Legendary Spartans

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Legendary Spartans

Spartans are known for their viciousness on the battle field. However, what is it that made them succeed in being a society? A Spartan did not simply become a citizen as there were rigorous and often painful tests that the Spartans had to undergo in order to be recognized as a citizen. It has been documented in many readings and sources that Spartan boys were taken away from their homes and families at the age of seven (Spartan Education). They were sent away to join the public educational system by training to become a warrior. This alone set the standard for the dedication that the Spartans had.With the majority of male Spartans off to battle, it left room for the women to play a prominent role with the governing of the city-state. Women in Sparta received a considerable amount of rights that allowed them to own land and distribute as they see fit. All of the training would have been useless if Spartans did not have innovative fighting techniques and major advancements in their weaponry. Sparta was an ideal society because it had an admirable education system, made important technological innovations in ancient warfare, offered women considerable rights, and proved crucial to the unification and victory Greece had against the Persian’s.
Education

Further understanding what it meant to be a Spartan citizen or “Spartiate”, its is essential to understand the Spartan social classes. There had been three major classes that had built up Sparta. The Spartiates of course are on the top of the list , leaving behind the perioeci and at the bottom, the helots. The so called Spartiates were the tip off the iceberg in Spartan society. They consisted of a small group of people that were the only true ‘citizens’ of Spart...

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...edom than most men in their society and were also kept physically and mentally fit. Sparta had also been a leader in technological advancements. creating new types of light and heavy armor and implementing strong military formations that actually worked on the battle field. Proving Spartans were courageous warriors even further was the battle of Thermopylae, where King Leonidas and his 300 foot soldiers stood forth against 80,000 Persian soldiers in a remarkable last man standing defense. These are the reasons why Sparta was an ideal society and why it is still highly regarded in our day and age.

Works Cited

1.https://www.csupomona.edu/~plin/ls201/greece4.html
2.3.http://www.ancient.eu.com/thermopylae/
4.http://www.ushistory.org/civ/4e.asp.
5.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_I_of_Caria
6.http://www.larkin.net.au/ah_hsc/Sparta/009_sparta_perioeci.html

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