What drove the Ancient Greeks to fight wars, thousands of years ago? The answer may surprise you, because what we consider “good” and selfless reasons to fight paradoxically led to more wars than the ...

As Netanyahu evokes "super-Sparta," Israel may be repeating the mistakes that left both city-states devastated after decades of war. On the eve of the Peloponnesian War in 432 BC, the wise king of ...

Despite being rivals, many Athenians admired the government, clothing, and austerity of the Spartans. Falling prey to “Laconophilia,” some began to adopt the mannerisms and even dress like their ...

This story appears in the November/December 2016 issue of National Geographic History magazine. Sparta’s enemies, when facing the intimidating Spartan forces, would see a wall of shields, bristling ...