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Of all Hellenes the Spartans were most accessible to bribery;

several of the greatest of them might be described in the words

of Plato as having a 'fierce secret longing after gold and

silver.' Though not in the strict sense communists, the principle

of communism was maintained among them in their division of

lands, in their common meals, in their slaves, and in the free

use of one another's goods. Marriage was a public institution:

and the women were educated by the State, and sang and danced in

public with the men.