hello I'm Simon Whistler you're watching
top tens net and in the video today
we're looking at the top 10 horrifying
facts about the Spartans number 10
Spartan children were bred for war
almost every aspect of the Spartan way
of life was governed by the state
this of course included its children
every Spartan baby was brought before a
council of inspectors who examined him
for birth another physical defect if
anything seemed out of the ordinary they
would take the newborn and leave them to
die of exposure somewhere on a hillside
outside the city in a few fortunate
cases these forsaken children would be
rescued by foreigners passing by or by
the helots Spartan slaves working the
fields in their infancy the babies who
survived this first of many tests would
be bathed in wine instead of water as to
strengthen their physical attributes
they would be frequently ignored by
their parents when they cried as to make
them accustomed to a Spartan way of life
these parenting techniques were so
highly admired by foreigners the Spartan
women were often sought as nurses or
nannies up until the age of 7 Spartan
boys lived with their family but then
they were taken by the state to live in
communal barracks and start their first
training program this program aimed to
mold the young Spartans to become the
perfect warriors this training involved
hard physical exercises as well as
learning stealth extreme loyalty
military and combat training pain
tolerance hunting survival skills social
communication and morality they were
also taught reading writing rhetoric and
poetry
however at age 12 they were stripped of
all clothing and possessions save a red
cloak they were then instructed to sleep
outside and make their own beds from
reeds they were also encouraged to
scavenge or steal food but if caught
they were severely punished by flogging
Spartan girls continued to live with
their families after the age of seven
but they too received the famous Spartan
education which involved dance
gymnastics as well as javelin and discus
throwing these were exercises believed
to make them ready for motherhood
number nine hazing and fighting among
themselves one way through which these
children were toughened up is a key
element in their development as soldiers
was to instigate fights among them older
men and teachers would often start
various arguments among their students
and encouraged them on leading the boys
to start fighting with each other since
the main purpose of the training was to
make these trainees highly resistant to
all sorts of hardships found during war
things like
old hunger or pain those who showed
signs of weakness cowardice or timidity
we're subject to harsh punishments and
humiliation by both peers and teachers
alike
imagine being bullied by someone in
school and then your teacher would come
over and join in - to make things even
worse girls often sang choral songs in
front of dignitaries during various
religious or state ceremonies sometimes
singling out specific trainees for
ridicule not even grown-ups were spared
humiliation spartans absolutely loathed
people out of shape this is one of the
reasons why all Spartan citizens the
kings included had their daily meals at
a military mess where the food was bland
and always insufficient together with
daily physical exercises Spartan men and
women kept in shape throughout their
entire lives those who didn't however
exposed to public humiliation by
everyone and even risked being banished
from the city if they didn't fix the
problem immediately number 8 the contest
of endurance an integral part of ancient
Spartan and one of its most gruesome
practices was the so called contest of
endurance this tradition was sent to
commemorate an incident where people
from neighboring settlements killed each
other at the altar of artemis and since
then human sacrifices were brought there
annually since Lycurgus however they
famous semi-mythical spartan lawgiver
from the seventh century bc the ceremony
at the sanctuary of artemis or Thea only
involved the ax Phoebe's adolescent boys
undergoing training being flogged until
they completely stained the snares of
the altar full of blood during the event
the altar was covered with cheeses and
the young boys would try to reach them
and take them older ones would wait for
them with sticks in hands flogging and
beating them without mercy this
tradition was in fact an initiation
ceremony where the ephie bees were
accepted as full spartan warriors and
citizens the last boy standing would
receive great honor for his bravery
deaths were not uncommon during this
event during the Roman occupation of
Sparta the tradition of the contest of
endurance in dirt but lost much of its
ceremonial importance it instead became
a favorite spectator sport where people
from all over the Empire would flock to
Sparta and see how young men were being
whipped in such a brutal fashion number
7 the Crypt here when the ax phoebe's
reached the age of around 20 those who
were marked out as potential future
leaders were given the opportunity to
take part in the crypt ear this was a
sort of secret police or at least the
closest Sparta got to one it's more
closely resemble Taek
Rilla for since its main purpose was to
stake out and terrorize the surrounding
helot settlements at its peak during the
fifth century BC Sparta had about 10,000
men able to bear arms while the
surrounding hell our population
outnumbered them by seven to one this
was a double-edged sword for Spartan
citizens on the one hand the hell odds
were providing the Spartans with all the
food they would need freeing them to
become super soldiers on the other hand
however the Spartans were constantly
under threat from helot rebellions this
continuous risk of revolt was also the
main reason for why the Spartans
developed such a highly militarized
society in the first place in which
every Spartan man became a soldier by
law every fall these young soldiers got
a chance to test out their skills when
the Spartans unofficially declared war
on the helot population a tonight the
members of the crypt ear would be armed
with knives and set loose on the
surrounding countryside they were
instructed to kill any helot they
encountered especially the strongest
among them this annual slaughter of the
lower class was to ensure the helots
obedience as well as to keep its
population in check
only the Spartans who took part in this
gruesome event as young men could hope
to one day achieve the highest ranks in
the army and society throughout the rest
of the year this secret police would
patrol the countryside looking for any
signs of unrest any potentially
troublesome helot would be summarily
executed number six compulsory marriage
while this can't be construed as
particularly horrifying compulsory
marriage by the age of 30 is something
that many today would consider
frightening we don't think the same
rules apply in modern-day Sparta but in
the ancient times they certainly did up
until the age of 30 all Spartan men
lived their lives in communal barracks
and made up the active military of the
mighty city-state they would then be
relieved of duty but would act as the
reserve force until they turned 60 in
any case 30 was the age when all male
citizens were more or less forced to tie
the knot if they hadn't done so already
and since Spartans saw marriage
primarily but not exclusively as a means
of conceiving new soldiers girls usually
married at around 19 later than other
Greek girls bachelors were encouraged to
evaluate the health and fitness of their
future mates but even if the marriage
arrangements were made between the
husband and his future father-in-law
this doesn't mean the girl didn't have
any say in the matter
after all Spartan women were equal to
their men more so than in a lot of
countries today in the events as Barton
soldier would get married
before finishing his active service when
turning 30 he would live separately from
his wife until that time likewise if a
man remained bachelor after entering the
reserves
he was seen as neglecting his duties
towards Sparta itself and he would be
publicly mocked on every occasion
especially during official ceremonies if
by any chance the Spartan wasn't able to
bear children he was expected to find a
suitable other who could there were even
cases of a woman having several partners
and their collective children belonging
to all number 5 spartan weapons and
armor the bulk of every ancient Greek
army Sparta included was the hoplite
these were heavily armored soldiers
citizens of their respective city-states
with enough material means to equip and
make themselves available to fight but
while other cities hoplites weren't
professional soldiers and often lacked
sufficient military training Sparta
soldiers were bred solely for war and
did nothing else their entire lives and
while other Greek city-states built
massive walls to defend themselves
Sparta famously had none considering its
hoplites as its defenses the principal
weapon of every hoplite regardless of
origin was the spear or dori these
Spears measured some eight feet in
length and were held one-handed either
over or under hand its tip was made out
of bronze Orien and the shaft was made
out of Cornell wood this wood was
especially sought-after because of the
density and strength that gave the spear
it's so dense the Cornell wood actually
sinks in water then in their left hands
the hoplites held their iconic round
shields the hoplon weighing some 30
pounds these were used primarily for
defense but were also used for bashing
these shields were made out of wood or
leather with an outer layer of bronze
spartans marked their shields with a
letter lambda this stood for Laconia the
name of the region of Sparta now if
either their Spears broke off or the
battle became too overcrowded the
hoplites in the front row turn to their
Cephas this was a short sword about 17
inches long which was used for stabbing
while behind the hoplon Spartans however
mostly preferred the coppice instead of
the Cephas because of the nasty wounds
it inflicted the coppice was used more
as an axe in the form of a thick curved
iron sword and the Spartans were often
depicted in Athenian art while holding
one for extra defense they wore bronze
helmets which protected their head at
the back of the neck and the face as
well as a breastplate thorax of bronze
or leather number four the fat
one of the signs of a civilization
reaching a certain point in his
development is the way its army wages
war tribal societies for example usually
fought in loose arrangements each
warrior waving his huge broad sword or
axe over his head in intimidation and
looking for personal glory on the
battlefield but more advanced
civilizations fought in compact
formations with each individual soldier
having a precise role to play within a
larger strategy so did the Romans and so
did the ancient Greeks in fact the
famous Roman legion formations were
inspired by the Greek phalanx hoplites
were organized into regiments Lakay of
several hundred individuals strong and
fought in eight rows or more this is
what's known as a phalanx the men stood
shoulder-to-shoulder in a tight
formation with their shields covering
their left half as well as the right
side of the soldier next to him above
their shields in between their heads
there was a literal forest of spears
protruding outwards the Phalanx advanced
at walking speed or slightly faster
usually accompanied by rhythmic music
and war cries something which Spartans
studied intensely during their training
as Greek cities often fought each other
a phalanx would usually meet another
phalanx in battle in which case they
would push and stab each other until one
side emerged victorious nevertheless
this formation was also successfully
used against the Persians on numerous
occasions its biggest weakness however
was its left flank as the Phalanx
advanced and each man sought to keep
behind the shield of his neighbor the
formation had the tendency to shift
right leaving the left flank exposed a
good commander would therefore put his
best warriors in his own right flank in
order to take advantage of the possible
situation and ultimately win the battle
number three no such thing as surrender
as part of their extreme loyalty
training Spartans despised cowardice
above all else and soldiers were
expected to fight without any sense of
fear whatsoever even to the last man if
need be in effect the act of surrender
was seen as the epitome of all cowardice
in the highly unlikely event of a
Spartan hoplite
doing such an unthinkable thing it would
most likely lead him to commit suicide
the ancient historian Herodotus makes
mention of two spartans who missed out
on the famous Battle of Thermopylae then
two later in their utter shame that
killed themselves one by hanging himself
and the other by dying a redeeming death
later conflict for Sparta Spartan
mothers were famous for sayings like
return with your shield or on it to
their sons just before going into battle
referring to them either returning
victorious or dead Sparta roni
considered its dare to fully repaid when
its citizens died doing their duty for
her men dying in battle and Spartan
women during childbirth
in fact only these two groups of people
were ever worthy enough to have their
own names forever engraved on their
tombstones number two the thirty tyrants
Sparta was known for wanting to spread
its own utopian views upon its
neighboring states first when the
Messenians to the west which Sparta
defeated during the seventh and eighth
centuries BC turning them into their
subservient alots they later began
looking towards Athens itself during the
Peloponnesian War 431 to 404 BC not only
did the Spartans defeat them but would
also inherit their naval supremacy over
the Aegean something that Sparta never
had refusing to raise Athens to the
ground as was suggested by the Thebans
and Corinthians the Spartans decided
instead to shape the city in their own
image to do so they installed a pro
Spartan oligarchy in Athens and famously
known as the thirty tyrants their main
purpose was to revise or in most cases
completely erase the fundamental
Athenian laws for its own style of
democracy they reformed the power
structure by first lowering most
citizens rights and installing five
hundred councilors to serve the judicial
functions formerly belonging to all
citizens
they also hand-picked 3,000 Athenian men
to share the government who were allowed
more privileges than the rest during
their 13 month reign some 5% of all the
Athenian population died or simply
disappeared a lot of property was
confiscated and many pro Athenian
Democrats exiled a former student of
Socrates himself
krytus the leader of the thirty was
considered cruel imposing and downright
inhumane he was a man who wanted to make
Athens into the mirror image of Sparta
at whatever the cost similar to the
Crypt here in Sparta all people who were
considered a threat to the new
establishments were quickly executed
they also employed 300 lash bearers to
patrol the city harassing and
terrorizing the city's population into
submission around 1500 of Athens errs
most prominent figures not in favor of
the Spartan rule were forced to take
poison hemlock in tray
Bingley enough the more violent the
tyrants were in the city's population
the more opposition they faced this poor
state of affairs eventually resulted in
a successful rebellion thirteen months
later with the Athenian restoration the
before-mentioned 3,000 were given
amnesty while the rest 430 included were
executed
Critias died in the initial attack
riddled with corruption betrayals and
violence the tyrants short rule ensured
severe mistrust between the Athenians
themselves in the years to come
number one the famous Battle of
Thermopylae made popular today by the
1998 comic book series in the 2006 epic
movie called 300 the Battle of
Thermopylae in 480 BC was an epic
engagements between the few Greeks under
the spartan king leonidas the first and
the many Persians under the Kings era
sees the whole conflicts began even
before these two became rulers during
the reign of Sarah C's predecessor
Darius the first he already expanded his
borders into mainland Europe and then
set his sights on Greece itself when
Darius died and Zahra seized took power
in 486 BC he immediately began
preparations for an invasion
the biggest threat Greece had ever faced
after much deliberation between the many
Greek city-states a combined force of
around 7,000 hoplites was sent to
defends the pass of thermopylae against
the advancing Persian army among them
were the famous 300 Spartans led by King
Leonidas himself
Zehra seized amassed around 80,000
troops for the invasion though the
numbers vary a lot the relatively small
Greek force was due in part to their
unwillingness to send troops so far
north the other reason was more
religious for it was the period of the
sacred games at Olympia then the most
important Spartan religious festival the
carnea during which no fighting was
allowed in any case ileana just realized
the peril they were facing and chose 300
of his most loyal men who all had mayil
as located some 95 miles north of Athens
the mapa Lea was an excellent defensive
position only about 50 feet wide and
crammed between an almost vertical cliff
face and the sea itself the Persians
couldn't effectively deploy their vastly
superior numbers
this gave the Greeks a tremendous
advantage coupled with a defensive wall
already built there when Zehra seized
finally arrived he waited for days in
the hopes of the Greeks retreating which
didn't happen he then sent his envoys
one at a time asking them to lay down
their
ROMs to which Leonidas replied for the
following two days the Greeks withstood
the many Persian attacks including those
of the infamous Immortals betrayed by a
local shepherd who told Zahra sees about
a hidden pass through the mountain
Leonidas would soon find himself
surrounded learning of this unfortunate
turn of events he dismissed most of the
other hoplites under his command and
kept only his Spartans and a few others
to make the last stand when the final
attack came the mighty Leonidas as well
as his 300 Spartans fell fulfilling
their duty towards the people and to
Sparta itself even to this day there's
an inscription that the mapa D which
says go tell the Spartans who you reach
we took their orders and here lie debt
now even if Leonidas didn't win the
battle what he did manage to achieve
reverberate it through the following
wars with the Persians leading the
Spartans to lead the resistance and
defeat their overwhelming conquerors
this battle also ensured that Sparta
will be forever remembered in history as
one of the world's most unique and
powerful civilizations so really hope
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