The Spartan Way to victory Essay - 1452 Words

To simply say Ancient Greece had a diverse culture would not give justice to the truly rich and even contrasting societies that developed in the classical city-state. One of the most unique civilizations to prosper in the ancient time period were the Spartans. The Spartans held customs, beliefs, and traditions unlike any other Greek city-state. These uncommon practices and philosophies largely governed the lifestyle of a Spartan citizen from birth until death. Spartan culture was considerably a militaristic one, and great emphasis was placed on the lifelong dedication of training to be a Spartan soldier. It is arguable that this Spartan way of life was the key to Sparta’s powerful and victorious civilization in ancient times. To†¦show more content†¦Some unique differences can be examined as the reasons behind the Spartans power and dominance of the classical times. The Spartans lived a very meager life in comparison to the other Greek cultures. The Spartans wer e not concerned with luxurious items and trivial possessions. A man’s wealth was in the land he owned. However, the typical Spartan male was dedicated to life of a soldier and therefore could not be bothered with the manual labor of tending to his fields. The land was worked by the Helots, or slaves, the Spartans captured in battle. Helots were required to work in the field and return the productions to the owner of the land. This enabled the Spartan male to remain focused and dedicated to his true profession of a soldier. Spartan children lived an extremely different lifestyle, if they were even allowed to live at all. When a new child is born, they are judged by the elders council of the city, called the Gerousia. The Gerousia would decide if the newborn was fit and strong enough to be granted the right to live. If a baby was deemed weak or deformed, they would be taken to a high cliff on Mt. Taygete to be thrown off and killed. This can be seen as a basic form of eugen ics, and although cruel, it created the strong bodied population of Sparta. Corresponding to Darwin’s survival of the fittest, only the strong live and reproduce. Since the weak were not even given a chance to live, time and resourcesShow MoreRelated Sparta, not Athens, won the war against Persia Essay979 Words   |  4 PagesThe Greek victory against Persia was largely due to efforts of mainly Athens but also Sparta as well. Athens was responsible for the major turning points of the Persian invasions, while Sparta was responsible for the deciding battle. Miltiades, with his skilful battle strategies, defeated the Persians during their second invasion at Marathon, which gave Athens a confidence boost on their military. During the third invasion, when the Athenians were evacuated to Salamis, Themistocles had devised aRead More Why the Greeks Won the Greco-Persian War Essay1578 Words   |  7 PagesWar because of their naval victories over the Persians, a few key strategic v ictories on land, as well as the cause for which they were fighting. The naval victories were the most important contribution to the overall success against the Persians. The Persian fleet was protecting the land forces from being outflanked and after they were defeated the longer had that protection. While the Greeks had very few overall victories in battle they did have some strategic victories. The Battle of ThermopylaeRead MoreThe Persian War And The Ottoman Empire Of Persia Essay1143 Words   |  5 Pagesthe Plataeans. News of the victory was delivered by a messenger who ran the 26 miles from Marathon to  Athens, and who died afterwards. 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