January 1, 2000

SPECIAL TODAY The Millennium Envisioning the future of politics, people, cities and machines -- even the front page of The Times -- and reflecting on the past. SECTION E

Arts & Ideas look ahead at works-in-progress; Prof Sarah B Pomeroy discusses her study of women in ancient Sparta, usually believed to have been as grim as their menfolk; Pomeroy says Sparta actually was one of few Greek states to educate their women, who drank wine and were famous for their beauty (S)

Ann Powers Critic's Notebook recap of 1999 music scene, featuring fluff, smut and letting off steam on ethnic, gender and other issues of new generation; photos (M)

Arts & Ideas look at works-in-progress discusses James E Block's thesis that American character was shaped not so much by egalitarianism as by 16th-century English Puritans' notion of individual as self-reliant agent who can act freely, and can also make choice to serve larger vision; 'agent' may be congregant or politician, and has become archetypally American character, setting up historical tension between individual freedom and collective demands (M)

Arts & Ideas look at works-in-progress; Joe Austin, professor of popular culture, studies New York's war against graffiti in 1970's and 80's, and perceives sociological phenomenon known as deviance amplification or, the more attention bad behavior gets, the more it is attractive to certain young people; city officials preferred broken-window theory: graffiti suggested society would tolerate crime; Austin claims city repressed 'really important' inner-city art movement; photos (S)