If they were wealthy enough they would have to pay for their own arms and armour and then they formed the heavily-armed infantry which drilled and prepared for battle as a unit. The selection of Spartan warriors started before their birth. The Spartans encouraged athletic competition and the victors where held in high esteem. They married the strongest boys with the strongest girls and the fastest boys with the fastest girls in order to bread the best warriors. Infamously, the Spartan elders would inspect new born infants and any found to be imperfect, judged to be weak or deformed, were thrown from a cliff.
Spartan culture promotes a “fight to the death” mentality that is seen in many of the most dangerous militaries throughout history, from the Norse Vikings to the Japanese kamikaze, the Spartans were among the first to truly find glory in battle. Sparta took this devotion to glory in battle and institutionalized it through education. All Spartan boys able to become citizens went through a rigorous training that involved training for no profession other than military service. This was expected of all boys in Sparta, however the right to be trained in this fashion was left to be determined by the state for each boy. If the state found someone incapable of military duty for some reason, or they did not take well to the military lifestyle then they would be stripped of citizenship and labeled a “trembler” for their fear of battle.
The Spartan King ruled supremacy over his one hundred Spartan bodyguards. In fact, being part of the Kings squad held great honor and meant that they were as what they would call a true Spartan. During a war, only one of the kings went into battle while the other stayed in Sparta. This is evidently told by Herodotus as he states that this ‘conflict between Kings Cleomenes and Demaratus is what finalized this decision in a time around 507 BC. Following on, the King would generalize and plan out military campaigns.
They learned to fight, tolerate pain and survive through their fears. The older boys willingly participated in beating the younger boys to toughen them. Self-denial, simplicity, the warrior code, and loyalty to the city-state ruled their lives. At the age of 20, they had to pass a rigorous test to graduate and become full citizens. Only the soldiers were received the upper-class citizenship.
Providing only one 14-minute performance, the Drill’s activities were always secret and steeped in controversy. The biggest question was always, what could possibly motivate someone to take on such a challenge? Enter the secret world of the 14 Nights, and experience the heartaches and hell of being a “roach” that seeks the glory and honor of knights from days gone by. Because of an eldest son tradition, second born John O’Bryan grew up feeling like a second-class citizen in his own family. The troubled southern boy matured into a wild and angry young man, and was convinced by others that The Citadel was the only college suited to handle his less than acceptable attitude.
Sparta was a only country without a wall. Sparta gained their forever lasting fame from the battle against the Persians. They only had 300 soldiers to fend off the whole Persian Army. Spartan in English means sternly disciplined and rigorously simple, frugal, or austere. Spartans usually said “Our men are our wall”.
"So it is with the Spartans; fighting singly, they are as good as any, but fighting together they are the best soldiers in the world. They are free - yes - but not entirely free; for they have a master, and that mater is Law, which they fear much more than subjects fear you. Whatever this master commands, they do; and his command never varies, it is never to retreat in battle, however great the odds, but always to stand firm and to conduer or die." quoted by Herodotus. Todays topic is on Spartan Army.
The victor would have control over the entire Mediterranean Sea and all of the trade routes bringing land, pride, wealth, and dominance over the victors enemies. Hannibal took a 1,000 mile trek from New Carthage, Spain, through the Alps, Northern Italy, and finally to Carthage. Hannibal won most of his battles with Rome, but never got the reinforcement he needed to over take Rome. The men that he had with him at the time were renowned for their loyalty to Hannibal and unconventional fighting tactics. Their Gorilla type war fair or wars of delaying almost saw the defeat of Rome but Rome finally assimilated these new tactics and used them against Hannibal, the man who had taught them to
Melissa Horstketter HIS 105 300 Essay The film of 300 says a lot about what it was like back in the ancient history between the Spartans and the Persians. The Spartans were taught to fight for their state right away when they were a child. The movie shows all the different aspects of the Spartan culture. It shows how they just throw away babies that aren’t perfect, and how they take the children away from home at only the age of seven to train as a fighter. They show the basic ways of how the Spartans lived at the time.
The boys learned how to read, write, fight in battle, as well as how to not be cowards and to be strong. “To this end, as they grew in years, their discipline was proportionately increased; their heads were close-clipped, they were accustomed to go barefoot, and for the most part to play naked.” At the age of twelve, the boys were not allowed to wear any undergarments and were given only one coat to last and aid them an entire year. The young men were always under scrutiny by their elders, for if any of them did not do their responsibility or mind their teachers, they would be punished and reminded of their duties to Sparta. The form of education may be the only category that Socrates and Plato have a fighting chance of superiority over Lycurgus’ Sparta. Plato wished for a higher education for the men of his state,