them by limiting "the number allowed to live". He added that "The Spartans were once capable of such a wise measure... The subjugation of 350,000 Helots by 6,000 Spartans was only possible because of the racial superiority of the Spartans." The Spartans had created "the first racialist state". Following the invasion of the USSR, Hitler viewed citizens of the USSR as like the helots under the Spartans: "They [the Spartans] came as conquerors, and they took everything", and so should the Germans. A Nazi officer specified that "the Germans would have to assume the position of the Spartiates, while... the Russians were the Helots." Certain early Zionists, and particularly the founders of Kibbutz movement in Israel, were influenced by Spartan ideals, particularly in education. Tabenkin, a founding father of the Kibbutz movement and the Palmach strikeforce, prescribed that education for warfare "should begin from the nursery", that children should from kindergarten be taken to "spend nights in the mountains and valleys". In modern times, the adjective "Spartan" means simple, frugal, avoiding luxury and comfort. The term "laconic phrase" describes the very terse and direct speech characteristic of the Spartans. Sparta also features prominently in modern popular culture, most famously the Battle of Thermopylae (see Battle of Thermopylae in popular culture). Notable ancient Spartans Agesilaus II – king Agis I – king Agis II – king Chilon – philosopher Chionis (7th century BC) – athlete Clearchus of Sparta – mercenary in the army of the Ten Thousand. Cleomenes I – king Cleomenes III – king and reformer Cynisca (4th century BC) – princess and athlete Gorgo – queen and politician Helen – princess in the Trojan War Leonidas I (c. 520–480 BC) – king, commander at the Battle of Thermopylae Lycurgus (10th century BC) – lawgiver Lysander (5th–4th century BC) – general Menelaus – king during the Trojan War Nabis – king Xanthippus of Carthage – Spartan mercenary in the First Punic War See also Archaeological Museum of Sparta List of Kings of Sparta List of ancient Greek cities Notes References Sources Further reading David, Ephraim. 1989. "Dress in Spartan Society". Ancient World 19:3–13. Flower, Michael A. 2009. "Spartan 'Religion' and Greek 'Religion. In Sparta: Comparative Approaches. Edited by Stephen Hodkinson, 193–229. Swansea, UK: Classical Press of Wales. Hodkinson, Stephen, and Ian MacGregor Morris, eds. 2010. Sparta in Modern Thought. Swansea, UK: Classical Press of Wales. Low, Polly. 2006. "Commemorating the