P. V. N. Myers

“ The model city (or state, as we should say) must not be over large. In this, as in everything else, the ancient Greeks applied the Delphian rule—"Measure in all things." "A small city," says one of their poets, "set upon a rock and well governed, is better than all foolish Nineveh." Aristotle thought that the ideal city should not have more than ten thousand citizens.
↑ Under the name Hellas the ancient Greeks included not only Greece proper and the islands of the adjoining seas, but also the Hellenic cities in Minor, Southern Italy, Sicily, and elsewhere. ”

“ Cythera, just south of the Peloponnesus, was sacred to Aphrodite (Venus) , as it was here fable said she rose from the sea-foam. Beyond Cythera, in the Mediterranean, midway between Greece and Egypt, is the large island of Crete, noted in legend for its labyrinth and its legislator Minos.
Influence of Country.—The physical features of a country have much to do with the moulding of the character and the shaping of the history of its people. Mountains, isolating neighboring communities and shutting out conquering races, foster the spirit of local patriotism and preserve freedom ”

“ They developed the body rather than the mind. Their education was almost wholly gymnastic and military. They were unexcelled as warriors. The most important city founded by them was Sparta, the rival of Athens.
These two great Hellenic families divided Hellas [1] into two rival parties, which through their mutual jealousies and contentions finally brought all the bright hopes and promises of the Hellenic race to utter ruin.
The Achæans are represented by the Greek legends as being the predominant race in the Peloponnesus during the Heroic Age. ”