Many Spartan babies that were thought to be not strong enough were left to perish. Because of their unique training, Spartans became dominant figures in war tactics. This training transformed regular boys into killing machines. At age seven, every Spartan boy is taken from his mother to begin his training. Starting at the age of seven, they were taught not to cry but to council pain. A game was played in which Spartan boys would stand in a circle, be flogged, and the one who lasted the longest was the winner. The Spartan society was designed to strip people of their individual identity. As they got older there was and increasing level of violence. Training became more and more intense. Spartans were reminded of their heritage as they were worked to death. By early teens Spartan boys are given wooden staffs and tipless spears. Even though these were games, many boys died from them. This is just a small example of how the Spartans prepared their troops for battle.
http://www.history.com/video.do?name=militaryhistory&bcpid=1681694250&bclid=1683701822&bctid=1646107670
Lucas H.
Period 3
10 comments:
Imagine how good the soldiers must have been if they started training at seven. I couldn't even fathom the idea of being taken away at such a young age to fight. This kind of reminds me of China, how they take young children from their families to turn them in to professional sportsmen/women.
This is a great blog. It is unbelievable how Spartan boys were taken away from their mothers at such a young age to train to fight! I wonder if some of the mothers or if the boys themselves were truly against this. This is an example of how different cultures have their own values and views on things.
It is interesting to see how different cultures value different things. For instance, the Spartans valued violence, while others like the Greek favored knowledge. This blog really captures the essence of the Spartan way, and what they stood for.
I guess this shows the true nature of Spartan warriors and explains why they were so good, they practically started as soon as they were physically able to. I think this also shows hoe valuable homeland defense was for the Spartans; they were willing to take children from their parents, and the parents accepted and expected this as part of being a Spartan.
I liked this a lot! This act of taking young, promising boys was just wrong, not letting them socialize like normal children. This made them stern and unemotional, not the crazy little kids we know!
This was really eye-opening, how the Spartans ran their military system by forcing children to face war. The part about forcing the boys to learn to never cry was insane, in my opinion. Great information, this was a very interesting blog and gave me something to think about.
This blog provides a lot of insight into the Spartan culture. It is really terrible that young boys were forced into violence at such a young age. Even though taking young soldiers may have helped with their military training, was it really worth ruining their childhood innocence?
Just the thought of being taken away from your families at such a young age to be trained for war scares me. I could never imagine a little seven year old having to go through that, being stripped of their individual identity and risking their lives constantly, even in training. But this just goes to show how different our opinions are about young soldiers compared to other parts of the world where they believe it is acceptable.
It seems so harsh how the boys are beaten at such a young age. But then I keep in mind how this was the way of life in the Spartan communities. I remembered that the women were taught gymnastics and other athletics to keep them in fighting shape as well.
I think this is a very interesting entry. I remember reading about the Spartans in sixth grade. Their strength is very awe inspiring to see this community caring for their protection so much.
Post a Comment