Quote Originally Posted by Nigel
Fascinating subject indeed.... while I dont consider myself to be a man attrackted by profanity, I feel strangely compelled to add my comments.

I have to say I find it hard to belive that the typical common solider or peasant did not use his share of curses in his day to day language. Shadow said he finds if hard to think the Spartan soldiers talked "like a bunch of drunken marines". And why not, for after all, that's what they were (well, perhaps not drunken, but marines still - the tough-stuff elite soldiers of their time).
To Nigel and All:

Just a couple of quick points, as I think some have misunderstood me. First, I don't pretend ancients didn't curse nor do I draw the line for cursing along economic or social lines. After all, I regularly go into law offices in this wonderful city of mine and in even the biggest and most expensive, the language doesn't vary too much from what you hear on the street.

I'm sure Spartan soliders cursed -- or did whatever was socially acceptable to express their opinion. Sometimes I think we forget that while people may be the same in many ways the world over, language and social customs differ significantly. Consider Japanese or Chinese culture, for example.

My point simply was whether people used a particular word and if they used with the full-bore regularity that we do.

Thanks to all for their insight.