Spartan Life
Similar to the ancient Greeks in Athens, the Spartans held certain traits or qualities that they thought there people should encompass; strength, deceit of an enemy, and a fearlessness of death. Maybe it was believing in these traits that made Sparta the most powerful city-state for over 200 years, but it was also because of Sparta's ruthless and all powerful army. Yet what was the reason for such a powerful army? The main reason for Sparta's need for an strong army was it's neighbor Messenia, and there relationship. When Sparta conquered Messenia, they gained control over vast amounts of fertile land, they then
proceeded to take half of all food grown by the people of this land. Logically, the people of Messenia were not happy about this treatment, so they rebelled. This sparked decades of conflict between the two city-states. This pushed Sparta to create a strong and "indestructible" army. Along with conflict between Messenia, Sparta also had a famous feud with another rival, Athens. With it's tough army to thanks Sparta dominated ancient Greece 600 B.C-371 B.C. Lycurgus, a great lawgiver, created Spartan laws that made it the all powerful city-state we know about today.
Growing up in Sparta
Out of the men in Sparta, 10% were what were called equals, there job was only that but to serve as soldiers to the army. Through an equals life, every bit of it was controlled by the government or traditions such as, when the baby was born a city elder would inspect it and if there was signs that he was sickly, they would leave them to die on a mountainside. Another example, at age seven, military training began for boys and they were taken from there families. The Spartan military training was ruthless, a trainee was taught to listen and obey any order given and to put up with quietly or endure pain. Trainees were also not supposed to mak even the slightest mistake or show any sign whatsoever of suffering. "The boys also steal whatever provisions they can, there by learning how to pounce skillfully upon those who are asleep or keeping guard carelessly, but a boy is beaten and goes hungry if he is caught." There were other tough rules that the Spartan's had, such as luxury was looked down upon and the food actually tasted bad on purpose! A visitor who once came to Sparta once said, "After eating Spartan food, he understood why they are so willing to die in battle." Since the main job of a man in the Spartan culture was to be a soldier, the women had the task of having children. The women of Sparta had to be equally athletic as men, yet there were fewer restrictions for them then for the men. The men of Sparta, even though it was a though one, only had one job, to be a soldier. Since the city-state of Sparta was not constantly fighting in war, the Spartan men had a lot of free time, "Except when they were [fighting battles]" one historian wrote "all there time was taken up by choral dances, festivals, feasts, hunting expeditions, physical exercise, and conversation."
The end of the Spartans
Loyal and powerful army and soldiers are what created the great city-state and it is said that "opposing armies crumbled at the very sight of Spartan soldiers marching toward them" yet this was because all the people knew that Spartan soldiers were expected to fight till death. Athens was conquered by Sparta in a war called the Peloponnesian war which lasted from 431-404 B.C. Athens, being conquered, lost the war and never managed to get back to the zenith it was at before. Yet good things do not last for to long, because than in 371 B.C, the end of Sparta's leadership of Ancient Greece came when it was dominated by Thebes.
Similar to the ancient Greeks in Athens, the Spartans held certain traits or qualities that they thought there people should encompass; strength, deceit of an enemy, and a fearlessness of death. Maybe it was believing in these traits that made Sparta the most powerful city-state for over 200 years, but it was also because of Sparta's ruthless and all powerful army. Yet what was the reason for such a powerful army? The main reason for Sparta's need for an strong army was it's neighbor Messenia, and there relationship. When Sparta conquered Messenia, they gained control over vast amounts of fertile land, they then
proceeded to take half of all food grown by the people of this land. Logically, the people of Messenia were not happy about this treatment, so they rebelled. This sparked decades of conflict between the two city-states. This pushed Sparta to create a strong and "indestructible" army. Along with conflict between Messenia, Sparta also had a famous feud with another rival, Athens. With it's tough army to thanks Sparta dominated ancient Greece 600 B.C-371 B.C. Lycurgus, a great lawgiver, created Spartan laws that made it the all powerful city-state we know about today.Growing up in Sparta
Out of the men in Sparta, 10% were what were called equals, there job was only that but to serve as soldiers to the army. Through an equals life, every bit of it was controlled by the government or traditions such as, when the baby was born a city elder would inspect it and if there was signs that he was sickly, they would leave them to die on a mountainside. Another example, at age seven, military training began for boys and they were taken from there families. The Spartan military training was ruthless, a trainee was taught to listen and obey any order given and to put up with quietly or endure pain. Trainees were also not supposed to mak even the slightest mistake or show any sign whatsoever of suffering. "The boys also steal whatever provisions they can, there by learning how to pounce skillfully upon those who are asleep or keeping guard carelessly, but a boy is beaten and goes hungry if he is caught." There were other tough rules that the Spartan's had, such as luxury was looked down upon and the food actually tasted bad on purpose! A visitor who once came to Sparta once said, "After eating Spartan food, he understood why they are so willing to die in battle." Since the main job of a man in the Spartan culture was to be a soldier, the women had the task of having children. The women of Sparta had to be equally athletic as men, yet there were fewer restrictions for them then for the men. The men of Sparta, even though it was a though one, only had one job, to be a soldier. Since the city-state of Sparta was not constantly fighting in war, the Spartan men had a lot of free time, "Except when they were [fighting battles]" one historian wrote "all there time was taken up by choral dances, festivals, feasts, hunting expeditions, physical exercise, and conversation."
The end of the Spartans
Loyal and powerful army and soldiers are what created the great city-state and it is said that "opposing armies crumbled at the very sight of Spartan soldiers marching toward them" yet this was because all the people knew that Spartan soldiers were expected to fight till death. Athens was conquered by Sparta in a war called the Peloponnesian war which lasted from 431-404 B.C. Athens, being conquered, lost the war and never managed to get back to the zenith it was at before. Yet good things do not last for to long, because than in 371 B.C, the end of Sparta's leadership of Ancient Greece came when it was dominated by Thebes.
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