Sparta Uncultured Discipline Essay examples - 1716 Words

Sparta: Uncultured Discipline nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Spartans were the most formidable warriors in all of history. They dedicated their entire lives to warfare. They were taught to endure cold, hunger, pain, their courage on the battlefield was second to none. The Spartan code was to fight hard, follow orders without question and to die rather then retreat or surrender. To achieve all this, Sparta sacrificed everything; the arts, culture, and other things that make life worth while. I believe the price was to high they went to far and shut off all that was creative and human in Sparta. A culture that cant change or adapt doesnt survive. This is exactly what happened , after a single major defeat in 360 B.C Sparta was no†¦show more content†¦50). nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;These wars were the turning point of Spartan history, nearly half a century of conflict had made the Spartans very warlike. It seemed to them if they ever relaxed their guard even a bit, the helots would rise again. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Spartans went to excessively great extremes in order to make sure this wouldnt happen. At age seven a boy would be taken from his family and given military training., his true home was his barracks, his family, his unit. They hardened their bodies with countless drills and savage games, they were taught to steal and live of off the land. A young soldier was whipped as punishment or to make him more resistant to pain. At age 20 he was finally allowed to marry but was still in military service. Only when he was 60 was he allowed to retire from the army (National Geographic Society, 1968, p. 178). nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;To a Spartan warrior surrender was unthinkable, even death was preferable. To flee a soldier had to throw down his heavy shield (which would slow him down), if he died he would be carried home, with honor, on his shield. For this reason Spartan mothers instructed their sons to return form a battle quot;with their shield or on themquot; (V.M Hillyer, E.G Huey, 1966, p. 27) nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;One of the functions of the Spartan system was to rid the state of weaklings. At birth each childShow MoreRelatedSparta A City Filled With Uncultured Discipline1219 Words   |  5 PagesSparta a city filled with uncultured discipline, a city that was filled with the most relentless warriors of all time, the Spartans. The Spartans dedicated their lives to combat and training. Spartan children were removed from the homes of their parents at the age of 7 to begin their training called agoge , which was a military style training regimen to craft and mold them into the warriors the once were. They were trained to endure the worst of elements and trained to overcome cold, hunger andRead MoreThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe1543 Words   |  7 Pageshis readers that the Ibo were civilized. Achebe writes about how it was a practice for Ibo women to leave twins in the Evil Forest to die. Many people saw this as uncivilized and barbaric, forgetting the fact that th eir own â€Å"civilized† ancestors in Sparta commonly killed children and ill-born babies who were not fit for their grueling and sometimes barbaric lifestyle. In addition to the fact that Achebe does not effectively show the Ibo were civilized, he shows that men in the clan could beat their