The Spartans

The Spartans were a warrior culture that resided in a city state known as Sparta in the lower regions of Greece. The men and women were well trained in the discipline of honor, and individual might, starting from the day of their birth. If a
child in Sparta was born with any physical or mental defects, it would be left on mount Taygetus to die. Every male citizen in Sparta was a soldier (Hoplite). Constant mental and physical training left the Spartans to be considered the greatest military power in Greece. One spartan was generally considered to be worth several of the surrounding states soldiers in battle. They were responsible for repelling the first invasion of Persia, and played extremely vital roles in many battles defending Greece. During the second invasion of the Persians, The Spartans were given full control of Greece's military, along with Athens, and were able to repel Persia's forces. This battle however weakened the Spartans by lowering their ranks (their were generally only 1500-2000 Spartans in the army, as it was a small state) and a civil war between Athens and Sparta left Athens with dominance.

Training for Spartans began at age 7,  they were taken from their families to begin their tutelage to become part of the professional army. The training was very harsh. Most of the time the boys were not fed well and would be punished if caught stealing food. Not for stealing, but for being caught. this was most likely to teach discipline, resourcefulness and to imitate conditions they would face later in life. Fighting each other was encouraged, but not in anger, resulting in small match ups and duels between students. Honor was a crucial part of their education, and cowardice was almost considered a crime.

The Spartan military was for a long time, the backbone of the Greek military power. The spartan army was infantry based and fought using the phalanx formation. This formation was initially invented by the Spartans. The first row of soldiers would lock their heavy shields together creating a wall, while the second and third lines would project their over top of them. The back ranks would then hold their shields in an upright position to block any projectiles coming overhead. Many civilization around Greece used this formation but the Spartans were by far the most accustomed and experienced at using it. Their infantry forces were made up of Hoplites (most states in Greece used Hoplites but the Spartans were considered the most feared and experienced). These soldiers typically wore heavy suits of bronze armor, a helmet made of bronze that protected most of the users face and a heavy shield made of thick wood coated in bronze. The shields were designed in a way that capitalized their offensive capabilities, letting them push ahead while receiving little damage. The standard weapons used wear great spears, sometimes 2.5 meters in length with a curved blade at the front and a short spike at the end used for finishing off soldiers as the phalanx advanced. A short sword was used as a secondary weapon if their spear had broke or if the phalanx lost formation.

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