Was Gelos - Greek God of Laughter - also a god of warriors? The answer is not as clear cut as you may think. This article reviews humor in Ancient Greece, and how Sparta - home to its most military organized and brutal people - was one of the only two ancient Greek city-states known to have built a special temple for Gelos in which to worship him. A proposed explanation is that "It is easier to practice psychological honesty about dark aspects of human existence with the protective shield of laughter."