"Diobates, are you truly a Spartan?!" Lysander sneered. "Don't forget Demaratus!"
The elders erupted in an uproar. Demaratus—that was the enduring shame of the Spartans.
While Spartan warriors valued slaughter and despised pleasure, they were not disliked by beautiful women. While fertility was the primary criterion for judging a future wife, the beauty of a Spartan woman served as a ready-made criterion for judging the moral integrity of a future mother. Training alongside men from a young age also endowed Spartan women with a unique beauty: long blond hair, toned bodies, and graceful calves. While giving birth to an ugly daughter would be disheartening for parents, there was still a chance for change: pray to Helen's bronze statue at an ancient sanctuary near her tomb. It was said that this would ensure the child grew up to be beautiful.
