The Spartan Paradox: Military Perfection and the Brutality of Ancient Authoritarianism

Ancient Sparta was the most revered and feared city-state in all of Greece. Due to there breeding, Spartan women were the most beautiful in the world and the men dominated the Olympic games. Indeed, Helen of Sparta was "the face that launched a thousand ships," and whose name would echo throughout the ages.

Bred to be perfect in shape and free from defects, every Spartan child at birth was brought to
a governmental overseer to be judged. If the child, male or female was found to be flawed s/he would be cast over a mountain ridge, unworthy of Spartan life and honor.

For the most part, the men and women were divided through there life because the men would leave for training at age 7. The boy would be stripped from his family and taken to the countryside where he was hardened for battle. During this time they were taught obedience, discipline  and strengthen through pain.

Encouraged to fight and evade, the boys were encouraged to fight and were toughened by pitting each others wit and strength against each other. Often the winner was granted a ration of food while the looser was whipped. The young were intentionally served an inadequate ration of pork, salt, and vinegar in a blood broth. Told not to steal, they were forced into hunting there own game or taking from the camp at at a punishable cost. By rod and whip they would be punished for being caught, but it didn't compare to the disgrace they felt for being realized.

Legend has it that one boy was so hungry he chased down a fox to eat but before he was able to kill the animal he was called upon by his elders. Unwillingly to let his catch go free while feeling the empty convulsing pain of starvation, he hid the fox under his cloak and reported to his superiors. While under his garment the fox, still alive, began to eating his abdomen. Spartans went through such intensive mental and physical strength training, tolerance, and rigidity it is said that the fox killed the young boy while he was standing at attention because he refused to be caught and disgraced.

Many would die, many would starve, or be beaten to death; but if survival and health was granted upon the adolescent, he would be trained as a member of the fiercest fighting malitia in all Greece.
The warriors were taught close range combat techniques and there true strength lay in fighting as a cohesive unit. Spartan valor was only matched by their military strategy. Outfitted with a 14 foot spear and bronze shield the warriors would ban together, side-by-side and form a falanks impervious to any fighting force they faced. The best example of this is the famous Battle of Thermopylae where 300 Spartans created a defile between two mountain ridges and defended Sparta from being over run by the Persian army.

It was said that Spartan training was so incredible and brutally difficult that they would hope for war.... which was much easier in comparison. Men would officially join the army at age 20 and became a part of the homio. They were allowed to marry but stayed with the army in the barracks. At age 30 they could vote and became Spartiates.

Sparta, although small, had the fiercest army the world may have ever seen. The Laconians were conquered by Sparta and became part of the Perioikoi class which were free managers that provided goods or did services. The Perioikoi were free but did not have the same rights and privileges as the Homio who were allowed to vote.

After conquering the Laconians Sparta conquered and enslaved the Messenians to the North. They were part of the helot class which consisted of servants for the Spartans. Due to this, Sparta was a permanent military state and  each year Sparta would officially declare war on the Messiness so they could continue with their brutal rule. The Spartans were tyrannical to the Messnians, would force them to work on farms, serve the Spartans, and would often kill them for sport or training purposes especially if any slave was rebellious or became resilient.

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