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OUTLINE I. Introduction. In society today the term "warrior" is used loosely and sometimes even associated with an athlete training for a specific event. By the fourth century B.
C. , Sparta designed a culture solely for training soldiers, a warrior culture. The problem with the design of a warrior culture is not in the fighting capabilities of the group, but in the lack of an artistic legacy that was lost during the life of a fighting culture. II. Body. 1. Historical Background a. Prior to the Messenians War b.
After the Messenians War 2. Training a. Age and Sex b. Way of life 3. Politics a.
Women in Sparta b. Constitution c. Lycurgus 4. Significant Battles a. Battle of Marathon b.
Battle of Thermopylae c. Battle of Plataea d. The Peloponnesian War 5. Sparta without a war a.
Shortcomings b. Battle of Leuctra 6. Summary III. Conclusion The training regiments and social structure of the Spartans were geared towards building the strongest men and nation physically, but without the artistic and political training, the warriors or Sparta were unable to bring the Grecian empire together. History remembers so much from the philosophy teachings of Socrates and the Athenian paintings, dishes, and sculptures, but little is remembered about the other superpower in Greece and of the warriors of Sparta. THE SPARTAN WARRIORS In society today the term "warrior" is used loosely and sometimes even associated with an athlete training for a specific event.
By the fifth century B. C. , Sparta designed a culture solely for training soldiers, a warrior culture. The problem with the design of a warrior culture is not in the fighting capabilities of the group, but in the lack of an artistic legacy that was lost during the life of a fighting culture. Prior to the forming of the military community of Sparta there is evidence of a society rich in culture. Archaeologists have found vase paintings depicting fish, snakes, plants, and kings. The illustrations on the dishes of Sparta showed increasing skill in drawing of human dimensions and animal characteristics.
The city-state of Sparta had been formed as a cultural center that produced not only pottery but was noted for its festivals of song and dance as well. Other types of craftsmanship included wood, metalworking, weaver, and leather. The Spartan culture would soon end due to a change in the social structure that forced the city-state to form different classes within its society. 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 Messenian's and set up a new type of social system. The Messenian's 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 Messenian's outnumbered the Spartans and without a strong hold the lower-class citizens would eventually overtake them by physical force. The Spartan ruler and soldier class made up about ten percent of the total population and were actually the only citizens with rights in the country. The largest class of people was the helots and these were the forced labored individuals and were not allowed to own land. A third class of people, which were allowed to own land, was the perioiki and they performed business with the citizens of Sparta.
The perioiki were responsible for work other than the cultivation of the land and were the carpenters, metal workers, builders, and painters. The Sparta citizens concentrated solely on military training and did not mix socially with the classes of the helots or perioiki. As a warrior and ruler the citizen of the Sparta was responsible to oversee the helots as well as defend the city-state's borders. In the military community of the rulers and soldiers of Sparta there was a very strict regiment of training. Training began at the age of seven when a young male Spartan was moved from his mother's side to the military barracks.
The physical training continued until the age of thirty and was not limited to the men. All citizens were expected to live the life as a soldier until the age of sixty. Women were also trained in strenuous sports and both sexes were encouraged to marry and create strong children for Sparta. At birth the evaluation of the baby began immediately. If a child was deformed or did not appear to have the strength of a Spartan citizen, it would be abandoned on the side of a mountain. This would ascertain that the society could concentrate solely on members that would be able to contribute to the military community.
The weak had no place as a citizen within the Spartan's warrior culture. The life long training regiment of Sparta's citizens is what made the city-state the strongest fighting force within the early Greek society. The male citizen in training wore only one piece of clothing with no shoes or sandals whether summer or winter. The men were trained not only in fighting skills, but were also taught thievery and spying. The citizen in training was only given a small amount of food to live on and was expected to acquire what else was needed on his own. In legend, "a lad who hid a stolen fox under his tunic let it rip him open to avoid the crime of getting caught.
Poets lauded the warrior 'biting his lips to stifle the pain'. " It was considered a disgrace for a Spartan citizen to be caught while in the process of stealing food and the skills that were gained from this form of training were stealth, quickness, and a mind for clandestine operations. The second non-combative skill that was taught was the art of spying. This skill kept the citizens aware of what was going on and would allow them to see any revolt from within their helot class. Celibacy was against the law and Spartan men were encouraged to marry and have children by the age of twenty.
Gangs of women would beat up bachelors and many unmarried men and women were thrown into dark rooms where all groped around for mates, which caused many Spartan males to have children by their wives before they even saw them in the light. The women were known to wrestle with the men while wearing only scantly clothes and having a lot of exposed skin. The training of the women was not any easier than the males. Although they were not schooled in war fighting techniques, sports and other physical exercise were a daily event for the women to ensure that they would make strong childbearing mothers. When a mother would release her son to become a part of the training regiment for all Spartan citizens, there was always the realization that he may eventually die in combat.
Mothers would say to their sons upon departure for war, "Return with your shield or lying on it" In the Spartan culture, dead soldiers were carried back for burial on top of their shields and the loss of a shield meant that the soldier was a coward and ran from combat. The ancient Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus assigned the laws of Sparta. Under his plan the Spartans did not enjoy any personal freedoms, but were forced to live a life similar to that of a bee, always working together for the good of the nation and having neither the will nor the ability to lead a private life. Lycurgus was responsible for setting up a senate that had equal power to the king as well as creating an assembly where the peoples voice could be heard. The senate was set up to twenty-eight men at least sixty years old and the position was held for life, while the assembly consisted of all citizens thirty years old and older to voice their opinions about issues; although, they were only allowed to accept or reject. The laws of Lycurgus were focused at increasing the disciplines of the citizens by training them for the life of continuous ci...
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