Life of a spartan soldier

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The Life of a Spartan Soldier

The Greek state of Sparta was unlike any other Greek state . It did not follow the traditional character of art , culture , family and society . It had a single objective and that is to transform themselves into an efficient fighting force . Its whole society revolved around this . Its citizens did not indulge in commerce or toil in the fields . They subjugated their neighbors , the Helots , peasants whose sole responsibility is to feed and work for the Spartans . The

Helots were descendants of people who had been conquered many generations before Since they greatly outnumber the Spartans , the early leaders of Sparta had feared that some day these serfs might overwhelm their masters . To ward off this danger , a lawgiver , Lycurgus , introduced a new policy where the Spartans deliberately turned their backs on commerce agriculture and the arts . They set out to make themselves mighty warriors that they could keep the Helots in place for all time (Robinson 1957 , 47

Sparta is a city of conquerors and thus it became an armed camp and her citizens became professional soldiers . In to maintain status quo they have to excel in the art of war . They needed a strong military system for them in to preserve their authority . Thus , it was essential that its citizens are appropriately trained . It was also the duty of each one to produce able-bodied offsprings . It was said that King Archidamos was derided and fined for having married a small woman who would give Sparta , as the Ephors (magistrates ) said , not kings but kinglets (Jardy 1926 , 127

The child did not belong to the family . They were reared by the state At birth , male children were subjected to close scrutiny by a military medical inspection committee . They decide his fate if he is to live or die . Only those who were found healthy and sturdy and would make good soldiers were allowed to live . By age seven , he would begin his military apprenticeship together with other boys his own age . This system of education was called the agoge , a system that might uncharitably be described as consisting of buggery , beating , and spear drill which taught them to be soldiers ' A boy who failed at the agoge , while he might not be killed , would be expelled from the similars (Potter 2004 216

The boy soldiers would undergo the severest of discipline . In contrast with the other Greek states whose children were reared by slaves , these boys were trained under the tutelage of masters who were adults of high rank . Dressed only in a light tunic be it summer or winter , and no sandals to toughen their feet , they are fed small rations and theft is encouraged to develop cunning . However , if they are caught , they will be severely beaten not more as punishment for stealing but for getting caught which taught them stealth . Heavy punishment is the rote . Every evening , they would have to prepare their...