Spartan Culture Research Paper

The spartan military was one of the most feared militaries in the greek society. They trained their citizens in discipline and honor. Their entire culture was based on war. The spartans began in the mycenaean age(1600 Bce to 1100 Bce).

Sparta was a small culture both in size and number that eventually revolutionized into a powerful city-state. It is located on a small peninsula in Southern Greece called the Peloponnese. Sparta was based on its strong military that helped it continue to be dominate even with a small population. The education in Sparta helped develop this culture to its dominant state. Did the education system serve the overall best interest of the Spartan people? The education in Sparta did serve the best interest of the Spartan people because their education prepared them for their future, the rigorous military training taught the boys how to adapt to limited resources, and their education also helped them defeat the helots.

There is a considerable amount of evidence, revealing aspects of cultural life in Sparta during this period. According to Brennan [2007], Early Sparta had a vivid culture where many different forms of art were created. The evidence that provides such information includes art, architecture and writings and literature. Thus, the evidence reveals ample information about cultural life in Sparta, at the time. There is evidence that art was one of the major forms of cultural expression.

1st-         A positive aspect of the Spartan Code was the idea to train their young beginning at a young age, by giving power to the state to control the youth. This allowed many of the children to have an equal opportunity in the situation given although they did not have many options. They could all be taught the same concepts, and this would create more unity among the people which was very important, although the method by which they took action upon this was somewhat controversial.

The entire Spartan society revolved around the army, essentially making it the key aspect of Spartan life and culture. The army influenced areas such as education and social structure as well as being the most important defence of Sparta in both combat and reputation.

Classical Sparta Page 1 Samantha Elliott Ancient Sparta was an interesting time, one that’s like no other. There were many key components of Sparta and the Spartans that stood out to make it unique. The first unique trait of Sparta was; “Sparta was one of the most efficient and strongest of the Leading Greek city states in its time”(“Spartan Warriors.” Ancient Warriors.) regarding its military.

The government in Sparta followed a very different coarse than that of the Athenians. It was controlled by an oligarchy in which the power was held by a group of five men called ephors. Working below the ephors was the Council of Elders and an Assembly. Male citizens over age sixty could serve on the Council while anyone, male or female, over the age of twenty could be a member of the Assembly. Though the citizens had little say in the decisions made by the government, the system worked effectively. Over the years, the Spartan's brutal reputation in war grew so great that other nations and city-states were too frightened to attack Sparta even though the Spartan army was no larger then eight thousand men. The Spartan Constitution called for all men to begin their military education at the age of seven, where they were trained to be tough and self-sufficient. Every man in the army fought with a great deal of passion for his country. Life in Sparta may have been rough, but the rest of the Greeks envied the Spartans for their simplicity, straight forwardness, and fanatical dedication. The beliefs of Sparta were oriented around the state. The individual lived and died for the state. The combination of this philosophy, the education of Spartan males, and the discipline of their army gave the Spartans the stability needed to survive in Ancient Greece.

There are many aspects of Spartan culture that I feel were the most successful for the city-state. The most important aspect I feel the Spartans city-state had was their education. As shown in our History Alive books, Sparta didn’t focus on math, reading, or writing. Discipline and strength were what boys and girls were educated by. From age 7 all Spartan children were trained to fight. Some skills they learned were: wrestling, boxing, gymnastics and foot racing. All these sports helped the girls and boys get stronger and become more advanced for when fighting or in war. There were some differences on how boys were trained and educated. Until age 6 or 7, boys were taught by their mothers. When they were finally ready to learn how to

Ancient Greece was comprised of small city-states, of which Sparta and Athens were two. Athens was renowned as a center of wisdom and learning. The people of Athens were interested in arts, music, and intellectual pursuits. Sparta, on the other hand, was recognized for its military strength. A Spartan's life was centered on the state, because he lived and died to serve the state. Although the competing city-states of Sparta and Athens were individually different as well as governmentally diverse, they both managed to become dominating powers in Ancient Greece.

Sparta occupies a peculiar position within the national consciousness of the United States. On one hand Americans, as the torchbearers of modern liberalism and democracy, are averse to Sparta as a cultural and political antithesis to their proposed cultural founders, the Athenians. As the trumpeters of free speech and the ability of every person to better themselves, how can it be possible that Americans would harken their cultural antecedents to a society that cast imperfect babies upon the side of mountains?

Spartans military was a hard core and well rounded out military in its time. Part of the reason why they were so successful is because of their rigorous training each boy had to go through. Why I said boy is because the Spartan military training would start at age 7 for a chosen boy. The boy gets chosen to live in spartan society at birth. If the Spartans did not believe that the boy would be rounded out for their society they would leave the boy to die. During the boys training hazing and fighting was encouraged to help improve strength among the boys. During spartan training each boy was mainly taught mathematics, music, and how to fight. Also during their training, they would learn how to steal but without getting caught. If they were caught they would not be punished for stealing but only for getting caught. This type of training continues until the boys would become men. Which is at the age of 20 for the Spartan's. At age 20 Spartan men would have to pass a series of demanding

The following essay will focus on the main features of Spartan religion. Religion in Sparta had the ideas to support a militaristic and superstitious society, which, therefore, influenced the approach to religion to suit The Great Rhetra. To support and uphold the Spartan society which highlights that the Spartan religion had many important features such as, Gods and Goddesses which were a part of the Sparta’s polytheism religion which was believed to play a major role in many aspects of their lives. Myths and legends and how Sparta's devotion to them built their very militaristic and superstitious religion. Festivals which were important customs and major Eunomia throughout Spartan society. Death and the Burial processes which was important to the militaristic society to send its honorable and heroic soldiers to the next stage in life in a respectful and presentable manner. Religious role of the kings who had a leading and significant outcome of religion in Sparta. All of these main features of Spartan religion was to make a system that would produce Spartans that were loyal, skillful and had social coherence.

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.

Throughout ancient human history, men and women held vastly different roles. Women were often given the duty of bearing and raising children, whereas men were expected to fight, provide an income, and protect the household. Women were seen as totally inferior to men and described by Euripedes as “a curse to mankind” and “a plague worse than fire or any viper.” However, this misogynistic view of women and designated role of inferiority was not apparent in every ancient civilization. The role of the female in ancient Greek history can best be explored and contrasted between two important civilizations: The Spartans and the Athenians. The Spartan women were incredibly advanced for their time, and the Athenian women were drastically far behind. Both the Spartan and Athenian women held roles at home and lived lives far removed from the men of their societies. However, their lives were much different. While the Spartan women were strong and educated, the Athenian women held a status almost equal to slavery. The Spartan women were far more advanced than Athenians in aspects of life including education, athleticism, and independence.

Sparta was one of the most powerful city-states in Greece and in order to increase a food supply, the Spartans turned to their bordering country Messenia. In the eighth century B.C. the Spartans conquered the Messenians and set up a new type of social system. The Messenians would work the soil to supply the Spartans with the food supply, which would leave the dominating class available for a life of military training. The Messenians outnumbered the Spartans and without a strong hold the lower-class citizens would eventually overtake them by physical force.