The Life of a Spartan Warrior

The formation of a great Spartan Warrior started before he was ever even born. The Spartan elders would force the fastest and strongest Spartan women to mate with the quickest, nastiest, strongest males they could find. This was in hope that the child of these two would be a grand soldier and be able to withstand any test thrown his way. Once the baby, or “new warrior”, was born the elders would take them away from the parents to be inspected. If the child was well-fit, and strong looking he was kept and prepped to begin military training. If the child was seen in any way to have a mutation, birth-defect, or was just seen as too small in stature to do his army any good, he was thrown from a cliff; into a chasm known to the Spartan people as “The Deposits”. Than once the Spartans boys turned about age 7 they were stripped away from their mothers and sent to a military boarding school. It has been said that this removal from the family and sending to a military school did not only strengthen their military skills, but it also help them formulate a close relationship with the other boys in their “class” who they would one day be fighting next to.

Once they were arranged in their “classes” the boys began their rigorous education which consisted of tough physical, mental, and spiritual tests. These “tests” were said to be quite brutal in nature and if a male failed numerous tests, and was not adversely intelligent in Greek religion making him able to become a government official, he might be killed; being seen as weak and unworthy. The boys were also pitted in battle with other boys by instructors to help them become one with the art of hand-to-hand combat. Adolescents in the boarding schools were also even sent on trips with a single goal of killing a Helot. These killing spires were scene as the last piece of the puzzle for the Spartan young and it marked their final step toward military service.

Once the youth in the boarding school turned age 20, they “graduated” from the boarding schools and moved in barracks; marking their transition to full time soldier. While living in the barracks these men were not only expected to defend Sparta and perfect their military tactics, but get married and have children; increasing the population. However, they were not often permitted to leave the barracks and even if a family was created, they were still to live in the barracks; rarely seeing their families. The military service was not considered completed until age 40, however just because a warrior turned 40 it did not mean his time in the military was up. He could continue to see service up until, or about age 60. There are records, however, of service men of about age 65 protected armories within or around the city of Sparta. These numbers did not mean much, however, as life in the Spartan military was often short lived. Men died on the battle field in great numbers and Sparta always seemed to be at war with somebody.