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For more details on this topic, see Phalanx formation. Like the armies of the other Greek states, the Spartan army was an infantry-based army that fought using the Phalanx formation. The Spartans themselves did not introduce any significant changes or tactical innovations in hoplite warfare, but their constant drill and superb discipline made their phalanx much more cohesive and effective. The Spartans employed the phalanx in the classical style in a single line, uniformly deep in files of 8 to 12 men. When fighting alongside their allies, the Spartans would normally occupy the honorary right flank. If, as usually happened, the Spartans achieved victory on their side, they would then wheel left and roll up the enemy formation.[31] During the Peloponnesian War, engagements became more fluid, light troops became increasingly used and tactics evolved to meet them, but in direct confrontations between two opposing phalanxes, stamina and "pushing ability" were what counted.[32] It was only when the Thebans, under Epaminondas increased the depth of a part of their formation at the Battle of Leuctra that the Spartan phalanx broke. On the march According to Xenophon, the army was mobilized by the ephors, and after a series of religious ceremonies and sacrifices, the army assembled and set out.[33] The army proceeded led by the king, with the skiritai and cavalry detachments acting as an advance guard and scouting parties.[34] The necessary provisions (barley, cheese, onions and salted meat) were carried along with the army, and each Spartan was accompanied by a helot manservant.[35] Each mora marched and camped separately, with its own baggage train.[36] Sacrifice was given every morning and before battle by the king and the officers; if the omens were not favourable, a pious leader might refuse to march or to engage the enemy.[37] The only people who could have a gravestone were women who died in child birth and warriors who died in battle; both were considered lives given for the state. Clothing, arms and armor The Spartans used the same typical hoplite equipment as the other Greek neighbors; the only distinctive Spartan features were the crimson tunic (chitōn) and cloak (himation),[38] and long hair, which the Spartans retained to a far later date than most Greeks. To the Spartans, long hair retained its older Archaic meaning as the symbol of a free man; to the other Greeks, by the 5th century, its peculiar association with the Spartans had come to signify pro-Spartan sympathies.[39] Another widely known Spartan symbol, adopted in the 420s BC, was the letter lambda (Λ), standing for Laconia or Lacedaemon, which was painted on the Spartans' shields.[40] Shields were of such great importance in the Spartan army that while losing a sword and a spear was an exception, to lose a shield was a sign of disgrace. Not only does it protect the user, but it also protects the whole phalanx formation. To come home without the shield was the mark of a deserter, rhipsaspia or "dropping the shield", was a synonym for desertion in the field. Mothers bidding farewell to their sons would encourage them to come back with their shields, often saying goodbyes like "Son, either with this or on this" (Ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς).[41][42] Spartan hoplites were often depicted bearing a transverse horsehair crest on their helmet, which was possibly used to identify officers.[43] Modern composite of a hoplite in the 4th century BC. Wearing a Thracian helmet, muscle cuirass with leather fringes, and greaves, he is equipped with a spear (dory), the xiphos and the hoplite shield (aspis). In the Archaic period, Spartans were armored with flanged bronze cuirasses, leg greaves, and a helmet, often of the Corinthian type. It is often disputed which torso armor the Spartans wore during the Persian Wars,[32] though it seems likely they either continued to wear bronze cuirasses of a more sculptured type, or instead had adopted the linothōrax. During the later 5th century BC, when warfare had become more flexible and full-scale phalanx confrontations became rarer, the Greeks abandoned most forms of body armor. The Lacedaemonians also adopted a new tunic, the exōmis, which could be arranged so that it left the right arm and shoulder uncovered and free for action in combat.[44] The Spartan's main weapon was the Doru. For long range, they carried a javelin. The Spartiatēs were always armed with a xiphos as a secondary weapon. Among most Greek warriors, this weapon had an iron blade of about 60 centimetres, however, the Spartan version was typically only 30-45 centimetres. The Spartan's shorter weapon proved deadly in the crush caused by colliding phalanxes formations – it was capable of being thrust through gaps in the enemy's shield wall and armor, where there was no room for longer weapons. The groin and throat were among the favorite targets. In one account, an Athenian asked a Spartan why his sword was so short and after a short pause he replied, "It's long enough to reach your heart." As an alternative to the xiphos, some Spartans selected the kopis as their secondary weapon. Unlike the xiphos, which is a thrusting weapon, the kopis was a hacking weapon in the form of a thick, curved iron sword. In Athenian art, Spartan hoplites were often depicted using a kopis instead of the xiphos, as the kopis was seen as a quintessential "bad guys" weapon in Greek eyes.[45] Spartans trained in pankration, a famous martial art in Ancient Greece that consisted of boxing and grappling. Spartans were so adept in pankration that, when it was inducted in the Olympics, they were mostly forbidden to compete. The Spartans retained the traditional hoplite phalanx until the reforms of Cleomenes III, when they were re-equipped with the Macedonian sarissa and trained in the style of the Phalanx. During the Hellenistic period spartan equipment had evolved drastically. Since the early 5th century BC the pilos helmet had became almost standard within the spartan army, being in use by the Spartans until the end of the classical era.[46] Also after the 'Iphicratean reforms' peltasts became a much more common sight on the Greek battlefield and themselves become more heavily armed. In response to Iphicrates victory over Sparta in 392 BC, Spartan hoplites started abandoning body armour and eventually wore almost no armour apart from a shield, leg greaves, helmet and a robe. In later periods Spartans did start to readopt armour, but on a much lesser scale than during the Archaic period. Finally during 227BC, Cleomenes reforms introduced updated equipment to Sparta, including the Macedonian sarissa (pike). However pike-men armed with the sarissa never outnumbered troops equipped in the hoplite style. It was also in that time Sparta adopted its own cavalry and archers. Philosophy, education and the Spartan code For more details on this topic, see Laconic phrase. The Spartan philosopher Lycurgus, from a series of marble reliefs depicting the great lawgivers of history, at the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives Contrary to popular belief, Spartans valued knowledge and education as much as the Athenians did.[47] Spartan philosophers include Lycurgus and Chilon of Sparta. Although Athens has been praised as the "inventor" of democracy and philosophy, Sparta often has been viewed in popular culture as a society characterized by brutal, mindless discipline and merciless emphasis on physical fitness, and as an example of an early communistic or socialistic society. Sparta, however, had its own democratic government. Sparta also wasn't a totalitarianism as many believed. In the Appella or Demos as early as 700 BC, Spartans elect leaders and voted by range voting and shouting. Every male age 30 and above could participate. Aristotle called the Spartan electoral process "childish" in contrast to the stone ballots cast by the Athenians. Sparta adopted its procedure for the sake of simplicity, and to prevent any bias voting, bribing, or cheating that was predominant in the early democratic elections.[48] The Spartan public education system, the agoge, trained the mind as well as the body. Spartans were not only literate, but admired for their intellectual culture and poetry. Socrates said the "most ancient and fertile homes of philosophy among the Greeks are Crete and Sparta, where are found more sophists than anywhere on earth."[49] Public education was provided for girls as well as boys, and consequently literacy rate was higher in Sparta than in other Greek city-states.[50] In education, sports was given the most emphasis in teaching.[50] Self-discipline, not kadavergehorsam (mindless obedience) was the goal of Spartan education. Sparta placed the values of liberty, equality, and fraternity at the center of their ethical system. These values applied to every full Spartan citizen, immigrant, merchant, and even to the helots, but not to the dishonored. Helots are unique in the history of slavery in that unlike traditional slaves, they were allowed to keep and gain wealth. They could keep half their agricultural produce and presumably sell it; thus accumulating wealth. There are known to have been some occasions that a helot with enough money was allowed to purchase their freedom from the state.[51] Mythological scene inside a black-figure cup (550–540 BC) by the Spartan artist known as the Rider Painter The Spartan hoplite followed a strict laconic code of honor. No soldier was considered superior to another.[50] Suicidal recklesness, berserkery, and rage were prohibited in a Spartan army, as these behaviors endangered the phalanx. Recklessness could lead to dishonor, as in the case of Aristodemus.[52] Spartans regarded those who fight, while still wishing to live, as more valorous than those who don't care if they die.[52] They believed that a warrior must not fight with raging anger, but with calmed determination.[53] By the laconic way of life, Spartans must walk without any noise, and speak only with few words.[50] Other ways for Spartans to be dishonored were dropping the shield (rhipsaspia), failing to complete the training, and deserting in battle. Dishonored Spartans were labeled outcasts, and were forced to wear different clothing for public humiliation.[50] In battle, stories of valor were told to inspire troops and, before a major confrontation, they sang soft songs to calm the nerves.[54] Spartan Navy Model of a Greek trireme from the Deutsches Museum, Munich Throughout their history, the Spartans were a land based force par excellence. During the Persian Wars, they contributed a small navy of 20 triremes, and provided the overall fleet commander, but they largely relied on their allies, primarily the Corinthians, for naval power. This fact meant that, when the Peloponnesian War broke out, the Spartans were supreme on land, but the Athenians supreme at sea. The Spartans repeatedly ravaged Attica, but the Athenians kept being supplied by sea, and were able to stage raids of their own around the Peloponnese with their navy. Eventually, it was the creation of a navy that enabled Sparta to overcome Athens. With Persian gold, Lysander, appointed navarch in 407 BC, was able to master a strong navy, and successfully challenge and destroy Athenian predominance in the Aegean Sea.[9] The Spartan engagement with the sea would be short-lived, however, and did not survive the turmoils of the Corinthian War: in the Battle of Cnidus of 394 BC, the Spartan navy was decisively defeated by a joint Athenian-Persian fleet, marking the end of Sparta's brief naval supremacy. The final blow would be given 20 years later, at the Battle of Naxos in 376 BC. A small fleet was periodically maintained thereafter, but its effectiveness was limited; the last revival of Spartan naval power was under Nabis, who, with aid from his Cretan allies, created a fleet to control the Laconian coastline. The fleet was commanded by navarchs, who were appointed for a strictly one-year term, and apparently could not be reappointed. The admirals were subordinated to the vice-admiral, called epistoleus. This position is seemingly independent of the one-year term clause, because it was used, in 405 B.C. to give Lysander command of the fleet after he was already an admiral for a year. Their helmets were made of bronze or silver and the plume was made of horse hair. |
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