Ancient Sparta has often been referred to as one of the most dominant military forces in history. During Sparta’s time of dominance, Spartan forces employed tactics of intimidation and sovereignty. Spartan soldiers dedicated their lives to training and preparing for battle, enabling them to create a fierce, dominant military. Sparta used their military for both protection and conquering, maintaining a stable economy and civilization. The Spartan military was able to dominate for so long because of superior military tactics, extensive training and discipline and advanced weaponry and armor, and intimidation and help from the gods. While the Spartan’s military tactics were not extremely uncommon, the Spartans practiced and perfected the tactics much more than opposing militaries. One tactic often deployed by the Spartan military was the Phalanx formation. This was a rectangular formation, holding heavily armed infantry men on the inside. Soldiers held shields up to cover protect themselves and allies, and through holes and cracks in the wall of shields long …show more content…
Training began before birth as the strongest men and the strongest women bred and the fastest men and the fastest women bred to achieve ultimate fighting machines. Once a child was born, they were inspected by an elder, and if deemed too small or deformed, the child would be thrown off the edge of a cliff(AncientMilitary.com). At the age of 7, Spartan boys were sent to the agoge, a part boot camp part military academy. The boys recieved education focusing on physical, mental and spiritual toughness and theb training was often intense and exerting. Boys were trained to push through difficult times and often were pitted against other students to see who was tougher. Occasionally, boys were sent out to hunt a lonely helot or any helot deemed a threat. Finish This
This made it so they could control what they knew and who they looked up to. They were also not allowed to participate in government until they were 30. In document D it says that they weren't allowed to travel so they wouldn’t learn foreign and uncivil ways. This shows that the strengths do not outweigh the weaknesses because they were controlled and only taught the “Spartan” way.
Sparta was once one of the most important Greek city-states throughout Greece, famous for their military lifestyle. When you think of a Spartan warrior, you vision a man with huge muscles, red cloaks, long hair, and sharp swords. Spartan warriors were the best and feared fighters in Greece, they spend their whole lives learning new fighting techniques and serving their home, Sparta. At around six or seven years old, young boys would be taken from their homes to be trained as Spartan warriors.
Because of this they created a military like society. Everything was controlled by their government. Sparta may have had weaknesses in their education but their were more positive than negative parts. The strengths of Spartan education did outweigh the weaknesses because they trained Spartan boys for war and battle, women were also trained, and Spartan babies, from birth, were expected to be healthy.
They believed by training their young at such a young age that they would be the strongest military force there was. (Document H) School was very different for the children of Athens, they did not only educate them in military but in the arts. At the age of 18, Athenians began military training while the Spartans started exceptionally sooner. By doing so, Athenians were prepared for both
Can you imagine getting taken away from your family at age 7? Well it was normal for yong boys in Sparta. They had to go and be apart of their army. They are taught from the moment they are taken away that the only way to survive is to kill and fight. School also did not matter, it was all based off of if you can take care of the grovernment and protect it.
As Athens was invested in learning new materials, the Spartans were gaining knowledge in war and gaining experience in combat. Although different methods in many ways they were both taught something in education and at least a small amount of military training. “...boys were taught survival skills, how to fight, how to steal what they need without getting caught…” Doc A. This
However, the Greeks returned to their incessant warfare once their common enemy was defeated. Greek soldiers were the leading warriors of their time, often defeating enemies even when they were outnumbered . Rome had a heavy army but they lost a lot of soldiers in
During this process they would have hours upon hours of training and they also taught them to feel no pain by whipping them with a whip while they were tied up against a pole, and if they were to wine or cry they would be whipped more. The young boys would also have to spar against full grown Spartan men. In this camp they taught the famous battle formation called “the Phalanx.” This formation is a easy process in the start all the soldiers did was line up shield to shield and their shield would cover from neck to underneath the kneecap.
Athens and Sparta, located between the Aegean and the Ionian Sea, allied with each other in the Greco-Persian war. Due to the advanced and powerful navy of Athens incorporation with the well-built army of Sparta, they gained victory over the Persian Empire. After the victory, Athens gained wealth and dominance over the other Greek societies causing tensions between Sparta. They both share similarities towards their cultural background but had different views in creating an ideal society in addition to their state’s place in the world. Moreover, they differ from the concepts of a well trained or educated society and a well built military, but share similarities in their government format.
The education of Sparta varied in strengths and in weaknesses. The Sparta’s were first located in southern Greece called the Peloponnese. In this colony, the Sparta’s only vision was bloodthirsty war and violence. At the age of seven, a young boy is removed from his family and is expected, from his 8th to his 21st year, become educated to a brutal military-like discipline. Therefore, regarding the education in Sparta, the weaknesses outweighed the strength because the Spartan’s didn’t value family morals, the basics of reading and writing were taught, and the upbringing of Spartan boys was cruel and painful.
Children were raised to be “Spartans” and mothers were credited to have a large part in this upbringing. Spartans were to respect the elderly, women, as well as the
Sparta’s women were known for their promiscuity and boldness . On account of Sparta’s strict militaristic lifestyle, their lives were very different compared to regular women in most city-states of Greece. Although their main job is still child-bearing, this job held much more honor and respect because in theory, a Spartan women gave birth to strong, Spartan boys who would in turn become strong and successful soldiers for Sparta’s renowned military . Just as boys were trained to become soldiers from a young age, girls were taught to be the mothers a militant Sparta
Webb’s “Depth of Knowledge” Levels Homework #18: DOK Level 1 – Question: Who were the Spartans? The Spartans were basically the soldiers of the Ancient Greek city-state, Sparta. The Spartans devoted all their time to the military, partaking in military training, hunting and war battles. They lived a frugal lifestyle and without any luxuries. They were taught to be brave and courageous at a very young age, soon evolving into soldiers for the military.
The training style of Spartan armies left a long lasting impact on Ancient Rome’s military troops. Sparta was a warrior state. Citizens had a program called Agoge that trained them into warriors. They were placed in this military training at seven years old and were expected to be strong when they reached maturity age. The Romans took on these training styles when they needed a strong army.
In comparison to other states of ancient Greece, Spartans were less cultured, due to their nominal interest in material possession. The Spartans while civilized and educated were less intrigued within the buildings of large monuments , than some of their Greek counterparts. Moreover, education was vital to the Spartans. Although their priority relied on military and combat over anything else, in many ways intelligence and knowledge were also important to succeed in war. Spartans’ would teach young children more than just the perplexing theories of war and strength.