Why Is Sparta Important To Greek Life

Michelle Lai 5402 Global Studies Period 1 10/26/15 Rise to Success The Spartans’ brutal authority over the Messenian helots made them revolt around 650 B.C. Being outnumbered and unprepared, their vulnerability in that situation caused them to focus on strengthening themselves for the rest of their lives. The Spartans became known for their powerful military in Greece from around 600 to 371 B.C. The necessity for strength and stability helped to develop Spartan society.

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

In 464 BCE the helots tried to rebel against the Spartans. Now because of this the city of Sparta was threatened which was considerably dangerous to them. The outcome of this was that the law-enforcement officers sent out a special- operations units that carried daggers and food if necessary, and at night these units would come out and slaughter any helots they came across to. These killings killed the strongest and even the best of the helots. This strengthen the Spartan by showing that they are strong and powerful, and they are vengeful.

To begin with, the Spartans were a society that was completely isolated. “It was not allowed them to go abroad, so they should have nothing to do with foreign ways and undisciplined modes of living.” (Doc D) How could the Spartans learn from others or communicate and appreciate other cultures if they could not visit them? This obviously led to the Spartans

Sparta was one of the most powerful Greek poleis of its time. Their polis was incredibly developed in multiple categories such as their military, government, and economy. Over the course of the polis' existence, their military was always known as a staple in their power and superiority. Their military made them as feared as they were and essentially as powerful as they were, and separated them from other Greek poleis such as Athens. The question is, how were the Spartans able to maintain such a strong military?

Before going to war, the Spartans would consult with the Ethors and the Oracle. When Sparta went to war with Persia the Oracle informed them that Sparta would lose a king or the Persians would conquer Sparta’s homeland. This prophecy became true as King Leonidas died in the Battle of Thermopylae and Sparta ended up winning the war. The people believed they were a “chosen super race” above all other people. Once becoming a soldier, a Spartan had to dedicate his life to

The other societies knew not to mess with the Spartans because of how fearsome their reputation was. The Spartan hegemony became so successful due to its innovations in military training, prowess, and discipline. Furthermore, the hegemony benefited from its core belief in starting young, using children as the source for this prowess and skill. Overall, the Spartan hegemony reached its peak after defeating Thebes, thus

At the beginning of the battle, the Greeks fought in a phalanx formation at the narrowest part of the pass. Persian forces were unable to defeat the Greeks for two days, but Ephialtes alerted Xerxes to the mountain path which led behind the Greek army. When Leonidas heard, he sent most of the allies to retreat, in order to save as many lives as possible for the continuation of the war. Leonidas and the remaining army inflicted further heavy losses on the Persians, but eventually they all perished. Due to Leonidas, the Persians were delayed, which therefore allowed sufficient time for the Athenians to flee Athens.

They also staged pretend battles to help teach the ways of fighting in battles. Citizens of the Spartan community don’t need to know any more than the basics of reading and writing since their lives revolve so strongly around war and fighting. One reason why the strengths outweigh its weaknesses is that the Spartans had a very strong and powerful army for war. They trained long hours and worked really hard to reach their goal of power. In Document A, it states,

Their shield played a big part also because it was made out of brass and reinforced with 3 inches of wood. The main idea of the phalanx formation was to be an impenetrable wall as a unit and it played a huge part in the Battle of Thermopylae, but in the end the Spartan Army lost because they were simply outnumbered by the Persian which is what the movie 300 with Gerard Butler is based on. During the training process they would have them constantly making the phalanx and having other soldiers trying to break

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.

Courage, bravery, leadership, and dedication are only a few of the great attributes shown by King Leonidas of Ancient Sparta. Leonidas was King of Sparta for only a short amount of time, but in that time ensured himself a legacy that will never be forgotten. In Leonidas’ life he did many things but, the most diligent and respected action was the stand he took at the Battle of Thermopylae along with 300 other warriors. Leonidas is one of the most widely known leaders of the ancient world and will never be forgotten for the bravery and discipline he demonstrated in his self sacrifice at the Battle of Thermopylae.

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

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.