The Spartans, mentioned by the historian Herodotus in his written sources, constitute the most extraordinary military unit of antiquity. In the sources, it is told that 300 Spartans did not spend 7 days with the Persian armies in the narrow pass of Thermophalae. The story of 300 Spartans fighting the Persian army of 2 million 600 thousand people has been the subject of movies. Forming an extremely talented military unit, the Spartans are subjected to incredible training when they are only 7 years old.
The Spartans, who lived in southern Greece in 800 BC, created an unprecedented system. For them, the order of war, whether the war is won or lost, is of vital importance. For this reason, children are confronted with pain and violence by being taken from their families from a young age and left in the snowy mountains or the hottest places. Children undergoing rigorous training are transformed into strong warriors who can survive in any environment.
Tough Training of Spartan Soldier
Every child born in Sparta is first brought before a committee and has his health checked. If the baby has any physical defect, he is left by his family in a well or abandoned in a meadow. These abandoned babies are mostly prey to wild animals. This practice has been made a legal requirement in order to create the most physically advanced species. Families who do not accept the practice are exiled from Sparta.
Babies born healthy are; After breast milk, they are fed with wine, washed with wine and locked in a dark room. This practice is done to get rid of fears as a baby and not to get used to mother’s love and affection. After the age of 7, he is taken from his mother and subjected to tough training that continues until the age of 20. In this education called agedo, children do not wear shoes or slippers until the end of the process. They are left naked on the snowy mountains in order to learn to be a part of nature. They have to find food in nature in order to learn to survive and fight hunger. In this process, children learn to steal and kill. But if caught, he is severely punished.
During education, children are regularly whipped and beaten. This application is made to increase their resilience to pain. Children who learn about insomnia during the education period can sleep for a maximum of 3.4 hours a day. The penalty for sleeping more is beating, whipping, or humiliation. 20 percent of students fail to survive in the Agedo education process.
Children who are taken from their families are made to meet with their families for a short time every 3-5 years, and then they are taken back again. Children who reach the age of 20 in the process are considered to have completed the first stage. In the second stage, they are prohibited from marrying, owning land, property and living with their families until the age of 30. Compulsory military service continues until the age of 60. Aging soldiers take part in the city’s advisory council or in the training of new recruits. The soldiers who reach the age of 20 and complete the first stage are included in the Spartan army, and the best ones are included in the elite group of 300 soldiers. After years of hard training in the Spartan army, the soldiers turn into war machines. In the war system, there is a phalanx military order, which is based on success together, not individually. The Spartan army is usually an army based on defense, not invasion.
Features of the Spartan State
Known as Lakedemon in ancient times, Sparta is a prominent city-state in the Laconia region of Ancient Greece. Sparta was recognized as the leading force of the combined Greek army during the Persian-Greek wars. Political independence BC. It continued until the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 BC. Modern Sparta, on the other hand; It is the capital of the southern Greek region of Lakonia. The city is known as a citrus and olive processing center.
In the city-state of Sparta, everyone has equal rights. The state has 2 kings, and above these kings is a group of 15 elected semi-priests. This group sets the laws. In addition, the city senate and the parliament, which consists of the people, are responsible for overseeing and implementing the laws. The laws are above everyone and are considered sacred. In Sparta, where luxury life is strictly prohibited, everyone eats equally and lives equally. Having a dynamic body is essential in Sparta, where there are no umbilical citizens. Overweight individuals are exiled after a period given to them if they cannot bring their physiques to standards.
In addition to its extremely disciplined military organization, every man and woman has a duty in society. Men are soldiers and women are the people who are in charge of training soldiers for the state. Every woman has to raise her child up to the age of 7 and raise it in a durable and healthy way. At the same time, young women regularly undergo training in dance, gymnastics, javelin and discus throw. Emphasis is placed on the empowerment of women. Because there is a general belief that individuals with a strong gene will be born from strong parents. Legally, women cannot marry before the age of 20 and men before the age of 30.
In Spartan civilization, slaves basically belonged to the state, unlike other Greek civilizations. These slaves, called helots, enjoyed a form of economic autonomy. It cultivates the land that the state distributes equally and gives a share of the product to the landlord. The landowner cannot kill or torture the slave. In this system called Kleros, no real Spartan citizens live. Citizens living in Sparta could not manage, control, expel or sell the Helots subordinate to them. Sparta is a city-state based entirely on military order. For this reason, all plans for the future are on the military system. Written documents are regularly burned every year in order not to be seized during any occupation.
