Charge Of The Younger Boys example essay topic

Spartans; A Culture of War The Spartans were a very interesting civilization, who were dedicated to war and loyalty to their rulers. Families and education were thought to be useless, and war was their reason to live (Fitzhardinge, 766). I became interested in this race when I heard of their success fulness in battle. My previous knowledge of this subject was limited. I knew their name, the town in which they were based, and that they were very successful in war. What I had wanted to learn prior to my research was their lifestyle, social structure, and how they were trained to kill so efficiently.

When I started to look for my information I tried the keyword "Spartan", that did not work very well. I then also tried "Sparta", I found some encyclopedias with that keyword. I tried the internet and all the information I saw was what I already had. I checked on high school websites and student homepages to find my picture. When Spartans were first born they were judged weak or strong, by the government. If a child was said to be "strong", he was allowed to live with his mother until his training began at the age of seven.

If a child was said to be "weak", he was taken to the mountains, then thrown into a pit and left to die. The government usually judged babies by the physical abilities of the his parents (Barne, 96). When the boy's turned seven, they were taken from their mothers to live with other boys their age. The older and stronger men were put in charge of a group of younger boys (Fitzhardinge, 766).

The trainees didn't get much food, and were encouraged to steal food for meals. Though, if they were caught, they would be flogged (Barne, 96). During training the younger boys were taught to fight each other to sharpen their skills. They would throw rocks, and fight hand to hand, until one of them started to bleed, or, in more serious occasions, died (Barne, 96). At age 12 the boys training gets very hard. They are given no undergarments and one outer garment a year.

The boys do not go to school because the Spartan's believed that reading and writing were unnecessary (Fitzhardinge, 766). At 20 the boys, now men, are given the title of eire n (Barne, 96). The men were put in charge of the younger boys, and kept the slaves in order. At age 30 they were granted the privileges of marriage and were allowed to have kids, but stayed in the military until they were 60 years old. After turning 60 the men worked in public affairs, or trained the younger warriors (Fitzhardinge, 767). Women had a lot of freedom considering the time period, most were business women.

Women owned 40% of all Spartan land (Fitzhardinge, 767). The women were free to exercise with the men, and were trained in running, wrestling, javelin, and discuss. The women worked to develop strong bodies so their children could also be strong at the time of birth (Barne, 96). I believe that if the Spartans were taught reading and writing and been aware more of the outside world, they might be ruling the world today.

Barne, Jerome (Ed). "Sparta". Chronicle of the World, 83-128, New York City, New York: Prentice Hall Trade, 1990. Fitzhardinge, La mance. "Sparta". The World Book Encyclopedia, 18,766-767, Chicago, Illinois: World book Inc, 1997.

Gasser, Basil. Homepage.