The Importance Of Ancient Spartan Militarism

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

Spartans were very strict and set high expectations for their men in war. Taken from their families at the young age of 7 to train, the boys were whipped and starved. Spartans also enslaved people, called helots. The innocent helots were killed without warning. Spartans were so

They abused not only the helots, but their own children. In Document D, the text states that “the boys of Sparta were whipped during the entire day, frequently to the point of death”. This is called the flagellation. It is a competition to see who can withstand being whipped the longest, and many boys died in the process. This is absolutely terrible. They were killing their own soldiers just because they want to see who can withstand pain longer. Not only that, but the boys were given very small rations of food and therefore were encouraged to steal. If they were caught, they were whipped for being “bad stealers”. Not only did they abuse their children, but they abused the helots as well. The helots had to do all of the dirty work in Sparta. They did not get any appreciation for all of the work they did. Not only that, but the Spartans had murder squads to kill innocent helots for no

The Spartan State was a militaristic force to be reckoned with, and is famous for the values that were expected of their people. These Spartan values and militaristic system of government is described in a document by Plutarch (45-125 CE) regarding Sparta after the Lycurgian reforms, specifically after

As an arrangement of government, vote based system rapidly spread to various other driving city-states, regardless of the tyrant hold of Sparta on the Greek world. Be that as it may, Sparta's strength was not to last. Overextended and not able to acclimate to new fight methods, in 371 BC Spartan hoplites endured their first significant thrashing in 200 years on account of the Theban general Epaminodas. Just 10 years

Sparta made its every male into a soldier, they trained starting at a young age into late ages. This system limited Spartans contact with the outside world. As it says in the Spartan Society and Values, no man is proved to be a good man in war unless faces the blood if slaughter. This shows the ruthless ways of the Greeks with the men. They had to train for the military regardless of what they desired for the honor of their family.

When Spartan boys were born, they would have to have no physical defects, or, they would be thrown off a cliff. As they grow up to age twelve to eighteen, Spartans started serious and intense training for war and to become a soldier. They would have limited rights and receive harsh treatments.. As they grow older, they would start teaching other Spartan boys, and when other Spartan boys were ready, they would become a soldier. As Sparta started to become a strong polis, it conquered Messenia and enslaved the Helots, or Messenians. Even though the Helots outnumbered the Spartans by a ratio of 7:1, the Helots

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.

Furthermore, the Spartan system decayed internally as well as externally due to a rigid caste system that allowed for no upward mobility, an arrogant and bellicose Spartan foreign policy that alienated the vast majority of Sparta’s allies, and the introduction of wealth and ideas, outside of Sparta, that weakened the social conformity of the Sparitates. In addition, Sparta’s bellicose foreign policy resulted in the alienation of the other Greek city states, and this lead to the

Sparta’s poor education is a big weakness and reason why the civilization collapsed after 300 years. The Spartan education was very bland and their children were only taught how to read, write, and count. This affected the Spartans short and long term with many things and they really didn't discuss subjects that were government related. I say this because their only focus was on war and not education related things like science, math, and english/literature. Those aspects could have helped them in agriculture, health, and diplomacy. If Sparta had not only been able to enhance its education but have it’s citizens learn and pursue arts then they could have allied with other city-states like Corinth and Thebes. The reason why is because most of the other city-states had a relation in education and arts. That is why they were normally peaceful between each other. Who knows how the development of Sparta could have skyrocketed if they resolved conflict with Athens!

Sparta was ruled by a king or at some point two kings. These two kings were from two separate families of royalty and neither of them had absolute power. The king or kings had to be consulted by the Ephors. The Ephors had a lot of power and authority in the Spartan government. They were a group of five elders, men over the age of 30 who would serve in this position for a year. They had the power to bring up charges against anyone in Sparta, including the king. Unlike Athens who was set on trying to establish a peaceful democratic atmosphere; Sparta was a lot more militaristic and strict. One of the Spartan government’s main priorities was the strength of the Spartan army. They believed that strength, endurance and numbers were a key part in a successful and powerful army. Therefore every Spartan boy at the age of seven would be taken away from their mothers and put into training for the next 13 years.

The spartans only accepted babies that were strong. If the baby was weak they would leave it to die one Mount Taygetus. They would begin at the age of seven for training. The selection of spartan warriors began before birth. They would send boys at the age of seven to military boarding school.

Ancient Sparta, a city-state formed and bred on the basis of a warrior society, was one reason the Greeks conquered the Persians. As young men the Spartan boys would all go to military camp to become a soldier (Andrews). Intense and lifelong military training produces the most efficient warriors on the planet. Though the numbers may have been few compared to the Persian army, the untrained and cowardly Persian archers and swordsmen. Also in Sparta, the children were ritualistically beaten and flogged. Though this may seem

In several lands and cultures have many pros and cons but the Spartans were known for being a perfectionist society, but as you may not know, as the Spartans had multiple amounts of strengths as they also did with weaknesses. During the time of 5th century in Sparta emerged a tiny powerhouse in the eastern Mediterranean, rivaled against Athens. As so for the educational system performed a major factor between both civilizations taking over each other. And both had their very own benefits and unbeneficial side, but for Sparta, did the strengths outweigh their own weaknesses? Yes, strength did outweigh their weakness because them being well structured to having the utmost of military power and also including their own emphasis on teamwork/

The progressing city-state of Sparta was infamous for many things. Sparta was known for its powerful army, strict guidelines, and eccentric values. Due to these unique characteristics, residents of Sparta had to keep up to continue its legacy. Being a resident of Sparta meant taking numerous risks yet for reasonable causes. These risks were taken for the progression of the city state. Risks included krypteia mindlessly killing Helots to prevent them from rebelling. Despite this lack of respect for human life, Sparta had atoned for this by providing relevant teachings for women and lessons on survival. Sparta, being a city state with a small population , was primarily focused on winning battles. Thus they perpetrated many feats that were meant to benefit this major cause. Although there was a lack of respect for human life in Sparta, the strengths of a Spartan education are clearly greater than its weaknesses because of the education provided for women and teachings on survival.