The Racist Commune of Thermopylae is a huge, cultured nation, ruled by Lycurgus with an even hand, and remarkable for its enslaved workforce, frequent executions, and vat-grown people. The hard-nosed, democratic population of 987 million Thermopylaeans have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

The large government prioritizes Education, with Healthcare, Administration, and Law & Order also on the agenda, while Spirituality and International Aid are ignored. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Caeadas Chasm. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 67.6%.

The thriving Thermopylaean economy, worth 108 trillion Iron Bars a year, is driven entirely by a combination of government and state-owned industry, with private enterprise illegal. However, for those in the know, there is a slick, highly efficient, broadly diversified black market in Arms Manufacturing, Book Publishing, Uranium Mining, and Beef-Based Agriculture. The private sector mostly consists of enterprising ten-year-olds selling lemonade on the sidewalk, but the government is looking at stamping this out. Average income is an impressive 109,855 Iron Bars, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 450,881 per year while the poor average 17,671, a ratio of 25.5 to 1.

Pirates armed with sonar-guided semi-autonomous torpedos and laser weapons systems are often seen capturing fishing trawlers, the government's new "quiet competence" initiative has supporters and detractors alike reeling in confusion, Lycurgus lives life on the open road - complete with groupies, and even secular Thermopylaeans are shouting "Blessed are the cheesemakers!". Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Thermopylae's national animal is the Lernaean Hydra, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to heavy metals seepage into national waterways.

Thermopylae is ranked 64,644^th in the world and 2^nd in Volkisch Sparta for Most Subsidized Industry, scoring 2,991.34 on the Gilded Widget Scale.