Thanks BfloGuy.Herodotus recounts one such transformation that took only a single generation to complete. When the Lydians, ferocious warriors, revolted against their Persian overlords, their deposed king, Croesus, to keep the Persian ruler Cyrus from obliterating his people by dispersing them into slavery, suggested a less drastic way to ensure they'd never fight him again. Disarm them, he advised; dress them in women's tunics and soft boots, teach them to play the lyre and the harp, and turn their sons into shopkeepers. "You will soon see that they will become women instead of men," Croesus prophesied, "and they will then pose no danger or threat to you of any future rebellion." And indeed, Herodotus concludes, "the Lydians changed their entire way of living."
To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. |
