Rhys Dyer, '26
The Spartan race is perhaps the most feared and respected legion of warriors throughout history and certainly the most dangerous of their time. In the height of their power in ancient Greece, the Sparta city-state took control of Athens in the Peloponnesian War. This finalized their domination of Greece and cemented their reputation of unyielding power and incredible discipline. During this time in Sparta, the social class system was split into three groups with the Spartans at the top. People in the lowest social class were known as Helots; these people were slaves for Sparta. The remaining social class was made up of craftsmen and traders who mostly made weapons. Sparta was ruled under two kings and a council of aristocratic individuals. Overall, this was essentially operated under an oligarchy system. Sparta was also governed under the laws of the founder of its institution, Lycurgus, who was known for creating and implementing his famous Agoge system. This system helped credit the superiority of the Spartan military force in its era.
In the city-state of Sparta in Ancient Greece under Lycurgus’s rule, all boys were required to attend and become a part of the Agoge system. The Agoge was a state-sponsored military and education program designed to instill the core values of loyalty, duty, and discipline in young men. As soon as a boy turned seven-years-old, he left home to attend the Agoge, which was somewhat like a modern day warrior boarding school. The boys were taught letters, music, poetry, singing, and sport. In this system, groups of boys were taught by one man, known as a Paidonomos. A Paidonomos was tasked with teaching their group of children loyalty, resourcefulness, discipline, and physical fitness. Above all else, the Paidonomos was meant to instill obedience into children. This was accomplished with extreme punishments that included whippings and beatings, which older boys were forced to carry out. In addition, Greek citizens were permitted to fall into the role of a Paidonomos when there was an absence and carry out any punishments they felt necessary. This taught the boys to be respectful of everyone.
Once the boys reached their teenage years and entered puberty, they entered the second phase of the Agoge system. Lycurgus, the mastermind behind the Agoge, believed that teenagers were the most troublesome and unruly age group, so they required harsher training. To start, teenage Spartans were permitted only one cloak to wear year-long and were not allowed to wear shoes. The belief was that going barefoot would strengthen the feet and allow boys to run faster. At this age, the boys were also taught to fight with weapons and march in silence. The silent marches of the Spartan armies were used as a psychological weapon in battle to inspire fear in the enemy, as it was extremely off putting to see a seemingly cold and emotionless army march against you. No other armies had the discipline to pull off such a feat.
The implementation of collective dancing, known as Pyrrichios, were war dances performed in full arms and armor. These dances can be credited to building the physical fitness of the Spartan warrior, as the dances were essentially full compound movements which strengthened all major muscle groups in the human body. Spartan training was designed for optimal physical performance, so we can expect the average Spartan Male to be very lean, carrying just enough muscle for the most strength, speed, and agility necessary for intense hand to hand combat. This idea of leanness attributed with Spartan physical performance is further exemplified by the allocation of rations to troops.
In Lycurgus’s system, Spartan warriors weren’t given enough rations. This had two purposes. First, it encouraged Spartans to steal and build resourcefulness. If you were caught stealing, an extensive punishment awaited you. The other purpose was to keep soldiers leaner and more fit. Spartan warriors bathed in the freezing cold waters of the Eurotas river, as they believed hot water was for cowards and the weak. Overall, the intent of the 2nd stage of the Agoge was to build men who were indifferent to feeling pain. The Agoge created men who were accustomed to having less food, clothing, and possessions. This was all done in an effort to create men who could adapt to any harsh conditions while away from home at war.
The final stage of the Agoge centered around young adults who finished puberty. In fact, the most time and effort was spent on these men. In this final stage, Lycurgus focused on bringing out competitiveness and teamwork in the men. In pursuit of this goal, out of all the men, three leaders were chosen by Lycurgus, all of which was based on their accomplishments. These leaders had to pick the best one hundred warriors to join their teams. Each leader was forced to provide a reason for accepting or rejecting a man. The separate teams were then pitted against each other in battle, which resulted in intense competition. Each man wanted to prove he belonged on a team or prove he shouldn’t have been rejected from a team. After becoming full-fledged warriors and becoming adults in society, these men were finally relieved of intense physical training regimens. However, Lycurgus manipulated societal norms to make sure hunting stayed popular, keeping most men fit to battle at any time.
Once Spartans became adults, they were allowed to create a family. However, it was frowned upon to spend too much time with your household. The final instilled societal norm was that if a Spartan dared to desert a battle, they would be completely shunned in society. Deserters had no power; they were not allowed to marry or have a family. They were forced to give up their seats to younger men and raised women in society. Any person could brutally beat these deserters if the deserter tried to act innocent. Although the Agoge was extremely brutal and would today be considered an intensely traumatizing experience, Lycurgus’s methods succeeded in creating fearless warriors who managed to remain undefeated in war for over 150 years.
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