Becoming An Athenian Soldier

In this research paper I am going to talk about how the Spartan Military influenced our society. You are sure to expect to learn about how it affected how we live on an everyday basis. Also, on how it affected the way the U.S military runs/works. Sparta's military has caused many influences on our modern-day society. This includes on how our military works and fights to how we live every day. In the next paragraph I am going to give a little back ground on how Sparta's military training went.

The army was responsible for maintaining the reputation of Sparta, arguably the most important role it played. Knows as the best warriors of the Peloponnese the Spartans used their strong military tactics in order to conquer neighbouring lands in order to further expand Sparta and gain larger areas of fertile land. Sparta lead the untied Peloponnese army and was greatly feared throughout the Mediterranean due to their title as the greatest army throughout Greece. This title in itself made the thought and task of attacking or declaring war on the spartiates a feared happening, further defending them from attacks dismissed as useless and never carried out by neighbouring states. The army was the main defence of Sparta keeping the citizens safe and

Phillip II, Alexander’s father had developed the Macedonian phalanx, evolving it from the hoplite phalanx. It was an 8 to 36 men deep rectangular mass formation made for heavy infantry soldiers. The simple Greek formation had been made more adaptable by Phillip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. The primary unit of Alexander’s phalanx was the syntagma that was usually 16 men deep. Each of these soldiers was armed with the sarrissa, which was a 13-21-foot spear. In formation, the first five of these ranks held their sarissas horizontally facing the advancing enemy, with each of these five ranks being squished together, practically on each others heels. The residual 11 ranks either rested their spears on the shoulders of the men in front of them or they held their sarissas vertically. Due to the unfamiliarity with this formation, opposing soldiers were left intimidated by it.

The soldiers would enter the battle in chariots, launching javelins into the enemy formations, then dismount for hand-to-hand combat with more javelin throwing, rock throwing, and hand to hand sword and shield fighting. In the Iliad Homer also mentions the use of the phalanx formation being used by the Greeks. The phalanx is a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, or similar weapons . Scholars suggest that the Greeks would have used this tactic because the alignment of shields minimises the chances of projectiles hitting the men, and the men can move as one, strong unit.

Sparta was surrounded by

Think about being forced to join the military and suffer intense training, only because you were a boy born in Sparta: no one would like that idea. However, this was true in the 5th century BCE, in Sparta. Sparta was famous for its army standing up against opposing armies of more than a hundred times greater. They were especially known for the phalanx, a battle formation consisting of a group of soldiers tightly packed, each holding a shield which interlaced with others’. You may have seen this kind of battle formations in many movies, such as The Lord of the Rings and Black Panther.

Source R is of … The main role of their army was to protect Sparta’s borders from both other city-states and in revolts. Sparta’s whole way of life, their militaristic society and the State’s constitution all revolve around its army. As time went on, Sparta developed into the leading military force in ancient Greece and they believed that they had the ‘best army in the world’ at the end of the Peloponnesian War and upheld this status for over a quarter of a century.

Sparta, an oligarchy, a military state, was located in the rich and productive plains of Laconia, it was the city with the largest military and constantly focused on war: boys were bred to be soldiers; girls were brought up to birth boys who grew up to be soldiers, a polis where slaves and helots were forced to work. Life in Sparta revolved around obedience and war. (Brand, n.d.)

The Phalanx is one of the most safe war strategies in the ancient world. It could move in all directions and also obtained a big circular shield to protect the soldiers. The Greek phalanx was made up of 256 men, which was a square that was 16x16. This strategy was used to take down the Persians. The Greeks used about 10 foot spears in the phalanx, and the men also carried a sword in case a spear broke or a soldier got killed, they would be replaced(The Career of Alexander the Great).In order to have a Greek phalanx, they had to have thousands of trained men in the

It is very interesting that Sparta won this war that was very significant to both sides. The Ephors used to write the Sparta’s foreign policy, but there is an interesting point that the Ephors were like having anxiety and fear because of Athens’

The soldier’s lives should be remembered but not their deaths. The speech reminds Athenians what their ancestors have died for and mournful citizens should be proud they died defending the freedom of their country Athens. The oration also reminds Athenians of their greatness because of the fact that Athenian warriors have more to fight for. Athenian warriors are fighting not only for their country but also for their family, friends and other communities in the city. These warriors have more to lose because they are fighting for everyone in the city. During this time possessions were incredibly significant. Wars were usually about gaining land and having as much land as possible. Soldiers were not afraid of dying during combat and chose the most “honorable” course of action by fighting boldly and courageously. In this way, Athens was able to accomplish an enormous army and standard of living, without the harsh everyday training found in city-states.

Sparta was, above all, a military state, and emphasis on military fitness began at birth, imprinted through society and the political system. The education of the Spartan male children prove that the military and war was constantly a huge part of Spartan society, and the laws and systems that Sparta was governed by, only enforced the militaristic attitude into the society of Sparta. That the Spartans needed to be ready for war is proved by the discord between the Spartiate and the helots, who outnumbered and under ranked the Spartans.

It is no surprise that Greece is a popular destination for tourists. This birth place of democracy has many sites that will keep you interested and entertained for days. There are, of course, the well-known destinations such as the Acropolis and the Parthenon. No trip to Greece is complete without checking these out. That said, if you have an interest in the military history of this ancient and storied country, you should consider checking out the War Museum of Athens.

This essay examines the evolution of the Athens strategy from the beginning to the end of The Peloponnesian War (431 to 404 BCE). The Strategy will be evaluated in the context of the relationship of ends, means, and ways by testing the suitability, acceptability, feasibility, and risk.

The Spartans lived and breathed war. They learned to fight when they were children, and trained hard for it when they were adults.