the people form conquered city-states become helots or perioeci?"
"Yes, unless they die."
"So, shouldn't there be more helots and perioeci than Spartans?"
"Oh, yes, there are. The Spartans are very strong however. Their government is strong. They are strong individually also. The made me strong. All Spartans are exceptional athletes. You have to be fit to live here in Sparta. If you are weak, then you are ridiculed. Sick babies are left on hills to die after they are born."
"That's horrid!"
"Well, we don't want sick children!"
"I understand. What about your government?"
Well, they have power but not that much smarts. We are behind the others as far as trade and manufacturing are concerned. Most likely because we concentrate so much on taking over other lands."
"And your ruler?"
"We have two kings. Neither have very much power. And we have an assembly, which control the everyday aspects of life. The Spartans now run most of the Peloponnesian Peninsula."
"I'v e heard a lot about the Athenians on the street lately. Who are they?"
"They are our enemies. Tivals. They are almost as powerful as us. They are a threat. They live in Attica on the Balkan Peninsula. Ancestors of the Mycenaens. We're about to fight them. They need to see who is more powerful. We are."
"You're about to go to war."
"Oh, yes. We all have to fight except the women. Sopartans are fit so we can excel at war."
"But how is your army?"
"Right now we don't have one. But we'll get one before the war."
"Okay. What about other 'everyday' aspects?"
"Like what?"
"Church - religion."
"Greek people worship many gods. Zeus in the king of the gods. Ruler of all. He determines every man's fate. We make sacrifices to the gods so they don't punish us; so they don't get angry at us. We give them wine and bread and all kinds of foods."
"What about literature? What is there for me to study from?"
"Homer. Homer is the most famous writer. He wrote the Iliad, which is about the Trojan War. And the Odyssey too. You can learn a lot about the gods in his writings."
"Well, how are the women treated in your society?" Because where I'm from women are equal but when I visited Rome they were not very equal at all."
"Ther're treated fairly. Although, I must say, a woman should never be in a real job. Their job is to raise children. Children who will one day be great soldiers or mothers of great soldiers. Nevertheless, women are expected to be a s healthy and strong as possible. They are also married later so they can be better athletes when young."
"How much later?"
"Around 19 years instead or 14 years old."
"Wow. So, I'm assuming they have more personal rights but still not too many social rights."
"Yep."
"Thanks Antiny."
"You'll leave now?"
"Yes."
"Good.