Spartan Hoplite

Spartans where the warriors of Sparta, which was an ancient greek city sate. Spartans were one of the most feared military forces in history. It was commonly accepted that one Spartan was worth several other men from any other city state. In Sparta, whenever a youth was born, male our female, they where inspected by the elders. If there was a single imperfection they where cast off a cliff. All male citizens of Sparta were forced to military training from the age of 7. They received the most painful training of thier time and possibly until the modern age. At the age of 8, a boy was cast off into the willderness to survive. Tthey were allowed to kill any heilot they found at the age of 9 our 10. The boy would then begin training. They trained with full contact. It was common to die in training and almost all ended up being stabbed and with a broken bone after completion. They were the best trained and equipped warriors of their time. It is possible that their brutal training and the purpose of it was an inspiration for the Russian Spetsnaz training, where the purpose was to teach the person to never surrender and perpared them for interrogation and the horrors of war. It also caused high tolerence for pain. Being forced to join the milatary and therefore trained from the age of 7 or 8 was common in warrior cultures such as the Knight, the Samurai and the Rajput. Spartans were known for their impenetrable armor and their shield. They had a cuirass, a helmet, greaves up to their knees, and armor that was the strongest of their day and proven to be as strong as plate and Samurai armor. Their shield was even stronger than their armor, with a round design that allows for mobility. Their shield can be used to kill. In battle, if you lost your sword or spear that was one thing, but if you lost your shield that was a disgrace because your shield protects not only you but it protects evrey man in the field. While it takes only 81 PSI to fracture a skull, their shield had 381 PSI- depending on how you strike, and how hard you swing or push, (proven on Deadliest Warrior). Surprisingly, with armor this strong and a shield this big, their gear all together weighed a total of only 60 LBS.

Weapons

Close range Xiphos

mid range Dory Spear

long range javelin couledent find a spartan javelin photo

Special weapons Shield