Question

Which passage from the text best supports the correct answer to the previous question?

Answer choices for the above question
A. “All the other places I gained by voluntary surrender, and I granted you the privilege of appropriating the wealth found in them.”
B. “Come now! whoever of you has wounds, let him strip and show them, and I will show mine in turn; for there is no part of my body, in front at any rate, remaining free from wounds; nor is there any kind of weapon used either for close combat or for hurling at the enemy, the traces of which I do not bear on my person.”
C. “I have celebrated your weddings with my own, and the children of many of you will be akin to my children.”
D. “Brazen statues of most of the slain have been erected at home, and their parents are held in honour, being released from all public service and from taxation. But no one of you has ever been killed in flight under my leadership.”

Answer 1

The passage that best supports the idea about the decline of Sparta and Athens due to their treatment of conquered peoples is the one that discusses their fall after rejecting those they had conquered as aliens.

The passage that best supports the correct answer to the previous question about the ruin of Sparta and Athens is passage D: "What was the ruin of Sparta and Athens, but this, that mighty as they were in war, they rejected as aliens those whom they had conquered?" This choice addresses the concept of inclusivity and citizenship, which is a central theme when discussing the decline of these ancient city-states. The passage compares the actions of Sparta and Athens to that of Rome under Romulus, highlighting the strategic integration of conquered peoples as citizens rather than treating them as aliens, which could lead to societal decline.