Agriculture Creates Territory
Clashes Between Territories Drive Innovation
Innovation Creates Culture
Culture is the Lifeblood of Civilization
Warriors Are Culture's Defenders
Late in the summer of 480 B.C., King Leonidas of Sparta stood in the narrow mountain pass at Thermopylae, days into a brutal battle with a Persian army ten times the size of his own Greek forces. When Persian King Xerxes had demanded his surrender two days prior, Leonidas replied, “Molon labe.” Come and take them. For two days, the Greek defendants held their ground. But now, Leonidas found himself desperately trying to counter a flanking maneuver by the Persians. Foreseeing defeat but resolute despite it, Leonidas ordered the majority of his army to withdraw to fight another day. Yet, someone must stay behind to protect their retreat. Leonidas and 300 of his Spartan warriors selflessly volunteered for the task. The small band successfully protected their comrades’ retreat, but in the end, they were overrun. All fell, to a man.
What Is A Warrior Ethos?
Honor And The Way Of Death
It is common for warrior cultures to value honor even above life. Spartan mothers commonly told their sons, “Return with your shield, or carried on it” to discourage them from the cowardice of abandoning their heavy shields to flee battle. This instruction was especially pertinent given the Spartan phalanx formation of interlocking shields to form a shield wall. The phalanx was nearly impregnable–unless one of its members broke rank. As Plutarch explained, Spartan warriors who lost their shields received the death penalty, because “the shield protects every man in the line.” Discipline and loyalty to one’s comrades were key aspects of retaining one’s personal honor in the Spartan warrior ethos.
Spartan Warriors: “He Who Sweats More In Training Bleeds Less In War”
After joining the army barracks at age seven, Spartan boys underwent a militaristic education known as the agōgē. Their regime involved athletics, hunting, and the basics of reading and writing. At age 12, boys were stripped of their clothing, turned out into the elements, and forced to scavenge their own survival. In addition to these trials of hardship, Spartan adolescents were ritually flogged to teach endurance and pain resistance. After beginning their official military training at age 20, Spartan warriors learned to wield the dory spear and shield and backup swords. Because of their intense discipline and military training, Spartans were renowned as tough warriors with one of the most sophisticated armies in the ancient world.
Your Highest Duty is to Your People
Spartan society revolved around the military defense of the people. Boys joined the army barracks at seven years old and didn’t leave active duty until age 60. Men were required to live in the communal barracks until age 30, whether or not he was married. Women, too, participated in this aspect of warrior ethos. Their highest duty was to birth sons to become warriors. Babies with physical defects or other flaws were left on hillsides to die from exposure. Spartan warriors learned from a young age that loyalty to the people was paramount; it was more important even than family.
Warrior ethos permeated every aspect of a warrior’s life, far beyond the battlefield. Spartans and Samurai fully embraced the virtues of selflessness, loyalty, discipline, honor, integrity, courage, and duty. Warriors from these cultures were elite, trained from an early age in the most advanced military techniques available. They held themselves to demanding standards of both physical and ethical excellence, more than willing to sacrifice their own lives for the honor of protecting the people. When the 300 Spartans were told that the Persian arrows would be so many as to block out the sun, Spartan leader Dienekes replied, “Good news, for if the Medes hide the sun then we shall fight them in the shade.”
As demonstrated by Leonidas’ 300 Spartan warriors, warrior ethos demanded that they resolutely face death and never lose the will to victory. Even 2,500 years later, he and his men serve as a heroic example of courageous resistance against impossible odds. If you travel to Thermopylae today, you’ll see the spirit of warrior ethos inscribed on the Leonidas monument in two simple words: “Molon labe” or “Come and take them.“
No comments:
Post a Comment