Athenians on the other hand were more peace loving, philosophical, and seemingly more wholesome people. The focus for children was much more broad than the Spartans. The word Spartan is immediately associated with war and fighting.
A spartan warrior was treated much like a sports prodigy in the modern day. If a high school boy seemed to have a knack for football and the circumstances were right (the parents, coaches, and personal goals) this talent would be nurtured and unquestioned. I have seen it before when someone, especially in sports, shows immense potential a coach or other mentor will encourage that kid to dedicate their lives to getting better at that sport. This kind of mentality and behavior is similar to how boys in Spartan culture were surrounded by. They had no say as to wether they wanted to be warriors or not. I assume that if you were surrounded by that kind of culture you wouldn't know any different so there wouldn't be any questions.
This kind of up-bringing is kind of unfortunate in a way. You never know if one of those Spartan boys could have been one of the great artists of that time. They could have been any number of other things. We will never know I guess.
It does kind of bother me that your fate is decided even before birth of what you are to do the rest of your life. Unfortunate is the only word that comes to mind. The whole attitude about overt masculine mentality and demeanor bothers me.
As far as Hollywood is concerned, the media and the production behind the kind of movies that are released knows that the general uneducated public will automatically respond well to any sort of violence and what I like to call the "dude factor." The "dude factor" has so much appeal that the influence of this kind of media has trickled down into the lowest depths of our culture and even our own mannerisms and psychology. (I witness a painful amount of this disease in my hometown).
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