Caring for hurt or disabled individuals is a universal trait among all cultures. Archaeologists have found evidence of sick, hurt and disabled people be taking care of in almost every culture.

Even the Spartans took care of people with disabilities. A myth says that Spartan babies were tossed into a chasm at the foot of Mount Taygetus if they were ‘ill-born’ and ‘deformed’. But, there is no evidence of this. In fact, one of their kings, Agesilaos II, was born with one leg shorter than the other. He went through the Spartan upbringing with it, and this wasn’t because he was of royal blood, either; Agesilaos was the second eldest, and no one expected him to be king.

Artist: Leo Rutledge

Six Chibi characters from different time periods and with different disabilities

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Open Past

Credit: Leo Rutledge & Open Past

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