Racial Laconophilia Laconophilia

karl müller

a new element introduced laconophilia karl otfried müller, linked spartan ideals supposed racial superiority of dorians, ethnic sub-group of greeks spartans belonged. while greek laconophiles plutarch had praised spartans, did not extend admiration dorians whole. plutarch argued founder of constitution, lycurgus, had inherited corrupt dorian institutions. argos, traditional enemy of sparta, dorian state; corinth, rhodes, , syracuse, 3 of commercial states in greece.

in 1824, however, müller wrote die dorier, history of dorian race . has been described thousand-page fantasia , portrays dorians heroic , noble race expanded greece north. used new disciplines of comparative linguistics , source-criticism argue dorians represented distinct ethno-linguistic group original culture isolated later influences. linked origin of dorians mythic myrmidons of trojan war, , leader achilles.

nazi laconophilia

müller s emphasis on northern origins , racial qualities of spartans later fed development of nordicism, theory of superiority of north european aryan master race. later german writers regularly portrayed spartans model modern prussian state, emphasised military self-discipline. short step argue prussians , spartans of same race. frank h. hankins summarises views of american nordicist madison grant, writing in 1916:

sparta pictured particularly nordic on account of purity of dorian stock, while athens more of mixture. sparta exhibited military efficiency, thorough organization , patriotic sacrifice of individual state characteristic of nordics everywhere , exemplified in modern prussia, while athens exhibited intellectual brilliancy, instability, extreme individualism, tendency treason , conspiracy characteristic of populations having large mediterranean element.

these arguments repeated nazi race theorists such hans f. k. günther , alfred rosenberg. adolf hitler particularly praised spartans, recommending in 1928 germany should imitate them limiting number allowed live . added spartans once capable of such wise measure... subjugation of 350,000 helots 6,000 spartans possible because of racial superiority of spartans. spartans had created first racialist state.

following invasion of ussr, hitler insisted slavs should treated helots under spartans: [the spartans] came conquerors, , took , , should germans. nazi officer specified germans have assume position of spartiates, while... russians helots.