“To face the blood and the slaughter” Spartan Society and Values according to Tyrtaeus and Xenophon

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

This distinctive reputation came about through many different ways. A defeat in battle in Tegea 7th C BC may have initiated their fixated focus on the army. Spartans are famous for the agoge; their ‘education system’. Nearly every healthy male child was selected after strict evaluation through the “ test” put in the wild. These young boys then endured years of systematic rigorous brutality and training until they became men, soldiers that were able to fight in the Spartan wars.

Action from necessity is a constantly recurring theme in Thucydides’ The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War. A sentiment used to explain the growth of the Athenian Empire which some Athenians espoused to an assembly at Sparta best quantifies necessity, “. . . we were necessarily compelled at first to advance the hegemony to where it is—especially by fear, and then by honor, and later by benefit.” (Selected Passages 1.75.3). This claim, referred to as the Athenian Thesis, is used to advance the two following implications: all states act with the motivations of fear, honor and interest and no one can condemn a state for doing so. The Athenian Thesis influences the way many of the Athenian elite structure their patterns of reasoning in both noticeable and subtle ways.

A reading of Thucydides’, Pericles’ Funeral Oration and The Melian Dialogue uncovers both contrasting and comparable viewpoints on Athenian politics, power, aims of war, and empire. Thucydides presents two differing characteristics of Athens, one as the civilizer in Pericles’ funeral oration and the other as an tyrant in the Melian dialogue. In the funeral oration delivered by Pericles during the first year of the war, the Athenian leader emphasizes the idealized personal image of the Athenians in regard to their constitution and good character. Pericles goes on to praise the Athenian democratic institution of Athens that contributes to their cities greatness; in Pericles’s own words, “The Athenian administration favors the many instead of few… they afford equal justice to all of their differences” (112, 2.37). This quote emphasizes the good character of the Athens’ to coax and encourage the Athenians to preserve and better their great empire into the future. On the other hand, in the Melian dialogue, this notion of justice and equality is irrelevant; one, because Athens compared to Melos, is the stronger of the two and thus, is more powerful. Further, Athens, will continue to acquire absolute power and build its empire by conquering Melos and whomever else stands in its way. Through Pericles’ funeral oration and the Melian dialogue, the following conclusions/themes will demonstrate both the changing and somewhat stable nature of Athenian policy with regards to empire,

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.

“Life at Sparta in several ways resembled that of a military camp,” (Powell 2001, 219). Many laws that Lycurgus proposed revolved around the benefit of the Spartan military. These implementations set by Lycurgus do not give any benefit to the democratic changes occurring in society at the time.

The poetry of Tyrtaeus illustrated and explained Spartan culture, ethics, values and ethos by highlighting their nobleness, bravery, and strength. He stated that citizens only boasted and fought when they were able to stay fearless and valiant through times of chaos and panic. “For none can boast...maintain a hero’s part / Unless he fearless and intrepid bear” (Tyrtaeus, Martial Elegies, Elegy 1). Every citizen, even the honored fighters, were humble, equal and shared everything with the other citizens. They had the qualities of a fighter and the ability to make it through a war remaining courageous the whole time. This was because fighting with the Spartan Army was an honor. “This is a man’s best, greatest, noblest praise / And shall to youth

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.

     In the military community of the rulers and soldiers of Sparta there was a very strict

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).

Tyrtaeus sees both sides to being a Spartan. On one hand he glorifies the position as moral and puts dying for one’s country at something honorable. But at the same time, he mentions the torment a Spartan experiences when faced with the potential of losing their life for their country and leaving their family behind. The poetry that Tyrtaeus uses in describing the Spartans gives a very vivid image of what the Spartans were like. In Tyrtaeus he tells of ethics, values, and ethos that the Spartans held in high regard. Tyrtaeus first talks about what a Spartan soldier consists of “ … brave and valiant heart… fearless … bear … the bloody carnage of war … faithful to defend His country's cause …” (Tyrtaeus, Martial Elegies, Elegy I). Tyrtaeus is

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.

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

King Archidamus of Sparta, from Thucydides’ On Justice Power and Human Nature has a certain viewpoint and conception of courage that plays uniquely upon many Spartan ideals, namely shame, self-control, and moderation. In his speech, Archidamus attempts to describe in a very common-sense way why the Spartans should refrain from going to war, because he is of the opinion that in their current state they are unprepared. He explains why it might be advantageous for the Lacedaemonians to exercise restraint and self-discipline in spite of the numerous calls to attack Athens. Archidamus’ notion of courage is one that heavily emphasizes a sense of shame, yet not in the common sense of the word: “self-control, the chief virtue associated with Sparta, is essentially linked to a sense of shame…” (Thucydides page 27, note 77). We think of shame as a feeling we get when we do something bad or embarrassing. For Archidamus, “shame leads to courage, because men who have a sense of shame will not want to be seen as doing anything cowardly” (Thucydides page 27, note 77). Archidamus knows the Lacedaemonians are a courageous people. The calls to refrain from war for the time being are not because they are afraid or because they think they will not win, they are because they are a smart and cautious people. They must be prepared before they undertake hasty actions, especially actions will consequences that will have reverberating effects to come: “…I am afraid that we shall leave this war as a