Spartan Way, The: Eat Better. Train Better. Think Better. Be Better.

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An Unbuilt Trope, after a fashion, since the goal of the Spartan agoge was to produce good citizens, rather than skilled soldiers (though it did realistically aid their usefulness as hoplites). Spartans only trained for battle on campaign after all allied contingents joined the army, so all warriors would learn the same skills. The Spartans were truly not soldiers as we would recognize - their day-to-day occupation was not engaging in or training for war, there's little evidence of them having effective weapons practice, and the centuries-long preconception of them being effective warriors may have been more Sparta trying to live up to the notion that they were post-Battle of Thermopylae with their victories thereafter being more attributable to the Spartans using basic formation drill and platoon-level units which made them far more wieldy on a tactical level than their adversaries. Bell, S.; Bell, K.; Byrne, R. (2013). "Australian Humour: What Makes Aussies Laugh?". Australian Tales. Australian-Information-Stories.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-22 . Retrieved 2014-08-30. 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 was seemingly independent of the one-year term clause because it was used in 405 BC to give Lysander command of the fleet after he was already an admiral for a couple years. [ citation needed] Wars and battles [ edit ] Messenian Wars [ edit ] Dates LG: The list of challenges seemed endless at the time. Due to the fact that we were a new business, the bank would only provide us with limited funding, and some suppliers would only deal with us on a cash basis, whilst others refused to deal with us at all until we had been operating for at least six months. Protagoras 342b, d–e, from the translation given at the end of the section on Lycurgus in e-classics.com.

Founded around the ninth century B.C., Sparta’s kings oversaw a society with little interest in intellectual and artistic pursuits beyond patriotic poetry. Religion did occupy a central role in this warrior society. An efficient military machine in almost every other respect, war was only unthinkable during the festivities dedicated to Apollo Carneus. These were celebrated every summer, sometimes in full campaign season, and it was considered impious to interrupt them. Soriano, Celia (2005). Kayamanan III: History of the World (2005 Ed). Rex Bookstore, Inc. ISBN 971-23-4042-2.Each soldier would carry 20 days worth of provisions with him. This consisted of rye bread, cheese, and salted meat, which in the spirit of Spartan egalitarianism was distributed among soldiers and officers alike. Most campaigns took place in the late spring, when water was scarce, so drinking water also had to be hauled. Keep your men busy. If there is no work, make it up, for when soldiers have time to talk, their talk turns to fear. Action, on the other hand, produces the appetite for more action.”— Gates of Fire

Various groups in more recent history also have a reputation for laconic humor: Icelanders in the sagas, [10] and, in the Anglophone world, Australians ( cf. Australian humor), [11] [12] [13] American cowboys, [14] New Englanders, [15] and people from Northern England. [16] History [ edit ] Chilon of Sparta You’ve seen the muscly guys that have been raised to be ready for battle at all times and put the interest of their land before their own. Every Spartan soldier carried his own weapons, while a Helot slave took charge of his other belongings. At night the soldiers had no more than capes to protect them from the cold. They did not sleep in tents but lay on the ground or under simple shelters. Eve of BattleInevitably, Sparta and Argos collided. Initial Argive successes, such as the victory at the Battle of Hysiae in 669 BC, led to the Messenians' uprising. This internal conflict tied down the Spartan army for almost 20 years. [7] However, over the course of the 6th century, Sparta secured her control of the Peloponnese peninsula. The Spartans forced Arcadia into recognizing their power; Argos lost Cynuria (the SE coast of the Peloponnese) in about 546 and suffered a further crippling blow from Cleomenes I at the Battle of Sepeia in 494. Repeated expeditions against tyrannical regimes during this period throughout Greece also considerably raised the Spartans' prestige. [8] By the early 5th century, Sparta was the unchallenged master in southern Greece, as the leading power ( hegemon) of the newly established Peloponnesian League (which was more characteristically known to its contemporaries as "the Lacedaemonians and their allies"). [9] Persian and Peloponnesian Wars [ edit ] Greek hoplite besting a Persian, on the tondo of a kylix drinking cup from the 5th century BC ( National Archaeological Museum of Athens)

In part to attract mates, females engaged in athletic competitions, including javelin-throwing and wrestling, and also sang and danced competitively. As adults, Spartan women were allowed to own and manage property. Additionally, they were typically unencumbered by domestic responsibilities such as cooking, cleaning and making clothing, tasks which were handled by the Helots. USAF Pararescue Training. They are the US military's Combat Search and Rescue specialists, and their pipeline is known as "Superman School".On another occasion, Lycurgus was reportedly asked the reason for the less-than-extravagant size of Sparta's sacrifices to the gods. He replied, "So that we may always have something to offer." [28] The French Foreign Legion — in case none of the above is tough enough for you. With its methods based on sheer cruelty, and its diverse training grounds, ranging from the snow-laden slopes of the French Pyrenees through the rainforests of Guyane (aka "The Green Hell") to the dunes of the Sahara, it stands a pretty good chance of killing you. Motto: "March or die!" Women are not allowed to join. (Hear it from Bear Grylls himself: "I hadn't expected it to be so tough, having spent several years in the SAS." ) We should not be surprised that multiple and sometimes conflicting views of Sparta exist — the actual records of this people are thinner and patchier than is often realized. Much of what is known originates in sources biased one way or the other — from either champions or enemies of the city-state — and is relatively small in size; the Spartans were a highly secretive people, constricting the travel of its citizens abroad, and the visitation of foreigners at home (indeed, this secrecy is part of what made Sparta compelling in its own time, and continues to draw our interest today). As Rahe observes, “It would not be hyperbole to appropriate for Sparta Winston Churchill’s famous description of Russia: Lacedaemon was in antiquity and remains today a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” Japanese training might have been brutal, but that doesn't mean it was particularly good. The Japanese Army took casualties at the same rate (averaged for the entire war) as the Red Army in 1941. The Kwangtung Army in Manchuria was no match for the experienced and highly mechanized Red Army — the Soviet offensive sliced through the Japanese and achieved military victory in just over a week.