Spartanism

Suppose a monotheistic religion arises in Sparta, similar to Judaism, but with much more emphasis on militarism and a single consecrated king of Sparta. Strong vilification of Athenian-style democracy and decadent lifestyles.

Then, assuming a republican Rome still conquers the area, a reformer/freedom fighter rises up against Roman rule, preaching humility and denouncing Roman 'decadence'.
The revolt is defused, and the leader sacrifices himself in exchange for release of some rebel prisoners, but all are executed. Widespread discontent throughout Achaea. The religion begins to define itself on opposition to Rome and everything to do with it, and gradually spreads into Mediterranean ports, is quite popular amongst foederati, barbarians, low-level soldiers, commoners and people with chips on their shoulders. This Roman republic is not very efficient and lurches from one crisis to another, and people begin to lose faith in it, and Spartanism seems to offer answers.

Assuming this alternate Roman republic reaches similar size to the OTL empire and falls in a similar way;
The barbarian kings seek to expand their own personal power and do away with the republican vestiges in their states, and mimic the Spartan kings of the past.
Slavery in Europe lasts much longer than OTL, and representative democracy might well never come into existence, at least in Europe. Monasteries in which
children are raised as warrior-monks from a very early age, and serve as the elite troops of the kingdom. Homosexuality would probably be viewed in a very different light.
The Greek alphabet might supersede the Latin one in the west.

Thoughts?
 
Not gonna happen, at least not like this.

Sparta was viewed with strange fascination by many Greeks, but it was almost invariably viewed with unadulterated hatred by those who had to live under its rule. Any religion based on Spartan society will have to be radically exclusive and aristocratic. Thus, even if Sparta survives the end of its hegemony (which is improbable, but possible), its religio-political model will hardly appeal to other Hellenes, let alone barbarians. A martyr king at the hands of Rome would be a distinct possibility, but not a likely flashpoint of discontent. Sparta was an irrelevance at this point a fossilised social model that had created a cul-de-sac to achieve what Hellenistic states and Rome could manage with far more dynamic and inclusive societies.
 
But don't you know the Spartans were Benjamintes? They had emigrated because of the Great Shadchan Boycott, and married shiksas in the Peloponese.

"Leonidas bubeleh, such a nice shield your mother gave you. Return with it or on it, else you'll break my poor heart. And be sure to eat up all your broth and put on your helmet before you fight the Persians, like a good boy."
 
Here is a modification:
Spartanism undergoes a rapid decline after conquest, but lingers on mostly in local elites, as it wasn't widely popular. The 'Old Testament' of Spartanism is preserved.
Later, a young man who claims descent from the kings of Sparta [possibly just to get attention, whether he was or not is uncertain], seeks to foment a rebellion, and preaches the more palatable parts of Spartanism and bits and pieces of his own invention. He becomes a martyr as i described in the first post, and is later revered as the epitome of a good king for this and previous actions. The end result is a split similar to Judaism and Christianity, but the older form of spartanism dies out quite quickly, leaving behind the 'old testament' which is linked with the new religion, but doesn't become prominent until after the barbarian invasions. The religion spreads in a manner similar to christianity, with continual persecution due to its association with the rebellion, and occasional uprisings, contributing to the eventual barbarian invasion. The Eastern Empire breaks off during the invasions under an ambitious pagan general who proclaims himself King of Hellenes. The Roman Republic is heckled from both north and east.
Eventually, a King of Hellenes adopts (...)ism. The Kingdom of Rome is revived by the Herul conquerors of Italy, although it retains many republican features.

Bear in mind the 'old testament' is later taken as... gospel, i suppose, and it contains a very romanticised account of Sparta. Other opinions on Sparta from that time period are taken as heathen lies.

Also, how improbable is it for the Roman Republic to last into the 5th century?
 
The closest thing to turning Spartan culture into a religion is Platonism, and that an extreme view which actually equates the society depicted in the Republic with Sparta and with a realy society (as opposed to a metaphor for the soul).

Such a thing arising in Sparta is tantamount to impossible. It would undermine the highly religious nature of the Spartan state, that religion based on the old Olympian myths. Even when Sparta was at its most desparate, she never abandoned the dual monarchy. Your asking an intensely traditionalistic society, devoid of any intellectual life that we know of to overturn all of its traditions and then revere the new ones as much as the old. All of this when the most likely revolution to occur in Sparta is, in the words of Xenophon, for the Spartans to be "eat[en] raw" by rebellious helots.

Now you might actually get something like a Platonic cult gone religious. Gnostics come pretty close to fitting the bill in that respect. By this time, however, Sparta's pretty close to dead, however.

And, yeah, getting the Roman Republic to survive until the 5th Century AD intact seems a bit of stretch, at least without further intervention (major constitutional reform) or rife instability.

Now, for all this, as a fan of the Greeks, I kind of like the attempt, but I just can't see this recipe fitting the ancient Greeks.
 
the problem is greeks didnt have that whole "lets start religions" thing in theyr culture
whyle the midle eastern semitic partic and arabian cultures had traditions of enlightened people talking to god greeks had a tradition of enlightened people talking about god
gods technikly
also starting anithing resembeling chrystianity in organisation and monotheistic wiews would be seen as a blasfemy in basically all greek citty states including sparta
greeks were werry fervent and faithfull to their politeist belief sistem and individual cults
not to mention such a thing would be imediatly denounced as antidemocratic persian propaganda
 
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